Riddim
History[edit]
Origins and evolution[edit]
The term "riddim" is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". The derived genre originally stemmed from dub, reggae, and dancehall. Although the term was widely used by MCs since the early days of dancehall and garage music, it was later adopted by American dubstep producers and fans to describe what was originally referred to as "wonky dubstep". As a subgenre, riddim started to gain mainstream presence in the electronic music scene around 2015.[1]
As all riddim works of music are dubstep, their histories and notable artists can be considered closely intertwined. Riddim can be traced back to several dubstep artists, including Jakes and Rusko. Although not considered a riddim artist, Rusko originally produced dubstep that featured riddim-esque bassline patterns. Jakes is credited by many as being the first riddim artist, and served as direct inspiration for the following wave of producers. From that wave, artists like Subfiltronik are credited for establishing what riddim is known as today.[3][4]
Various other artists have been credited for having contributed to the rise of the subgenre, including Bukez Finezt, Coffi, Drippy, The Monsters, Coki from Digital Mystikz, and Kromestar.[5]
Growth[edit]
In January 2018, German DJ and producer Virtual Riot released his riddim-focused extended play German Engineering, which peaked at the No. 11 spot on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Album Sales chart.[6][7] In February 2019, American multi-platinum artist Marshmello collaborated with riddim producer Svdden Death to release the song "Sell Out".[8] Although the song was criticised for being an "easy cop-out to increase variety" within Marshmello's discography,[9] the song charted on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs at the No. 36 position.[10] Svdden Death's later released extended play Voyd: 1.5 debuted at the No. 8 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums.[11]
Characteristics[edit]
Riddim utilises repetitive, minimalistic layers and triplet percussion arrangements in a rhythmic style. Like dubstep, riddim is often produced at a tempo of 140 to 150 beats per minute and was noted as having comparatively more "space", atmosphere, and "super dark textures" by riddim producer Infekt.[5] Jayce Ullah-Blocks of EDM Identity characterised modern riddim with the presence of low-frequency oscillation (LFO) sawtooth waves, wide delays, and a large use of flanger and chorus filters.[1]