When Boima was in Boston recently, back from a trip that brought him to Dubai and Dar es Salaam (aka Bongo) Nairobi, he mentioned that he noticed CDs on sale on the street, like the one pictured below, which compiled current hip-hop (and r&b) instrumentals, presumably for local rappers and singers to use for their own remixes and versions —

Boima expressly brought this to my attn because, as you can see above, the #1 instro is none other than what I’ve taken to calling the Miss Independent riddim. Unfortunately, Boima hasn’t turned up any vocal versions to add to the spate of recordings on the riddim one can find in Panama (or Jamaica). But I’m sharing this here in the hope that some readers might be able to point me to other examples, whether from the Bongo Flava scene or elsewhere.

Following this illicit riddim around has clearly become a fun little obsession for me. Thanks, Chief!