Reggae

Winta James – Sidewalk Riddim

It’s become pretty clear to me that David Rodigan’s trip to Jamaica earlier this year was nothing short of prolific.  He basically worked with the “who’s who” of the Reggae Revival, and his crew recorded some simply masterful live performances (see previous TickuTalk posts about Jah9 and Protoje).  As if that wasn’t enough, Rodigan presented the brand new “Sidewalk” riddim produced by Winta James.  Perhaps “presented” is too conservative a word.  He bestowed upon us a magnificent (and currently unnamed) collaboration with Jesse Royal, Kabaka Pyramid, Dre Island, Iba MaHr, and Latty J, plus a surprise appearance by 23 year dancehall veteran General Degree.  I’m really digging the new riddim and I hope this is just a taste of what we can expect to hear on this riddim over the next few months.  The best description of this song is actually from one of the YouTube comments on the video:  “Blowing stacks on them Sennheiser HD650’s!”.  Yeah man.  That’s exactly what they are doing.  Couldn’t have said it any better myself.

Seeing General Degree in this video was a real blast from the past for me.  I still remember the first time I heard a song by Degree was when I bought my “Reggae Gold 1996” compilation CD.  The track was called “When I Hold You Tonight” and it was pretty big at the time.  While I don’t listen to very much dancehall anymore, it was nice to see him in action again.

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