It must be nice to be Thomas Wentz.  The Philadelphia-based DJ – better known as Diplo – made himself the forbearer of dubstep in 2010, and as a reward for his hard work a legendary British reggae imprint opened up their vaults to let the Edgewater, Fla. native play curator on Riddimentary: Diplo Selects Greensleeves. (Out Feb. 22)

While casual listeners may have only heard the fruits of the Greensleeves Records’ legacy via Beenie Man’s “Who Am I (Zim Zimma)” and Wayne Wonder’s “No Letting Go,” Wentz seems bent on making it easy for reggae fans to look deeper into the 34-year-old label’s storied history on this 15-song set.

Clearly exercising his authority as selector on the 15-track compilation, he presents cuts from the genre’s biggest names (Gregory Issacs, Eek-A-Mouse, Clint Eastwood & General Saint), but generally stays away from making Riddimentary a mere re-hashing of Greensleeves’ biggest hits.  While he does include Issacs’ 1982 breakthrough hit, “Night Nurse,” he makes up for it my tossing more obscure cuts like Alpha & Omega’s “Who Is The Ruler” from 1995’s Sound System Dub and Clint Eastwood & General Saint’s 30-year-old hit, “Sweet Sweet Matilda,” from Two Bad DJ into the mix.

Tracks like “Gunshot Mek Daughter Drop” by Lone Ranger, John Holt’s “Police In Helicopter,” and “Eventide Fire A Disaster” by Barrington Levy are acute additions that explore reggae’s political leanings, but it’s the willingness to truly acknowledge the genre’s elder statesmen (Triston Palmer’s “Joker Smoker” and Prince Far I’s “Survival appear on the compilation) that make Riddimentary a must-listen for anybody looking to look a little deeper in the roots of reggae music.

While devotees may already be familiar with a majority of the album’s offerings, it still presents an easy way to listen to some of the labels greatest songs and definitely gives Diplo fans a welcome alternative to the eardrum rattling dubstep he’s been offering for the last 12 months.

Riddimentary: Diplo Selects Greensleeves is available on February 22 via VP Records

This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2011.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...