All My Homies Hate Skrillex

All My Homies Hate Skrillex

2021, Performing Arts  -   6 Comments
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One of the most significant musical genres to emerge this century is Dubstep, an electronic music spinoff with South London origins that began in the early 2000s. As defined by Wikipedia, Dubstep was originally a "half step club genre with big bass played around 140 beats per minute." But of course, it is so much more than that.

Dubstep was born out of a conscious "rejection" to and moving away from Uk garage, an EDM/club genre that defined the optimistic and extravagant spirit of the mid to late 90s United Kingdom. Uk garage music took people out of the "gray" Britain characterized by 1980s austerity into a colorful, vibrant and aspirational lifestyle highlighted by extravagant fashion, luxury and wealth. It was escapism at its finest, where people were just “extra” - riding up to the club dressed to the nines, chugging the best champagne and living large.

In the early 2000s, the first Dubstep artists and pioneers emerged. The sound they produced made it clear that Dubstep was well and truly a splinter genre, rejecting the escapism and ostentatious UK garage sound. Dubstep was darker, intense, slightly morose and brooding. The music embraced the "gray" - accepting and reveling in the stark reality of isolation and alienation prevalent in post 9-11 Britain - instead of trying to escape from it.

Even promotional and marketing materials made it clear: Dubstep was different. The visuals that accompanied new releases - album covers, photoshoots and more - presented a new breed of musicians - they looked normal and ordinary.

Over the next decade, between 2000 and 2010, Dubstep thrived, driven by DJ/artists such as Mala, Skream, Coki and Burial. Their beats enlivened parties and raves with deeply resonant tracks that, though dark and moody, delivered transcendental and almost religious moments of optimism and hope that unexpectedly lifted the spirits of those listening. Many believed it was best listened to inside a cavernous rave blasting from giant speakers, but at its artistic height, Dubstep made an impact wherever you first heard it.

Between 2008 and 2010, however, a few Dubstep spinoff genres popped up, such as purple music, Dubstep tear out and bro-step, which had melodic intros and modulated bass lines. Bro-step became extremely popular worldwide thanks to a Dubstep DJ/producer from Los Angeles named Skrillex. Due to his popularity, Skrillex's music is now the "definitive" Dubstep – even if it was very different from Dubstep’s original incarnation. He took Dubstep in a new direction, making it more mainstream and attracting a newer audience.

"The change which took place in the Dubstep scene can't be whittled down to any particular song, mix cd or artist." New musical experimentation and innovation led to new sounds, attracting new audiences. So despite the title, Skrillex might not deserve all the hate. He simply helped the inevitable come about. The change in Dubstep was happening within, as part of the natural evolution and development of any art form.

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www.DesignByNV.ca
www.DesignByNV.ca
6 months ago

Never get tor hear actual clips of the styles and artists, just all talking

Shelley - South Africa
Shelley - South Africa
2 years ago

Loved this video. 'Twas great to see how things evolved since the late 90s Garage days. The commentary is so eloquently put, it's entertaining on its own too.

charlie
charlie
2 years ago

adding this to my watchlist, can remember my college days when we were all rocking downlink, rusko, 16bit, caspa...real dubstep. we definitely talked a lot of shit about skrillex when we saw his impact and the immense quantity of fast followers. but in retrospect i dont think until quite recently did i hear producers like rusko make anything that id ever consider "out of style" for rusko. looking forward to watching this, the title is so relatable jajaj

Steven Fletcher
Steven Fletcher
2 years ago

Very high quality documentary, imho. Historical, enlightening, emotional and informative. Wub you later!

EDUARDO MELO
EDUARDO MELO
2 years ago

Kudos for the Joker segment, this dude has superpowers

Larry Moore
Larry Moore
2 years ago

The first time I ever heard dubstep was in 2008. A streamer named YTkracker on ustream. He played maybe 4 tracks that day. Saxxon by chase and status. Mt eden - sierra leone and Misshin - wabbits. I don't recall the other. I miss the days of searching the countless youtube channels before the labels came into this world./ Jesusdied4dubstep, quantum, darkstep warrior, Mr mom dubstep, liquid dubstep, ukf etc. Then came the promotional platforms and radios. My all-time favorite was Filth.fm, lessthan3, thissongissick etc. All fell wayside with copyright bs and labels forming/legitimizing. Soundcloud used to be a thing. and now it's all about money.

My days were before shows came to my areas. Or I couldn't afford to travel where shows were being played. manly only festivals in the states. Or at least Midwest. Just before covid I found out that dubstep and other edm gigs were a thing locally. I once hated skrillex but now I see him as an integral part of the movement. The scene would not be what it is today without Sonny. Nice Documentary.