Dubstep began as an extremely experimental genre of music. It typically combines driving bass lines, vocal samples, and synth beats to create shadowy songs tinged with breakbeat elements: the resulting song is a nexus of deep sounds, and intense lyrics. The overall sound is powerful, commanding, and definitely something people will dance to.

The reason Dubstep songs are egregiously addictive is because of their risky break from the four beat style that most other electronic dance music follows so religiously. Most songs run in half-time with four-beat basslines slogging along behind giving the songs multiple dimensions, each with their own level of drive, and bass.

BBC Radio1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs, a leading Dubstep producer in 2010, has stated that the reason Dubstep is such an inviting genre of music is “due to its meditative qualities.” Meditative is a very misleading word- Dubstep is harsh and brutal-sounding, yet most songs in the genre maintain a rhythmic pattern that pushes forward with great momentum. In fact, Dubstep is best described as a boulder of industrial metals rolling down a hill, picking up speed, but always maintaining its drive forward unfaltering from its course.

While definitely not for everyone, Dubstep is an interesting and future-forward sound. For instance, Dubstep celebrators will describe a particularly pleasing song as “grimy,” “filthy,” or “dirty.” It’s a unique crowd for sure. But that’s not to say that Dubstep isn’t being welcomed or experimented with in the mainstream music industry.

Britney Spears came out of nowhere with an interest in adding a edgier feel to her pop-style by spinning her sound around the Dubstep genre. In her 2011 single, “Hold it Against Me” she attempts to slam a pretty fantastic “drop” to her otherwise, bubblegum-pop song. It is a step in a new direction.

Radiohead, an already experimental band, decided to jump on board with the noticeable and current Dubstep influence in their newest albums titled “The King of Limbs.”

Keep an ear out for the new sound that has seeped into the American music world. You will unquestionably be able to identify Dubstep when you hear it- distinct, powerful, and edgy. It parallels the world today- out of control, chaotic, yet hopeful. Listeners are feeling it, no doubt.