Many artistes hear a catchy “riddim” and are quick to record songs to it, eager to get a hit single. Not Jah Niceness, who is particular about what he contributes his vocals to.

Recently, the Orlando-based singer was presented with a beat from Riddim N Nice Productions. He liked its old school flavour so much he wrote and recorded Vanilla Coffee for it.

Produced by Henry Bell, the song was released in late September.

“One of the first things about a riddim that grabs me is the vibe, the groove and the energy that the riddim is sending out. Also, the chords, the arrangement and structure of that riddim,” Jah Niceness told the Observer Online.

Even if the riddim turns out to be a hit, he has no regrets turning it down once he believed it did not meet his standards.

Vanilla Coffee is Jah Niceness’ third song for the year, following Power Play and Heart A Love. The last four years has seen him record a series of songs for different producers. Most of them are for Jason Bromfield of Open Doors Records, who is also based in Orlando.

One of their collaborations was Trap, a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s Trapped which was released in 2024. Bromfield also produced Nah Diss Nuh Man, Jah Niceness’ fourth album, which came out in 2022.

— Howard Campbell