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RiddimWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Riddim
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

RiddimistheJamaicanPatoispronunciationoftheEnglishword"rhythm,"butincalypso,dancehalland
reggaetonparlanceitreferstotheinstrumentalaccompanimenttoasong.Thesegenresconsistofthe
riddimplusthe"voicing"(vocalpart)sungbythedeejay.Theresultingsongstructureisdistinctiveinmany
ways.Agivenriddim,ifpopular,maybeusedindozensorevenhundredsofsongs,notonlyin
recordings,butalsoinliveperformances.

Contents
1Definition
2Usage
3Types
4Producers
5Compilationalbums
6Seealso
7References
8Externallinks

Definition
Someclassicriddims,suchas"NannyGoat"and"RealRock",areessentiallytheaccompanimenttracksof
theoriginal1960sreggaesongswiththosenames.Sincethe1980s,however,riddimsstartedtobe
originallycomposedbyproducers/beatmakers,whogivetheriddimsoriginalnamesand,typically,contract
artiststovoiceoverthem.Thus,forexample,"Diwali"isthenamenotofasong,butofariddimcreatedby
LenkyMarsden,subsequentlyusedasthebasisforseveralsongs,suchasSeanPaul's"GetBusy"and
BountyKiller's"Sufferer."[1]
"RiddimsaretheprimarymusicalbuildingblocksofJamaicanpopularsongs....Atanygiventime,tento
fifteenriddimsarewidelyusedindancehallrecordings,butonlytwoorthreeofthesearethenowting(i.e.,
thelatestriddimsthateveryonemustrecordoveriftheywanttogetthemplayedinthedanceoron
radio)....Indancehallperforming,thosewhosetimingisrightontopoftherhythmaresaidtoberidingdi
riddim.[2]

Usage
Riddimsaretheinstrumentalbackgroundsofreggae,loversrock,dub,ragga,dancehall,soca,bouyon,and
alsogrimecompositions.Also,rarecasesinreggaeton,whichitselfislargelybasedontheDemBowand
PocoriddimsbySteely&Cleviefromtheearly1990s,featureariddim,suchasIvyQueenandSasha's
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"DatSexyBody,"whichusestheBookshelfriddimproducedbyTonyKellyoftheKLiciousreggaelabel.
Inothermusicalcontexts,ariddimwouldbecalledagrooveorbeat.[3]Inmostcasesthetermriddimis
usedinreferencetotheentirebackgroundtrackorrhythmsection,butinolderrootsriddims,riddimisused
toreferenceacertainbasslineanddrumpattern.Oftenamelodyisassociatedwiththeriddim,and
occasionallyanartistwillproducetwodifferentsongswiththesameriddim(e.g.ElephantMan's"Ele
Melody"and"FatherElephant"werebothproducedusingtheKopariddim,producedbySupaDups).
Someurbancontemporarysongsmaybecomeriddimsaswell.TheinstrumentalofNeYo's"Miss
Independent"becameapopularriddimmanydancehallartistshaverecordedsongsusingthetrack.Other
songshaveinspiredriddimsaswell,suchasGeorgeMichaelssongFaith,whichbecameariddimofthe
samename,theCure'ssong"ClosetoMe,"whichbecametheCureriddim,andR.KellysSnake,which
becametheBaghdadriddim.JoJo's"BabyIt'sYou"inspiredahiphopfusionriddiminthemid2000s.

Types
Africaninorigin(seeclave(rhythm)andbellpattern),[4]riddimscangenerallybecategorizedintothree
types.Oneoftheoldesttypesofriddimistheclassicalriddimprovidingrootsreggae,dub,andloversrock
withinstrumentals,suchasBamBam,producedbySly&Robbie.Thesecondtypeistheraggariddim
backingraggamuffinanddancehallsongs,suchastheJuiceriddim,producedbyRichard"Shams"Browne.
Thethirdtypeisthedigitalriddim,suchasSlengTeng,producedbyKingJammy.[3]
SocalleddigitalriddimsrefertoriddimscreatedaroundthetimethatJamaicanproducersincorporated
drummachinesandsynthesizersintoreggaemusicproduction(eg.BigStageRiddimProducedby
PenthouseRecords)Nowadays,however,mostdancehallandsocariddimsarecreatedbyelectronic
instruments,so,inessence,almostallaredigital.

Producers
Differentproducersoftendeveloptheirownversionsofthesameriddim,suchasthePunannyriddim,
whichhasdistinctversionscraftedbySteely&ClevieandbyWard21,anddifferentartistsoftenperform
ontopofthesameriddimswithdifferentlyricsanddifferentvocalstyles,rangingfromsingingtotoasting.
Asanexample,BeenieMan'ssong"MyWish,"Mr.Vegas'song"GoUp,"andT.O.K.'s"ManaBadMan"
areallbasedontheJuiceriddim.Manyriddimsarenamedafterthesongthatwasrecordedonthat
instrumentaltrackforthefirsttime(or,insomecases,thesongthatbecomesthemostpopularonagiven
riddim).Forexample,theSattaMassaganariddimisnamedafterTheAbyssinians'originalsong"Satta
Massagana."
Severalnotableproducersinclude
MikeyDread
BlackChiney
Bobby"Digital"Dixon
KingJammy
DaveKelly
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KingTubby
Steven"Lenky"Marsden
Henry"Junjo"Lawes
JoeGibbs
DonovanGermain
Steely&Clevie
Bost&Bim
NoGimmicks(http://www.nogimmicksmusic.com)

Compilationalbums
Since2000,GreensleevesRecordshasreleasedaseriesofcompilationalbums,basedonnewand
occasionallyclassicriddims,knownasGreensleevesRhythmAlbumseries.In2001,VPRecordsfollowed
suit,releasingtheRiddimDrivenseries.AlsofollowingsuitwastheJetStarlabel,withitsRiddimRider
series.

Seealso
MusicofJamaica
Virusriddim

References
1. ^Goodman,Steve(2009).SonicWarfare:Sound,Affect,andtheEcologyofFear,p.161.ISBN0262013479
andManuel,Peter,andWayneMarshall(2006)."TheRiddimMethod:Aesthetics,Practice,andOwnershipin
JamaicanDancehall,"inPopularMusic25(3),pp.44770.
2. ^Stolzoff,NormanC.(2000).WaketheTownandTellthePeople:DancehallCultureinJamaica,p.126.ISBN
0822325144.
3. ^ab"Reggae&DancehallRiddimonlinedirectory".http://www.riddimify.com.
4. ^Martin,BillyandThress,Dan(2006).Riddim:ClavesofAfricanOrigin,p.4.ISBN0967309840.

Externallinks
Reggae(https://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Music/Styles/R/Regional_and_Ethnic/Reggae/)atDMOZ
RiddimbaseDancehall&ReggaeRiddimDatabase&SearchEngine
(http://www.dancehallmusic.de/riddimbase.php)
Riddimguide(http://www.riddimguide.com)
JamaicanRiddimDirectory(http://www.jamrid.com/Riddims.php)
ReggaeandDancehallRiddimdirectory(http://www.riddimify.com)
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