Kings Riddim – Review

Upsetta Records x Loud City: Kings Riddim Review by Mr Topple for Pauzeradio.com.

What happens when you combine Busy Signal, Capital D and Agent Sasco – then add in a quality, infectious riddim to boot? Upsetta Records and Loud City’s latest release is what.

Kings Riddim, released via Upsetta Records and Loud City, sees the former’s co-founder JJ “Dante” Vezina join forces with the latter, in Upsetta’s first release in nearly a year. But the wait has been worth it, as the end result is a sumptuous and instantly memorable cut.

The basic riddim itself is filled with detail. Central to it are several rudimentary elements – which are fascinating as they draw on various genres. Key to the Kings Riddim is its bassline. It’s been very cleverly arranged – opening across a riff which works around diatonic notes from the fifth above the tonic, down. Its sound is rich, rounded and resonant – but here’s where Vezina and City’s trick lies. Because this timbre and arrangement lulls you into a false sense of Roots/Dub security. When the riddim gets going proper, the bass morphs into something almost Trap. The sound becomes gritty, extremely low in pitch and slightly distorted. It still works around a similar melodic riff, though – but then Vezina and City mix it up again, as the first chorus and first half of the second verse revert back to that Roots arrangement. This is then mixed up again and again, creating a wholly ambiguous sound. It’s delicious and ingenious in equal measure – and also sets the tone for the drums well.

Again, Vezina and City have mashed-up several elements. While the snare follows a Roots one drop pattern (hitting the two and four), the kick avoids this, hitting the downbeats. Hi-hats, meanwhile, almost verge on the Trap – generally running across semiquaver led rhythms, with the occasional (albeit slightly elongated) demisemiquaver buzz roll thrown in, too. The snare occasionally joins in with the rolls – and despite some tin drums riffing on occasion, the overall drum vibe sits more at home in Trap than it does Roots.

But the latter genre hasn’t been lost completely. There’s a brilliantly regal horn section: high-passed and working across unfussy harmonies, it revolves around a countermelody based on both dotted and straight notation. It weaves in and out behind the vocalists’ main lines, giving responses in keeping with Roots. Additional engineering has been applied at points, as well – with decay that peaks and troughs very rapidly, drawing on Dub sensibilities, with a touch of reverb too. The horns serve as a doubling-down on the Roots undertones – as the keys are also central to nodding to the sound. They work across a stripped-back bubble rhythm, minus the added syncopation that’s sometimes seen in the genre across the treble clef. Elongated, rhythmic reverb has been added at the end of some bars, bouncing between the left and right inputs – which creates a veritable draw of breath before proceedings continue.

Overall, Kings Riddim is complex and lush – providing a detailed platform for the three artists to bounce off.

First up, and Signal and Capital D get to work across Fiery. You could say it’s almost a clash between them across the verses. Capital D opens the track, working across heavily dotted and triplet notation which is mixed up with some more extended phrasing at the ends of bars. He uses the lower end of his register, working up at points. Signal relies heavily on semiquaver triplets (as opposed to Capital D’s mixing of them with dotted notation) – an impressive feat in itself to keep that level of rhythmic intricacy going. At times, he barely pauses for breath – and yet his enunciation is crystal clear, even managing a tongue roll across the “R” of “Rico”. Both artists are on fire, here – delivering impassioned and compelling performances which fit the brooding nature of the track perfectly. There’s barely anything between their deliveries – so if it was a clash then it would certainly be a draw.

Another legend then comes on board for Jah Jah Children – Sasco. His approach and the arrangement are different to that of Fiery’s. Here, the emphasis is first on Sasco’s inspired performance but second, also the backing vocals. He utilises multiple variations of rhythmic phrasing across the verses, in his usual gruff and emotive manner. Focusing on semiquavers as the base notation, he mixes it up across stanzas, adding in dotted and triplet formations – and there’s a clever use of a bridge, where the rapid syncopation is stripped away to quaver and crotchet calls. Meanwhile, the backing vocals are harmonically layered and rich, offering responses to Sasco. It’s an involved and fluid track where synergy between the music, main performance and backing vocals is perfect.

Kings Riddim is a superb accomplishment from Upsetta and City. Extremely musically intricate, it shows the depth of understanding of various genres the producers’ have – combining them to create a deep and unsettling vibe. Signal, Capital D and Sasco are all on fire – and the end result is an experience which bodes well for Upsetta’s new release: a dive into a Dancehall riddim. Brilliant.

Kings Riddim Review by Mr Topple (30th October 2020).