Hot Step Riddim – Review

August 21, 2020

Various Artists: Hot Step Riddim Review by Mr Topple for Pauzeradio.com.

If you were looking for something full of glistening ‘treasure’, look no further than Treasure Chest Production’s latest riddim. With a host of well-known names on board, it’s a hot move from this team – and one that’s executed impressively.

Hot Step Riddim, released via Treasure Chest Productions and Zojak Worldwide, is an ingenious mashing up of genres and styles, drawing on elements of Roots, Dancehall and Reggaeton. The production from the team at Treasure Chest is of a high quality – with keen attention to detail across the dB levels, kHz adjustments, overall quality of tone and rich, imposing timbre. But it’s the composition itself which is the first stand out of the release.

The basic riddim can be neatly broken down into its various, stylistic components. For Roots, look no further than the keys. Working off a bubble rhythm, their line is more traditional and embellished than on some arrangements, with the left hand playing the persistent, offbeat chords – while the right does melodic riffs towards the end of certain bars. Treasure Chest have cleverly engineered the keys’ line, so while it is audible it’s not over-imposing – giving the merest hint of Roots.

A bass is, at times, doing a Roots arrangement, too – working on a syncopated rhythm, heavy on the dotted notation and melodically running around the root chord triad; again, like the keys a traditional arrangement – harking back to before Rocksteady’s intricate melodic style gained prominence. But the bass line gives an indicator of the other genre at play – as at other points it works on a Dancehall clave (‘oneeeeee-twooo-and’ x2) which when combined with the percussion, brings this genre into play.

The kick dominates the Dancehall clave arrangement, with the snare joining in, too. But here’s where Treasure Chest’s arrangement gets smart. Because this driving Dancehall sound is reserved for the verses, helped by snaps and some well-placed synths. Hi-hats do rapid buzz rolls, nodding to modern AfroDancehall’s Trap influences. But then, the chorus reverts to a Roots-nodding, Reggaeton vibe. This is driven by two factors: the keys and the bass’s Roots sensibilities, and the switching up of the percussive arrangement. The kick reverts to hitting on the beats; the snare takes on that classic, South American, stuttering rhythmic arrangement (directly striking the two, and then rapid, staccato off-and-on beats for the rest of the bar) while the hi-hats become secondary. It’s pure Reggaeton, and done very well.

Throughout Hot Step Riddim, the horns also dominate. Their opening phrase is glorious – working off dotted, tongued semiquaver rhythms, again all very Reggaeton. This South American theme continues throughout – working off a mixture of straight, harmonised accompaniment to the main melodic line and responses to its calls. The attention to detail in the performances is excellent – with very well-placed use of crescendo and decrescendo across the track. On top of the horns, guitars skank and riff; some nice sample and synths bring in added dimensions and a glorious, stripped back and brooding bridge verges on the Dancehall-meets-Funky Soul, as all devices apart from the clave are stripped away to leave the keys’ running grandiose melodic chords and runs with guitars’ whining too.

Hot Step Riddim is a mesmerisingly ingenious creation from Treasure Chest – mashing-up Dancehall and Reggaeton to create a fresh, driving and furious cut. It’s perfect for the high-calibre artists the label has assembled, to project off.

Jah Mason, fresh from the stunning Time Is Now with Queen Omega, delivers a rousing interpretation on Big Like Giant. He’s a superb artist, here doing his signature (and effortless) mixing of rhythmically detailed and melodically on-point singjay with straight, Soul-tinged vocals. He barely stops for breath as he muses on Babylon’s proponents and how we must, without fear, ‘cut them down’. Brilliant works; as is Anthony B’s Give Thanks To Be Here. Smoother than Mason’s cut, he’s unrepentant in his performance, working across the higher end of his vocal register as he sings praises for life. The backing vocal line is particularly well-arranged to, complimenting Anthony B’s voice perfectly.

Turbulence is next up, with They Don’t Care – a powerful and somewhat moving interpretation, which sees him deliver not only a furious, frantic singjay but a brilliant straight vocal performance as well, flitting between his high tenor and falsetto with grace. And lyrically, it’s potent – as Turbulence discusses the horrors that the poorest people in the world suffer every day.

Then, Sa-Fiya Adams comes on board for Reggae Inna Mi System – an infectious ode to the music. She’s highly impressive, with a rich, soulful vocal that sits deep in her chest voice even when moving into her upper register. Adams also gives a pointed singjay: staccato, punchy and melodically accurate despite the intensive clipping of notes that she gives. Exquisite stuff.

Ti Piti Bebe is from Slone. Once more, it’s impressive: he has a gravely yet precise voice, sitting equally comfortably in the lower end of his register as his high one. And the chorus is cleverly arranged, being a veritable ‘earworm’. Hit potential? Big; as is Mr Man from Esskay. Like Adams, she possesses that unique and powerful ability to switch up soulful vocal with sharp singjay. But her timbre and style are vey different to Adams’; being more laid-back, unfussy and smooth. You can almost feel her ignoring the Mr Man has he walks past her. Nice.

Jovaine delivers some of the next track’s namesake, on Wisdom. He’s infinitely interesting – as his higher register singjay is juxtaposed with his melodically lower singing voice. He applies a wonderful use of horizontal embouchure across the singjay, making the humble yet blunt lyrics about perseverance in the face of adversity all the more effective. This is followed by Treasure Chest founder, Bobby Treasure’s track I Don’t Care. He’s an impressive talent, too – being far more a Soul singer than Roots. Relaxed, intuitive and with an expressive use of dynamics, Treasure’s interpretation is full of light and shade – and a joy to listen to, as a call for common humanity and unification.

The track You is from Tanya Asaki. Like her other women counterparts, she stands out because of her versatility across the cut. Like Treasure, she seems more grounded in Soul than Roots – delivering a soaring, rasping vocal performance that flits between her chest and head voices with ease. She has a compelling delivery and pleasing timbre, and gives a performance full of humble self-confidence and purpose. Hot Step Riddim concludes with Krass Brass delivering an instrumental Dub version of the main riddim. The horns take centre stage here – showcasing the musicians’ ability to the full. The lines are wonderful, full of expressive use of crescendo and decrescendo, sharp tonguing and vibrato; the sax line being of particular note, as is the trumpet on the bridge as it runs around its upper register in an almost Jazz-like manner. And the offsetting of these with some synth cousins is just perfect.

Hot Step Riddim is pure class. Expertly produced by Treasure Chest, the roster of artists is diverse and thoroughly enjoyable. The riddim is highly intelligent, with the mixing between Dancehall and Reggaeton brilliantly done. And the final Dub version showcases the talented horn section extremely well – and the whole thing is a very impressive release from the label. Up move.