Whip Riddim – Various Labels

Whip Riddim dates back to 1967 and is tied here to a wide spread of producers and labels, including E. J. Robinson, Bobby Digital, Lloyd Barnes, John John, Sonia Pottinger, Maurice Johnson, Mafia, and Fluxy across camps like Top Rank, Fashion, Digital-B, Wackie’s, Live and Love, Gay Feet, and Black Scorpio. The set moves from the early foundation of The Ethiopians’ The Whip and Bim and Bam’s Fatty into later versions from Cobra, Cornell Campbell, Courtney Melody, Cutty Ranks, Dirtsman, Frankie Paul, General Levy, General T. K. , and Horace Andy, mixing singers and deejays in a way that shows how long the riddim kept resurfacing. Sonia Pottinger’s Gay Feet connection is especially important to the original 1967 cut, while later revisions like Courtney Melody’s Live My Life Alone and Yellowman’s Rub-A-Dub help show how the rhythm crossed from roots-era reggae into dancehall.