The Jamaican Riddim That’s Shown Up Across 2000s Hits, Arab Pop, and Now, ‘BbY WOW’ — SkimNews
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- Cordel "Skatta" Burrell created the "Coolie Dance Riddim" in 2003, debuting it on Greensleeves Rhythm Album #45: Coolie Dance and Coolie Skank with contributions from Ce'Cile, Elephant Man, Sean Paul, and Bounty Killer.
- Karol G sampled the riddim on "BbY WOW" (with Judeline and Rusowsky), and the track currently tops the Billboard Hot Latin chart, Apple Music Global 100, and Spotify Global Top 50 with over 78 million Spotify streams.
- Turkish artists drove a revival since 2024, with Sefo and Demet Akalın's "Yerinde Dur" surpassing 329 million YouTube views and Lvbel C5's "DOĞUŞTAN BERİ HAKLIYIM" clearing 140 million Spotify streams, both built on the riddim.
- Arab pop has embraced the riddim four times in under a year through DYSTINCT's "YAMA" (over 212 million YouTube views), Amr Diab's "Baba," Dana Salah's "Wedding Riddim," and Elyanna's "BOSA," with DYSTINCT telling the outlet he first heard the beat on Nina Sky's "Move Ya Body" growing up in Belgium.
- French DJs HUGEL and SOLTO sampled the riddim alongside Sister Nancy's "Bam Bam" on their 2025 global house track "Jamaican (Bam Bam)," extending the riddim's reach into electronic music.
- Latin music historian Katelina "La Gata" Eccleston attributes the resurgence to millennial nostalgia, noting that riddim culture rewards artists who showcase individuality over a shared beat.
- Burrell said he always sensed the riddim's commercial viability but relishes its international growth, calling Karol G's "BbY WOW" a "child of the 2000s."
Why it matters: A single 22-year-old Jamaican instrumental has now generated hundreds of millions of streams across five continents, with Burrell still crediting artists on Instagram each time they sample it — meaning dancehall's production infrastructure continues to quietly underwrite chart-topping global pop, a pipeline that rarely routes royalties or recognition back to its Jamaican originators.
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