Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In reggae, dancehall, calypso, soca, grime, and reggaeton parlance it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song. These genres consist of the riddim plus the "voicing" sung by the deejay. The resulting song structure is distinctive in many ways. A given riddim, if popular, may be used in dozens—or even hundreds—of songs, not only in recordings but also in live performances.
Greensleeves Records & Publishing is a record label specialising in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, in November 1975. The record label was founded in 1977, with early releases including albums by Augustus Pablo and Barrington Levy.
Wayne Smith was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician best known for his 1985 hit "Under Mi Sleng Teng", which is regarded as the track which initiated the digital era of reggae.
Riddim Driven: Chiney Gal & Blazing is the first album of the Riddim Driven series. It was released by VP Records in January 2001 on CD and LP. The first seven tracks are by various artists recorded over Cecile Charlton's "Chiney Gal" riddim, while the last ten are over Norman “Bul Pus” Bryan's "Blazing" riddim. Previously, VP Records released riddim albums that were impossible to distinguish from standard compilation albums, so buyers were often confused.
Riddim Driven: Thunder & Bedroom is the third album in VP Records' Riddim Driven series. It was released in March 2001 on CD and LP. The first thirteen tracks are by various artists recorded over Jeremy Harding's "Thunder" riddim, while the last seven are over Preston Onfroy's "Bedroom" riddim.
Riddim Driven: Trilogy is the fourth album in VP Records' Riddim Driven series. It was released in March 2001 on CD and LP. It was the first album in the series to feature exclusively one riddim. The last 5 tracks only appear on the CD edition.
Riddim Driven: Rice and Peas is the tenth installment in VP Records' Riddim Driven series. It was released in July 2001 on CD and LP. The album features the "Rice and Peas" riddim, produced by Rohan "Snow Cone" Fuller. For this particular riddim, VP released a double length LP featuring twenty tracks instead of the standard ten. More tracks on the same riddim are on Greensleeves Records' Riddim Album #18, Bun Bun.
Riddim Driven: Bondage is the 23rd installment in VP Records' Riddim Driven series. It was released in February 2002 on CD and LP. The album features various artists recorded over the "Bondage" riddim, which is a re-working of the Heptones' classic "I Shall Be Released" riddim, and is produced by Byron Murray and Clifford Smith. The album is dedicated to deejay Alozade, who was imprisoned due to the enforcement of a non-profanity ruling stemming from a concert earlier that year in Kingston, Jamaica. The final five tracks only appear on the vinyl edition.
Riddim Driven: Tabla is the 27th installment of VP Records' Riddim Driven series. It was released in June 2002 on CD and LP. The album features various artists recorded over the "Tabla" riddim, produced by Sly & Robbie.
Greensleeves Rhythm Album #30: Bollywood is an album in Greensleeves Records' rhythm album series. It was released in October 2002 on CD and LP. The album features various artists recorded over the "Bollywood" riddim. The riddim was produced by Byron Murray and Clifford Smith for the In The Streetz label. The riddim is an interpolation of the DJ Quik-produced record Addictive by singer Truth Hurts and samples the song "Thoda Resham Lagta Hai" by Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Greensleeves Rhythm Album #2: Virus is an album in Greensleeves Records' rhythm album series. It was released in March 2000 on CD and LP. The album features various artists recorded over the "Virus" riddim, produced by the Madd Dawgz production team of Mikey Williams, Tony Thomas, and Delon Reid. The riddim contains elements of the international hit Baby One More Time by Britney Spears. Virus riddim is a riddim.
Riddim Driven: Party Time is the 31st installment of VP Records' Riddim Driven series. It was released in August 2002 on CD and LP. The album features various artists recorded over the "Party Time" riddim produced by Craig "Left Side" Parks and Stephen "Lenky" Marsden.
Greensleeves Rhythm Album #1: Bellyas is the first album in Greensleeves Records' rhythm album series. It was released in February 2000 on CD and LP. The album features various artists recorded over the "Bellyas" riddim, produced by reggae-dancehall artists and producers Ward 21.
Greensleeves Rhythm Album #5: Punanny is an album in Greensleeves Records' rhythm album series. It was released in November 2000 on CD and LP. The album features the famous King Jammy's "Punanny" riddim from the 1986 Admiral Bailey hit "Punanny". The first tracks on the album feature currents artists over a re-lick version of the riddim by Ward 21, while the last 10 tracks feature artists over the original riddim.
Greensleeves Rhythm Album #3: Doorslam is an album in Greensleeves Records' rhythm album series. It was released in June 2000 on CD and LP. The album features various artists recorded over the "Doorslam" riddim, produced by Harvel Hart for Annex Productions.
Greensleeves Rhythm Album #40: Egyptian is an album in Greensleeves Records' rhythm album series. It was released in May 2003 on CD and LP. The album features various artists recorded over the "Egyptian" riddim produced by Daniel "Blaxx" Lewis and Donovan "Vendetta" Bennett.
Greensleeves Rhythm Album #34: Masterpiece is an album in Greensleeves Records' rhythm album series. It was released in December 2002 on CD and LP. The album features various artists recorded over the "Masterpiece" riddim. The riddim was produced by Steven "Lenky" Marsden for 40/40 Productions. The riddim was Marsden's first since the hugely successful Diwali riddim earlier in 2002. It featured the hit "Ever Blazin'" by Sean Paul.
Greensleeves Rhythm Album #32: Threat is an album in Greensleeves Records' rhythm album series. It was released in November 2002 on CD and LP. The album features various artists recorded over the "Threat" riddim. The riddim was built by Steely & Clevie and produced by Troy McLean and Garfield Hamilton for First Name Productions.
Greensleeves Rhythm Album #89: Silent River is an album in Greensleeves Records' rhythm album series. It was released February 16, 2009 on CD. The album features various artists recorded over the "Silent River" riddim, produced by Shane Brown.
Charmaine Munroe, known professionally as Macka Diamond, is a Jamaican recording artist, singer and songwriter. She was born in Kingston and raised in Portmore. Early in her career during the 1980s, she was known by the stage names Lady Charm, Lady Worries and Lady Mackerel. She was influenced by female artists such as Sister Nancy, Lady Ann, Lady Junie and Lady G, who were big at that time. With Junie's help, she got the chance to record "Don Girl". After a string of singles, including collaborations with Captain Barkey and Wickerman, she changed her name to Macka Diamond with her 2003 single "Tek Con", a protest record to Vybz Kartel's chauvinistic track "Tek Buddy". On 7 February 2012, she released the album Don't Disturb Mi, under Money Ooh Productions/VPAL.
