DJ Algoriddim

Now we take a look at not really any specific artist but instead one of my favorite music channels on Youtube "djalgoriddim". This channel is truly any old school reggae lovers dream as it compiles many of the most popular and influential "riddims"that have made their way through the Jamaican music scene. A riddim is basically the music featured in a song or in other words the instrumental portion. Another way to think of it would be like a cover however different versions of a riddim can sometimes contain different lyrics or no lyrics at all etc. This has its origins in the early days of ska and rocksteady when the Jamaican labels would do their own takes on jazz classics from the US and to avoid paying the western labels they would rename the songs and thus the "riddim"was born. So unlike in the west where copying even a small part of another artists work be it vocal or instrumental is often looked down upon in Jamaica it is fairly common even in the music scene today An example of a riddim that had origins in the US would be that of The Russians Are Coming by Val Bennet which is known as the "Take Five riddim"since it is based on the classic Take Five by Dave Brubeck.
Really recommend checking this channel out even if you are not a lover of reggae as many of the classic riddims had their roots in other genres like jazz, soul, funk, and rock so you might find something you didn't even know existed.