This variety of Jamaican-inspired electronic dance music has recently taken the music world by storm despite being around since the late 1990s. It started in London as a counterpart to the garage music scene there, and BBC DJ john Peel helped to spread its popularity around the UK via his radio show. The music has since become popular in the US via artists like Bassnectar, Excision, and dubstep’s superstar, Skrillex.

Dubstep’s distinctive sound led to it being linked with hipsters in the early days of its American arrival. In this way, the beginnings of dubstep parallel he beginnings of other musical genres like jazz and rock n’ roll. Dubstep is characterized by thumping, distorted bass, keyboard riffs and sometimes abrasive, shrieking melodies. Much more prominent than the other sound elements of dubstep is the “wobble bass”. It gives the music its signature sound is more commonly identified with the genre than any other sound. The music form also has the unique benefit of being democratic, which may account for some of its popularity. No instruments are needed to create dubstep music, therefore anyone may create their own songs. Skrillex created his EP Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites on a laptop.

Dubstep’s arrival in American pop music has not been sudden or fast. It has been an element in various pop songs by artists like Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg to Kanye West.

“Dub” as a music form refers to the practice in early Jamaican popular music, of assembling multiple songs on one track.