A riddim is an instrumental version of a song, which applies to Jamaican music (mostly dancehall and reggae) or other forms of Caribbean music. Riddims usually consist of a drum pattern and a prominent bassline. The Jamaican Patois term riddim is from the English word "rhythm".
Riddims are the instrumental backgrounds of reggae, lovers rock, dub, ragga, dancehall, and sometimes ragga-soca compositions. Also, rare cases in reggaeton, which itself is largely based on the Dem Bow riddim from the early 1990s, feature a riddim, such as Ivy Queen and Sasha's "Dat Sexy Body", which uses the Bookshelf riddim produced by Tony Kelly of the K-LICIOUS reggae label. In other musical contexts, a riddim would be called a groove or beat. In most cases the term "riddim" is used in reference to the entire background track or rhythm section, but in older roots riddims, "riddim" is used to reference a certain bassline and drum pattern. Often a melody is associated with the riddim, and occasionally an artist will produce two different songs with the same riddim (e.g. Elephant Man's "Ele Melody" and "Father Elephant" were both produced using the Kopa, produced by Supa Dups).
Types of Riddims
Riddims can generally be categorized into three types. The oldest type of riddim is the classical riddim providing roots reggae, dub and lovers rock with instrumentals, e.g., Bam Bam produced by Sly & Robbie. The second type is the ragga riddim backing raggamuffin and dancehall tunes, e.g., Juice produced by Richard "Shams" Browne. The third type is the digital riddim, e.g., Sleng Teng produced by King Jammy.
So-called digital riddims refer to riddims created around the time that Jamaican producers incorporated drum machines and synthesizers into reggae-music production. Nowadays, however, most dancehall and Soca riddims are created by electronic instruments, so, in essence, most are digital.
The Producers
Different producers often develop their own versions of the same riddim, and different artists often perform on top of the same riddims with different lyrics and different vocal styles, ranging from singing to toasting. As an example, Beenie Man's song "My Wish", Mr. Vegas' song "Go Up", and T.O.K.'s "Man A Bad Man" are all based on the Juice riddim. Many riddims are named after the song that was recorded on that instrumental track for the first time (or, in some cases, the song that becomes the most popular on a given riddim). For example, the "Satta-A-Masagana" riddim is named after The Abyssinians' original song "Satta-A-Masagana."
Several notable producers include:
See also
External links
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