Riddim

Riddim

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:
*Dj Soxx
*Christopher Birch
*Stephen McGregor
*Black Chiney
*DJ Pro
*Don Corleon
*Fire Links
*Bobby Digital
* King Jammy
* King Tubby
* Henry "Junjo" Lawes
* Joe Gibbs
* Donovan Germain
* Dave Kelly
* Tony Kelly
* Daseca
* Arif Cooper
* Rohan "Jah Snowcone" Fuller
* Ward 21
* Baby G
* Daddy Jones
* Boyie Aka MoBuddz
* Mohan Dindial
* Daddy Ez
* Rondell Ruiz
* Renaissance Disco
* Andre Dixon
* Justin "Jus Bus" Nation (Antigua)

ee also

*Music of Jamaica

External links

* [http://search.dmoz.org/cgi-bin/search?search=riddim Riddim] at the Open Directory Project


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Riddim — Unter Riddim (von englisch rhythm ‚Rhythmus‘) wird in der Sprache der Reggae und Ragga Musiker ein Instrumentalstück verstanden, über das verschiedene Sänger ihre Songs singen. Musikalisch entspricht der Begriff in etwa dem Beat im Hip Hop und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Riddim — Un riddim est une séquence musicale formant la base d une chanson. Souvent joué par la basse ou le clavier, il a pour particularité d être ré utilisé de multiples fois. Ainsi la séquence musicale à la base des deux chansons Stir It Up de Bob… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Riddim Driven — is a series of various artists compilation albums released by VP Records. Each volume of the series features tracks from multiple artists recorded over one or two reggae or dancehall riddims produced by various producers. The series began in… …   Wikipedia

  • Riddim (Zeitschrift) — Riddim Beschreibung Musikzeitschrift Verlag Piranha Media GmbH Erstausgabe 2001 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Riddim Ribbon — Entwickler Tapulous Designer …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Riddim Warfare — Infobox Album Name = Riddim Warfare Type = studio Artist = DJ Spooky Released = start date|1998|9|21 Recorded = Genre = Illbient Length = 1:12:40 Label = Outpost (CD) Asphodel (Vinyl) Producer = DJ Spooky Reviews = Last album = Synthetic Fury EP… …   Wikipedia

  • Riddim Wise — Infobox Album | Name = Riddim Wise Type = Album Artist = Shapeshifter Released = 2004 Recorded = ??? Genre = Drum n Bass Length = 63min Label = Truetone Producer = Reviews = | Last album = Been Missing/Relocator (2003) This album = Riddim Wise… …   Wikipedia

  • Riddim — …   Википедия

  • riddim — noun An instrumental version of a song in Jamaican or Caribbean music, usually with a drum pattern and a prominent bassline …   Wiktionary

  • riddim — …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”