Zimdancehall Riddim (vol1) – Ice N Roses Records

Ice N Roses lined up a hefty 15-cut Zimdancehall session here, with names like Freeman, Lady Squanda, Nox and Shinsoman anchoring the pack and giving the riddim real local weight. The sound sits right in that 2014 Zimbabwean dancehall pocket: choppy digital drums, a clipped bassline and enough space for each chanter to lean into singjay hooks and streetwise patter, with Freeman’s “Bata Ruoko Rwangu” and Lady Squanda’s “Ndoda Murume” among the cuts that immediately catch the ear. Nox was already closely associated with Ice N Roses around this period, and the project reads like a snapshot of that scene at full tilt, before the style fully spilled wider beyond Zimbabwe. The release runs from Celcius’ “Husahwira” through to Tyfah Guni and Nikki’s “Uri. ”