Quiet Color

by ND McCray

Recently I listened to the latest single from Snoop called “Snoop Dogg Millionaire”, created with drum n bass producers Chase and Status from their hit “Eastern Jam”.  No doubt, it’s a dubstep banger with its dark and grimy beat, and more than a million plays on MySpace – but really does Snoop and dubstep go together?

Artist: Snoop Dogg Song: Snoop Dogg Millionaire

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To clarify, what exactly is dubstep?  Honestly, it’s hard to describe. It’s a feeling, an emotion really. For me, dubstep has heavy bass lines, it’s dark, it’s nasty and grimy with these distorted, slightly off-beat sounds. It’s electro, it’s jungle, it’s techno. The only way to know it, is to hear it. Listen to it, over and over, and over again. And if you still don’t understand it, listen to it again. It’s a sound you either love or hate: in the words of its most famous producer, Skream “it’s music to make you stagger”.

Though it’s still slightly underground, dubstep started in London in early 2000 but it is definitely making its rounds. It’s electronic music but dubstep is rooted in reggae music. The grime mixture is a more urban sound, developed out of dancehall and hip-hop.

Artist: Skream Song: Midnight Request Line

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One of the most popular DJs of the genre has been South London’s-own Skream – a 20-something producer who was instrumental in bringing it to its current popularity. “Midnight Request Line” one of his most commercial singles; and the most well-known dubstep tracks was released in 2005, garnering worldwide media exposure through PitchFork and The Guardian. And so the momentum started, gaining more coverage from Radio 1 DJ and music journalist Mary Anne Hobbes, who started a show called “Dubstep Warz”, dubstep events sprouted up all around the country. From here in New York City, as well as in my hometown, Houston, on over to San Francisco and Seattle, weekly events are on the rise. So I repeat, does Snoop and dubstep go together? Dubstep is a hot sound, an out-of-the-box sound, a love-it-or-hate-it sound … and Snoop? He’s a hot ticket, an out-of-the-box, love-it-or-hate-it kinda guy. So maybe it is a good marriage.
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