Trouble Gyal Riddim – South Trade Records

In 2016, when dancehall was leaning hard into lean, looping digital cuts and quick-hit party riddims, South Trade Records came through with Trouble Gyal Riddim, a tight four-track set that keeps the focus on voice and groove rather than crowding the arrangement. Aisha Davis opens with “Trouble, ” Marcy Chin handles both the raw and clean versions of “It’s My Turn, ” and RR rides the same framework on “Keep Walking, ” giving the project a small but varied lineup. The production sits in that stripped-back midtempo pocket, with a clipped drum pattern and a low, steady bass line that leaves plenty of room for the vocals to cut through. Marcy Chin’s pair of versions is the clearest anchor here, especially because the clean and raw takes let the same melodic line hit in two different ways.