Riddim is a subgenre of dubstep known for its heavy use of repetitive and minimalist sub-bass and tripletpercussion arrangements. It shares the same name as the Jamaican genre that influenced both it and dubstep, which originally derived from dub, reggae, and dancehall. Originating in the United Kingdom in the early 2010s as a resurgence of the style used by early dubstep works, riddim had started to gain mainstream presence in the electronic music scene around 2015. Despite receiving criticism for its sometimes repetitive drops, it has grown in popularity due to various well-known electronic music DJs playing songs of the subgenre in their live sets as well as various well-known electronic music artists producing the genre.
History
Origins and evolution
The term "riddim" is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm", with the genre sharing a name with the genre it is primarily derived from. 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. The first such use of the term traces back to electronic music forum ClublandLV in 2012, where moderators created a separate subforum with the name to distinguish the sound from dubstep. In the subforum's first post written by moderator FrostByte, riddim is described as "that really bouncy, wonky, sometimes repetitive side of dubstep that you can't help but skank out to". 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. Various other artists have been credited for having contributed to the rise of the subgenre, including Bukez Finezt, Coffi, and Kromestar.
Growth
In January 2018, German DJ and producer Virtual Riot released his riddim-focused extended playGerman Engineering, which peaked at the No. 11 spot on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Album Sales chart. In February 2019, American multi-platinum artist Marshmellocollaborated with riddim producer Svdden Death to release the song "Sell Out". Although the song was criticised for being an "easy cop-out to increase variety" within Marshmello's discography, the song charted on Billboard'sHot Dance/Electronic Songs at the No. 36 position. Svdden Death's later released extended play Voyd: 1.5debuted at the No. 8 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums.
Characteristics
Rhythmically the style utilises repetitive, minimalistic layers and triplet percussion arrangements. 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. Jayce Ullah-Blocks of EDM Identity characterised modern riddim with the presence of low-frequency oscillationsawtooth waves, wide delays, and a large use of flanger and chorus filters.
