Press play for a Jeff Beat$-produced riddim, with Mr. Babba hopping on the mic to drop a freestyle on “Hold Me Back,” an extension of the Bogotá-based recording and post-production studio Altiplano Studios. The result is a raw dancehall track with Jamaican patois lyricism, evidence of the Bogotá musical community, which is built up around establishments like Casa Babylon and the Jamming Festival and has brought the likes of Mr. Vegas, Lady Saw, Beenie Man, and more to the city.
There’s not much about Jeff Beat$ on the Internet, besides that he resides in the Colombian capital, and the fact that his bio reads “Este es mi fucking flow men.” Who can argue with that? Here’s hoping for more tracks to bubble up from the city’s vibrant dancehall underground, which acts like El Freaky have already brought to wider audiences.