Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Natalie Storm - Risa Rogers

It's woman time in the dancehall with Ward 21's newest all-female riddim called 'Dem Gal Sittin'.

In an effort to bring the women to the forefront of the music, Ward 21 recently released their latest and only 'female riddim' to the world.

Recently, there has been a series of male dancing tunes and many 'gangsta' tunes (from the likes of Mavado, Busy Signal, Munga, Bounty Killer and others), which leaves the ladies out of the mix.

According to Suku from Ward 21, the women need a time to shine as well. "You notice in the business in the past couple years you may have a few females on a riddim but they don't dominate. It's hard for them to compete with other men. Now you want to have them on a riddim by themselves, competing among themselves.

There are some good females out there but they're not getting any justice," he told the STAR.

Disorganised

Tifa - Contributed

The women have long had to struggle for the limelight, sometimes working twice as hard to get recognition in the business. Unlike their male counterparts who assist in 'bussing' each other through groups, such as the Alliance, Red Square and others, the women have had no such organisations or unity. With the help of producers Ward 21, a number of new acts will especially get featured.

The riddim features almost exclusively mainly fresh acts with a few long-time ones mixed in, such as Tifa, Timberlee, Natalie Storm, Stacious, Miss Ting, D'Angel, along with two veterans - Lady G and Lady Saw. While some may argue that the veterans such as Lady Saw, will get most of the airplay, according to Suku it's up to the women to show what they're worth.

"It's just females, it don't matter if yuh busy in the ting or not. Each female will showcase sumting new. Saw being on di riddim is just spice," he told The STAR.

This is the first time there has been a solely female riddim and so far Suku claims the reaction from the public and the music fraternity has been good.

Stacious brings sexiness to her dancehall game.

"Tell yuh di truth, they getting a lot of plays, especially since they have been on di riddim. A lot of people love di idea, a lot of people saying it sound good," he said.

One of those persons is selector Matthew Gray from Coppershot, who agrees with Suku that the concept is good for the women in the business. "I think it's great, cause the women don't get highlighted enough," he said.