This blend started out with the Natalie Storm 45 “God Bless Me” on the Cheez Trix riddim—which, if you’ve been reading the FADER blog you know was produced by Nats herself. A move out of the deejay booth and behind the boards seems like a natural step for her since the whole Badda Badda Gals modus toppa-randi is about the daughters doing it for themselves. It also just happens to be one of the nicest dancehall beats I’ve heard in a while, capturing the polyrhythmic crack of '90s dancehall without actually being a thief-ed and recycled version of a '90s classic. Nat's version might be the best (I might be biased) but like any good riddim, the Cheez Trix invites a ton of strong versions, not surprisingly showcasing some of the top non-badda badda affiliated female DJs, ie Macka Diamond and newcomer Tiki.
Then I happened to notice that another new juggling had an unusually high estrogen quotient. That riddim is called Unstoppable and it comes from TJ Records. Linton “TJ” White is the same dude who’s almost singlehandedly kept the dancehall scene alive with Bembe Thursdays and also put out the Showtime throwback riddim called Unfinished Business. That run alone spawned the two biggest crossovers of the past year or two—Serani’s “No Games” and Mavado’s “So Special”—so if you are in any way living off this reggae business, you owe the man a round of applause. Until now he hadn’t produced a follow up that even came close to duplicating the impact of Unfinished Business but that situation may have changed with Unstoppable.
Cheez Trix Plus Blend:
Busy Signal, “Certain Money”
Busy Signal, “Cool Baby” (Poirier remix)
Natalie Storm, “God Bless Me” (Cheez Trix riddim, Natalie Storm)
Macka Diamond, “No Man Problem” (Cheez Trix)
Tiki, “Xcitement” (Cheez Trix)
Spice, “Inna Mi Closet” (Unstoppable riddim, TJ records)
Lady Saw, “Wife” (Unstoppable)
Cecile, “Tek Care of Yuh Man” (Unstoppable)
Beenie Man f. Iyaka, “Body Good”
Download: Cheez Trix Plus Blend
All that would have been enough for another Ladies First column. It would have been perfect if it wasn’t for for two meddling tunes from Deejay stalwart Busy Signal in the same tempo. The remix came to my inbox a few days ago straight from Ghis (Poirier—not to be confused with Giz “77Klash” Burrowes) but in the way of the web, RCRD LBL also posted it yesterday (so just control X the Sam Duke blurb from there and control V it here). As far as that goes Unstoppable is already hitting the yardie blogs as well so between RCRD LBL, FADER and trinimix you can cop all the main ingredients. Just add lime, sugar and crushed ice to mix your own Ghetto Palms at home.
