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, originally featured on Greensleeves Rhythm Album #45: Coolie Dance with dancehall artists including Ce'Cile, Elephant Man, Sean Paul, and Bounty Killer.
- Karol G's "BbY WOW" (with Judeline and Rusowsky) samples the riddim and currently tops Billboard Hot Latin, Apple Music's Global 100, and Spotify's Global Top 50, amassing 78M+ Spotify streams and 21M+ YouTube views.
- 2000s pop and Latin acts including Nina Sky and Jabba's "Move Ya Body," Pitbull and Lil Jon's "Culo," Lumidee and Fatman Scoop's "Dance!" (2006), and Angel y Khriz's "Na De Na" helped globalize the riddim within a year of its release.
- Turkish artists Sefo and Demet Akalın's "Yerinde Dur" (329M+ YouTube views) and Lvbel C5's "DOĞUŞTAN BERİ HAKLIYIM" (140M+ Spotify streams) have driven a heavy riddim revival since 2024.
- French DJs HUGEL and SOLTO's 2025 global house hit "Jamaican (Bam Bam)" layers the riddim over Sister Nancy's same-named classic.
- Arab pop has deployed the riddim four times in under a year: DYSTINCT's "YAMA" (212M+ YouTube views, 73M+ Spotify streams), Amr Diab's "Baba," Dana Salah's "Wedding Riddim," and Elyanna's "BOSA."
- Burrell told the outlet he always sensed the riddim's commercial viability but "witnessing its growth on an international scale is an experience I relish every time there's another global release," calling Karol G's track "a child of the 2000s."
Why it matters: A single 2003 Jamaican riddim now anchors hits from Turkey (329M YouTube views) to France's "Jamaican (Bam Bam)" to Arab pop, with Karol G's "BbY WOW" becoming her biggest simultaneous three-chart global smash. Burrell said he always sensed the beat's commercial viability — the international reach is what he relishes with each new global release.
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