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A riddim is a rhythm pattern consisting basically of a drum pattern and a prominent bassline. This Patois or Jamaican-English term originates from the English word "rhythm."

Riddims are the instrumental backgrounds of reggae, lovers rock, dub, raggamuffin and dancehall 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 is a variation of the Bookshelf Riddim first created by Beenie Man. 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 Riddim).

Contents 1 Types of Riddims 2 Producers 3 Contemporary Dancehall Riddim List 4 See Also 5 External links

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, all dancehall and raggamuffin riddims are created by electronic instruments, so, in essence, they are all digital.

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. Most riddims are named by the song that was sung 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 from The Abyssinians' original song "Satta-A-Masagana." Steely & Clevie are regarded as the most gifted dancehall-reggae producers of all time.

• 2007

"Pepper Spray", "Z-March", "Gangsta Sittn", "Dreaming", "Mad Thing", "Drumline", "Heathen", "3 Star ", "Battlefield (Scatta Version)", "Battlefield", "Bright Beam", "Bullet", "Gardener", "Canary Diamonds", "Raging Bull", "Guardian Angel", "Serengeti", "Untouchable", "Spanish Town", "Takeover", "Pimp Juice", "Mouth Badman", "Bellevue", "Elevator", "Bad Dog", "Drop Draws", "Gang War", "Tremor"

• 2006

"Bullet Proof Vest", "Poison Gas", "Show Off", "Loud Disturbance", "Mad Indian", "Ridin' Dirty", "Power Cut", "Stick It Up", "Hot Wuk", "Quick Draw", "Top Class Bullet", "Ghetto Whiskey", "Sidewalk University", "Inspector", "Dem time Deh", "Wipe Out" (based on the surf music classic "Wipe Out" by The Surfaris), "High Altitude", "Sweat", "Smash", "Gangsta Rock", "Hard Slam", "Gully Slime", "Stage Show", "Baddis Ting", "World Cup", "Bulletproof Vest", "Cashley", "Limbo", "Full Draw", "Breaking News", "Cross Breed", "Bill Back", "Redbull & Guinness", "After Dark", "Higher Octane", "Eighty Five", "Supernatural", "XXL", "Yardstep", "Womba", "War Time", "Warzone", "Wildfire", "Tyrant", "Tropical Storm", "Solution","Galore","Ready & Willing"

• 2005

"12 Gauge", "Seasons", "Junkanoo", "Sweet Sop", "Applause", "Cry Baby", "Bubble Up", "State Of Emergency", "Global", "Strivers", "Bionic Ras", "Lion Paw", "Istanbul", "Ganja Farmer", "Rose Apple", "Bounce", "Ice Breaka", "Yellow Tape", "World Jam" (it actually is an old riddim from the 80s but it was brought back by Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley with his hit song "Welcome to Jamrock") , "Throwback Giggy", "Jump Off", "Siren", "X-Factor", "Sleepy Dog", "Tsunami"

• 2004

"Mad Instruments", "Hot Gyal", "Hard Times", "Rah Rah", "Clear", "Chakka Chakka", "Kopa", "Father Jungle Rock", "Stepz", "Dancehall Rock", "Scoobay", "Military", "Check It Back", "Tunda Clap", "Strip Tease", "Drop Leaf", "Seasons", "Bad Gal", "Gallop", "Double Barrel", "French Vanilla", "Summer Bounce", "Sunshine"

• 2003

"Lime Key", "Ching Chong", "Hindu Storm", "Panty Raid", "Dreamweaver", "Masterpiece", "Clappas", "Krazy", "C-4", "Egyptian", "Good To Go", "Coolie Dance", "Salsa", "Scream", "Forensic", "All Out", "Sexy Lady Explosion"

• 2002

"Diwali", "Mad Ants", "Bad Kalic", "Mexican", "Bollywood", "Engine", "Hard Drive", "Rematch", "Tabla", "Thai Chi", "The Violin", "Time Bomb", "Wash Out", "White Liva", "Zero Tolerance", "Famine", "Battery", "Liquid"

• 2001

"Unstoppable", "Top-A-Top", "The Rock", "The Buzz", "Run", "Rice And Peas", "Mento", "Martial Arts", "Itch", "Hennessey", "Heavyweight", "Glue", "Fire Glare", "Fiesta", "Energy", "Dun Dem", "Candle Wax"

• 2000

"Lightning", "Yard Bounce", "Virus", "Quban", "Blazing", "Advice", "F-150", "Heat Wave", "G-Spot", "Joker", "Volume", "Orgasm", "Chiney Gal", "Full Moon", "Hurricane", "You Should Have Known", "Tixx", "Bad Weather", "Filthy"

• 1999

"All Purpose", "Bada Bada", "Street Sweeper", "Grass Cyaat", "Sail Away", "Unda Wata", "Bellyass", "Bug/Clone", "Bitter Blood", "Haunted"

• List of riddims (incomplete)
• Reggae
• Music of Jamaica
• Dancehall
• Raggamuffin
• Lovers rock
• Dub

• jamrid.com Jamrid, the Jamaican Riddim Directory.
• reggae-riddims.com A large riddim database.
• reggaeid.co.uk Riddim database including everything from the old reggae-riddims.com.
• riddimbase.net Yet another riddim database with more than 48,000 tunes.
• riddimbase.org Yet another riddim database with more than 1300 Riddim-Samples.
• soundbwoykillaz.ca Riddim Database
• versionist.com The Versionist Riddim Community.