Meaning of riddim | Babel Free

Definitions

1. An instrumental version of a song in Jamaican or Caribbean music, usually with a drum pattern and a prominent bassline, meant to be reused as a backing track in other productions.
   countable, uncountable
2. A subgenre of dubstep known for its heavy use of repetitive and minimalist sub-bass and triplet percussion arrangements.
   countable, uncountable

Examples

“From very early on ‘riddims’ have been the core of reggae music, and been seen as reusable. But deejay and later dancehall has taken this tendency to what some people consider an obsessive extreme. The apotheosis, or nadir, of the recycled riddim came in 1985, the year of ‘Sleng Teng’, which gave birth to the hard, modern dancehall sound of the computerised, digitalised, drum machines.”

“Artists from 50 Cent to the Prodigy have worked Sleng Teng into their oeuvres. To date, more than 200 versions (vocal interpretations) of the riddim (the instrumental backing track) have been released.”

CEFR level