What ever happened to the dubstep craze? When everyone you knew loved this new genre of music and their favorite DJs like Deadmau5 and Skrillex? Well in all actuality, Dubstep originated back in the early 1990s and has always been considered an electronic dance genre that began back in South London, England. It is a mixture of 2-step garage singles infused with dark and experimental remixes. These remixes have less vocals and instead more breakbeat, drum, and bass properties. In 2001, this music began gaining exposure and popularity at a well known London night club called Plastic People, mainly at their “Forward” night event, which started all the fame for the genre. In 2003-2004, BBC Radio 1 and DJ John Peel began playing dubstep on air and soon the genre began reaching fame outside of the small UK club scene. In 2005-2006 websites and online forums started supporting the music, which led to magazine coverage like The Wire and online articles such as Pitchfork Media; which dedicated a monthly feature to the genre called The Month In: Grime/Dubstep. BBC Radio 1’s Mary Anne Hobbs also advanced the growth of dubstep by devoting her radio show to the genre called Dubstep Warz.
But I’m sure many can agree that in 2010 here in the United States, there was a Dubstep movement reborn and yet it seems it has mysteriously disappeared again today in 2013. But has it really disappeared? Well no not completely. In 2011 when dubstep continued to grow increasingly popular in England it also started influencing artists here in America such as Skrillex, aka Sonny Moore (former singer and guitarist of the band From First To Last). In fact Skrillex has been labled as the poster child of a subgenre of dubstep known as brostep. Brostep is dubstep beats infused with heavy metal instruments; other subgenres influenced by dubstep include electro house and post-dubstep, all of which attributed to dubstep popularity in America. Although it seems the genre has dwindled from the media these days and comes off as a fad that comes and goes, dubstep music is still being made today by DJs like Deadmaus5, Tiesto, and of course Skrillex, two of which have released albums this year. It has also led to the rise and popularity of one its newer subgenres called Trap music. Trap music combines hip hop and dubstep into its own genre. Popular Trap artists include producer Chief Keef, Future, and Waka Flocka Flame.