Wet Jab Riddim – Romie Rome

Denise Belfon anchors Wet Jab Riddim with the kind of sharp, no-nonsense energy that makes a soca cut stick, and her pairing with Romie Rome on the title tune sets the tone for the whole 2017 release. The four-track set keeps things tight: Tallpree’s “Nuh Normal” and Russ’ “Start to Work” ride the same jab-heavy pulse, while Romie Rome’s instrumental leaves the groove bare enough to hear how the arrangement snaps and shuffles under the vocal cuts. It’s a compact side of Romie Rome’s catalogue, closer in spirit to his later Soca riddims than to anything sprawling, and that focus suits the project. With only three vocal tracks and an instrumental, Wet Jab lands like a quick carnival run-through rather than a full parade float, which is exactly why it works.