Top 5 Dubstep artists you pretty much need in your life.

March 2010
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Feb	«-»
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Are you getting into the whole dubstep scene and find yourself a little lost when it comes to finding quality tuneage? Well this blog should give you 5 starting points from which you can go exploring into several totally radical unnecessarily bass-heavy heavens!

Here are boyinaband.com’s top 5 dubstep artists to check out if you are new to the scene…

5) Skream

Dark. Very dark. Skream has mastered the art of making music that is the audible equivalent of an innocent child walking through a tunnel full of hellish monsters that look on curiously. Listen to this track if you don’t believe me, which also has a surreal as hell video:

Skream – “Superfly”

Grab Skream’s album here:

Skream!

4) Benga

Benga’s tunes make me think of things people who just had massive speakers installed in their pimped out cars would cruise to. A kind of hip hop vibe lies just behind the dirty dub. Also prone to stupidly heavy synths (Check out the track “The Cut” O_O). But for this video I picked a nice low-rider-friendly tune…

Benga – “Evolution”

Grab Benga’s album here:

Diary of An Afro Warrior

3) The Widdler

Minimalistic, Dark Dub from straight outta New Jersey. Looks like he uses Reason for his production too – so instant cool points there. So offbeat it hurts – it’s almost almost trip hoppy. Check out this tune which samples “The Shining”

The Widdler – “Red Rum”

2) Rusko

Rusko is FUN. He has a tendancy to give his tracks a brilliant bounciness that you don’t get from the darker dub. Don’t get me wrong though, his tunes are still gritty and disgusting – just in a way that makes you want to nod your head with a smile like you just ate a lemon, but also got given a hundred quid for doing so.

Rusko – “Woo Boost”

Grab Fabriclive.37 Caspa and Rusko’s Mix Album here:

Fabriclive.37

1) Chase and Status

The closest thing you’ll find to mainstream dubstep; this is dubstep from a DnB producer’s perspective. Think Pendulum-quality production on some seriously dirty tunes. They’ve taken the first step to getting the genre some serious attention by collaborating with Snoop Dogg on the track “Snoop Dogg Millionaire” (He’s nothing if not subtle, that Cordozar (That’s Snoop’s real name, btw.)) It’s a pretty cool track, not sure if I prefer the original track “Eastern Jam”, though. Check ‘em both out:

Chase and Status & Snoop Dogg: Snoop Dogg Millionaire

Chase and Status: Eastern Jam

Grab Chase and Status’ Album here:

More Than Alot

So there you have it – boyinaband’s top 5 Dubstep artists.

Do you want to learn how to make your own tunes? Watch my 7 Day Song Dubstep Tutorial and maybe you’ll be next on the list!

Do you know of any that should have been in the top 5? Share them with us in a comment below!

Related Posts...

May 2, 2009 at 7:18 pm by Dave
Category: Dubstep, Electronic Music, Top 5 / 10 / 20 lists
Tags: bass, benga, chase and status, dark, dub, dub step, Dubstep, eastern jam, evolution, mainstream, pendulum, reason, red rum, rusko, skream, snoop dogg millionaire, superfly, the shining, the widdler, woo boost

Top 5 frickin’ cool Drum and Bass Anthems | Boy in a Band wrote on May 26, 2009 at 9:45 am

[...] intro – wait for the drop. This is a frickin’ awesome track. Chase and Status are also in my dubstep top 5, which all goes to their credit, they are capable of diversifying between genres really well. [...]

robert wrote on June 7, 2009 at 2:54 am

im pretty sure snoops name is calvin broadus?

Dave wrote on June 7, 2009 at 9:22 am

His full name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr

Top 10 unintentionally hilarious rappers | Boy in a Band wrote on June 18, 2009 at 9:24 pm

[...] us like that. I suppose his laid back flow comes from this, which is why his collaboration with dubstep artists “Chase and Status” worked so [...]

dubaholic wrote on July 11, 2009 at 3:44 am

wheres caspa? im offended.

Radix10 wrote on July 12, 2009 at 6:15 pm

damn BassNectar isn’t in the list..The angry gods will exact revenge!

filthydub wrote on July 13, 2009 at 12:45 pm

whers bar9 he has sum of the most earshattering bass lines iv heard

Tom wrote on July 16, 2009 at 5:59 pm

OMG! how could you forget Caspa!!! he is one of the original and most famous dubstep artist to date!

Dave wrote on July 16, 2009 at 10:37 pm

I didn’t forget him, I just didn’t think the tracks I’ve heard were as good – maybe I didn’t hear the right ones, what are some of his best?

Doug wrote on July 21, 2009 at 12:59 pm

His best tracks are probably his I remember remix, and his where’s my money remix.

Lewys wrote on July 23, 2009 at 11:16 pm

btw red rum isn’t a reference too reason

its a famous line from the shining where the little boy is saying murder backwards while shaking his finger

and the top link isn’t working

and i think caspa should be in this too

but otherwise good post :]

Dave wrote on July 24, 2009 at 8:19 am

I mentioned that it sampled the shining in the article, he just had a reason logo on his myspace, that’s what gave me that impression

Glad you enjoyed the article!

Dj HaBz wrote on July 24, 2009 at 9:44 am

Wait weres Kromestar???????

Andrew wrote on August 4, 2009 at 9:58 pm

I am surprised that Caspa didnt get on this list!

Legend4ry wrote on August 5, 2009 at 9:55 am

I agree with most of the stuff above – minus chase and status – swap that with Cyrus or Kode9

Widdler to #2 too, hes a great bloke too you should all be ready with your cash in your hands for his album – I got a copy from him a few weeks back and its SICKKK!

p.s to biab – feel free to email me anything about dubstep stuff

collige wrote on August 7, 2009 at 1:30 am

MALA
COKI
LOEFAH
DISTANCE

Apostologg wrote on August 10, 2009 at 3:14 am

Kromestar????

Apostologg wrote on August 10, 2009 at 3:15 am

Where is Kromestar? indeed…..

Just I wrote on August 13, 2009 at 10:20 pm

Word, Mimosa, Beats Antique, Heyoka, Bassnectar and Knowa Knowone should be on this list Check em on myspace

DANIEL CEBALLOS wrote on August 21, 2009 at 11:47 pm

NO ONE CAN BEAT THE MOTHA FUCKING 6BLOCC!

68.Artist wrote on August 23, 2009 at 11:21 am

hey … where’s joker his the best younger dubstep/grime producer has totally his own style http://www.myspace.com/thejokerproductions < check him there if your still in doubt

pharmatic wrote on August 25, 2009 at 7:06 am

make shure to check out 16 Bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rTU9FxmA0U

nebstahh wrote on August 27, 2009 at 3:31 pm

what about babylon system ? bar 9 ? caspa ? plastician ? none of these people have been taken into concideration have they ?

Dom wrote on August 28, 2009 at 7:41 pm

yeah like others have said caspa should be on here!
check out his remix of ‘i remember’
saw caspa and rusko live the other night, was epic!

Amanda E wrote on September 2, 2009 at 5:57 pm

Bumpin’ track. My faves right now are Machete & Dub plate by Orbatak. Hadn’t even heard of them till I saw them at Shambala fest a few weeks back. Heavy Heavy Epic stuff. Grab an earful on My Space

james wrote on September 5, 2009 at 2:19 am

KOAN SOUND, ASA, KEROGEN, BURIAL, JOKER, JAKES!

all different but i think huge competitors for a spot
it’s not all about middle of the road wobblers you know!

conor wrote on September 10, 2009 at 5:27 pm

sub focus not on it

Alexis wrote on September 19, 2009 at 3:54 pm

Vaski, Caspa, Rusko

Kinaro wrote on September 22, 2009 at 10:58 pm

Eastern Jam is fucking my brain but i cant stop listening to it XD

bassmonkey wrote on September 23, 2009 at 5:08 am

sick sick, i like check this plastician mix too http://n3k4.com/plastician-dubstep-grime-0506/

siclife wrote on October 7, 2009 at 6:16 am

1. mt eden
2. chase & status
3. rusko
4.caspa
5. jack beats

siclife wrote on October 7, 2009 at 6:17 am

skream and jack beats are equal in my books though

DEKU3 wrote on October 7, 2009 at 12:02 pm

BORGORE!!!

TROLLEY SNATCHA!!!

Har Har wrote on October 10, 2009 at 2:01 am

Excision and Datsik <3

Acids wrote on October 12, 2009 at 12:44 am

Everyone needs a little DIRTYPHONICS in their lives!

Lee09 wrote on October 15, 2009 at 5:04 pm

Youtube this guy, a young upcoming producer who has very dark loopy dubstep tunes!… Sukh Knight! http://www.myspace.com/sukhknight

VooDooTribe Dre wrote on October 18, 2009 at 5:52 pm

Those artists are all really good and i enjoy their music, but there is one DJ who rapes them all, and his name is Bassnectar. Check him out, his new album just came out. I saw him last night and i still feel the bass rattling my brain inside. He was mixing with Ableton Live

avone wrote on October 19, 2009 at 5:52 am

Im in love with joker lol, lovin this mix he did http://n3k4.com/why-dont-you-like-me-the-joker-mix-mixed-by-10-bag/

Tom wrote on October 19, 2009 at 10:11 pm

EXCISION?
and jack beats doesnt even make dubstep

Tom wrote on October 19, 2009 at 10:13 pm

oh and TEK ONE, both artists’ tracks are ruthless

Robust wrote on October 21, 2009 at 1:12 pm

to be honest, not criticising i think dubstep is like a weak version of dnb and electro house is the best out of all electric music styles and the most ghetto electric music would have to go to hardstyle. its all about the build ups and drops in my opinion. but on the real really liking snoop dogg millionaire and Woo Boost. BOYINABAND = great, great website

mike wrote on October 22, 2009 at 3:14 pm

so.. rusko but not kode9 or caspa?

preturbed…

£10 Bag wrote on October 24, 2009 at 2:09 am

@ Avone,
I (£10 Bag) did the ”Why Don’t You Like Me?” Joker mix. Joker made the tunes, I made the mix.
Glad you’re feeling it.
Big up.

SGDJ wrote on November 4, 2009 at 9:34 pm

No-one has mentioned Burial. Every dubstep fan needs Burial in their life.

Junaid wrote on November 5, 2009 at 12:24 am

Datsik and Excision – Calypso

You will shit your pants during, and long after this tune…

john wrote on November 11, 2009 at 12:00 pm

digital mystiks should really be up there, as well as caspa and burial, goood page though, and your tutorials are brilliant, cheers

JAYP wrote on November 13, 2009 at 12:12 am

To the dude who said bassnectar should be on this list…

well first, he’s playin a show right now about an hour away from me and i’m missing it because of no ride :(

second… he’s not really a dubstep artist… i don’t know how you’d classify him but i def wouldn’t say he’s dub step, he definately uses a lot of the wobbles but not to the extent of actual dubstep… he’s more psychedelic than most dubstep…

maybe you could call him breaky dub trip step hah

but yea i agree he shouldn’t be on this list, although he is in fact the shit

JAYP wrote on November 13, 2009 at 12:14 am

oh and also, rusko is the maaaannnn… and this was a great article, and your tuts are awesome too… i’m moving to reason from fl studio and it’s a lot to get used to, you’re helpin a bunch

dopetracks dubstep | This is dope wrote on November 15, 2009 at 12:46 am

[...] tracks and a dubstep club night feature I used to go to in 06, with lots of background info and a handful of videos. I hope that we keep on seeing this kind of wild style to the DT part. Here’s the other 2 from [...]

flamingape wrote on November 17, 2009 at 8:50 pm

What about Burial, Blame and Code 9??

namirako wrote on November 24, 2009 at 5:59 am

excision! nuff said. filthiest of filth!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYP54uqPgxY

Cheshire wrote on November 27, 2009 at 8:38 pm

ESKMO, he is the fucking miles davis of dubstep

Caleb wrote on November 28, 2009 at 3:30 am

Excision and or Datsik are so siiiick!!!

DJ BMW wrote on November 30, 2009 at 5:57 am

That’s cool that Snoop did a dubstep track. I’m an audio engineer/ and I record hip hop. I’ve also been recording rappers on dubstep beats for the last 2 years… You should check out my myspace to hear “Tune In” featuring KJ Hines on my myspace music player! http://www.myspace.com/djbmw

freshman wrote on December 2, 2009 at 8:11 pm

i realize this post is old, but Nero’s dubstep productions have been slick last year

dj overdose wrote on December 6, 2009 at 7:52 pm

these tunes are an embarrassment to dubstep listen to tunes like 16bit or downlink or broken note you douches

BRIGHTSPARK! wrote on December 7, 2009 at 2:30 pm

dubstep beats vary so much, its hard to come up with a top 5 tht every1s gnu agree on! where some people like the straight up dirty stuff, others are gnu like the mellow stuff. and thts wat i love about dubstep. not a bad choice and sum good suggestions from every1 on ere. BIG UP ALL THE STEPPERS lol

chris wrote on December 15, 2009 at 8:19 am

man
benga? skream? the widdler? no depth wobble thumpers? atleast rusko has some dynamic to his bass but really he runs the same formula for every song. chase and status are hardly dubstep prodcuers they do way more drum n bass than anything but they like to mix it up i guess.

seriously
dubstep artists you NEED:
eskmo, ital tek,redline, flux pavillion, clouds, cookie monsta

ollie wrote on December 21, 2009 at 6:16 pm

your an idiot and know nothingn of dubstep where is plastician? where is reso??
if ure gonna put rusko in u have to put capsa in ! rusko wud be nothing without caspa
Emalkay?? Stenchman?? Darkstar??
This list needs ammending BADLY!

Gareth wrote on December 22, 2009 at 3:10 pm

Im pretty sure coki should be on this list

Loving the widdler though glad he’s on here i love his froggy style bass

Eric wrote on December 22, 2009 at 8:10 pm

#1 Excision (Skream has some dark music, but Excision’s 2009 shambala’s set….. is, well you need to listen to it..

http://www.dubstepforum.com/excision-shambhala-2009-dubstep-mix-t101997.html

When Borgore came to seattle some dipshit knocked the set over while he was in the croud. It was such a good show.

Rusko didn’t show up to his show here.

Joker’s show was ok, but he just didn’t have the line up of bangers like some sets do…

Matt wrote on December 27, 2009 at 3:51 am

The darkest dubstep I’ve ever heard has to be some of DatsiK and Excisions stuff. Definitely worth checking out… Swagga, Calypso, Boom etc.

Also Downlink is pretty epic… Against the Machines blows my mind every time

James Mac wrote on December 30, 2009 at 11:16 pm

hmmm not my idea of top 5,
mine wuld be
1-Datsik
2-Excision
3-Caspa
4-Skream
5-16 Bit

dan t wrote on January 6, 2010 at 12:56 am

look ur lookin at sum dubstep thru da eyes of a musician take a step bak and start tryppin da fuk out dubstep is mind state music get in2 mi mind state chek these out 3 artists and 2 tunz numbered but in no perticular order mi personal top 5

1 cyberstomp (breakstep roughneck, rise of the dub soldier, remix 2 chase n status eastrn jam) its all about da brain theif in da utube vids

2 dubworm (wanna get high, got you looking now, joka-this is a must listen if u like bouncin from a dark tryp to a floaty hi 10 times a minuite)

3 stagga (sic as sin, preadatory control freaks, the lsd user)

4 aint got a clu hu its by but chek out new dubstep politics 2009 on utube. It ses all da tings u wanna hear in a dubstep tune

5 last but by no means least charlie the unicorn dubstep remix

if this dont get u started on sum sic dubstep nothing will but bare in mind they shuld all b playd on proppa bassy systems

ive dun mi bit now u do ur go fourth and tryp ur fukkin balls off

Spencer wrote on January 8, 2010 at 5:43 pm

I almost agree with chris’s top 5. I barely agree with OP’s top 5 to be honest. A few people have said Datsik and Excision together. But, really Datsik is fuckin raw on his own. Gecko? Retreat? Vanish? Amazing.

1-Datsik
2-Cookie Monsta
3-Caspa and Rusko
4- Reso
5- ZEDS DEAD although I only have like three songs of his he makes my top 5 because Dark side dub is just that raw.

But in reality, you listen to gecko by datsik and you know its the dirtiest, grimiest, best beat in dubstep.

The ones you mentioned are kinda mainstream and I don’t think as complex as the ones I chose, though still enjoyable as hell, just not in my top 5.

Orman wrote on January 9, 2010 at 6:22 am

Joker – Purple City
Ekstrak – Mass Dampers
Sub Swara – Infiltrate
Reso – Climbing The Walls
Datsik – Nuke em’

Give them number ranks 1 to 5? What is this a race?

LuvaDub Dub wrote on January 9, 2010 at 5:01 pm

I agree with all top choices, but seem to reason that Caspa should or could have been mentioned. It’s cool though. Got to see Caspa live at DB festival and now Emalkay this coming thursday. Question to all though; is there a site for all dubstep shows?
congo31003 @ yahoo. com

Jane wrote on January 9, 2010 at 7:12 pm

What about Bassnectar?

josh wrote on January 12, 2010 at 2:53 am

excision? anyone!

Wildstyle new directions for DT beats: DNG & Fricasse « Hip Hop Beats wrote on January 12, 2010 at 6:18 am

[...] tracks and a dubstep club night feature I used to go to in 06, with lots of background info and a handful of videos (make sure you check out rusko). I hope that we keep on seeing this kind of wild style to the DT [...]

josh wrote on January 15, 2010 at 4:17 pm

can any one tell me some propper sick dubstep, like propper skull destoying stuff?

OKdub wrote on January 24, 2010 at 3:43 am

Good post, my 5 would be.
Datsik. substep infrabass. suspicious stench. caspa & rusko. benga.

heres another good one. Mt. Eden – sierra leone.

RESPECT TO ALL DUB BUMPERS

Darren wrote on January 25, 2010 at 3:25 pm

That Snoop dog remix it SHIT. It’s just both songs playing at the same time at the same tempo! Sounds like a fake to me.. Chase & Status’ origional ‘Eastern Jam’ is OBVIOUSLY much better imo.

Darren wrote on January 25, 2010 at 3:38 pm

Josh – you want some ‘propper sick dubstep’? I think you’ll enjoy this track.. Hubsmoke – Heroin Eyes trust me Pretty heavy if you turn your Sub up FULL

Adam wrote on January 26, 2010 at 7:39 pm

anyone ever listened to sum tek-one? definitely the filthiest dubstep around

bazstard 20 wrote on January 27, 2010 at 10:57 pm

top 5 ha that list a load ov shit ! you think them 5 der r good the try MT EDEN AND DJ DOORLY i mean you dnt no dubstep untill you hear RAINDROPS NMORE ! check them real dubstep fans …BAZSTARD PRESTON 20 20

mike wrote on January 28, 2010 at 7:49 pm

thats a good list but i wouldnt say “top 5″ anyone can argue for another dj but excision bassnectar caspa and datsik should definetly should be honorable mentions at the very least if not on the list

Alex wrote on January 30, 2010 at 2:12 pm

got to be

rusko
datsik
exision
benga
caspa

get ya self to SUBDUB, leeds for some next level dirty dub though

leon wrote on February 4, 2010 at 6:19 pm

i wouldnt say these are the top 5 artists or top 5 i enjoyed one out of the whole lot but ive heard better people who make there own remixes aswell as there own dubstep are better than most of these

PiX3L wrote on February 6, 2010 at 11:51 am

O_o

Numbernin6 <( Melts Faces
Riskotheque
Vibesquad
Nero
Mt Eden

PiX3L wrote on February 6, 2010 at 12:22 pm

Forgot to add Wicky Lindows… SIK!!

dodgy_handbrake wrote on February 7, 2010 at 10:01 am

man…..sry but u shoud goo deeper for the good stuff….skream iz ok i guees….but there is so much good dubstep out there….and that s what u bring to the table?….shamefulll….
what about the grates….16 bit,zomby,dfrnt,pinch,phaeleh,elemental and many more newcommers…..

Dubdread wrote on February 9, 2010 at 6:58 pm

Mate chase & status number 1 dubstep artist? go back to school fool!! i agree with dodgy handbrake there is soooo much filthy dubstep out there and your just touching the girly popular shit! get involved with flux pavillion and datsik for some real filth!

emile wrote on February 9, 2010 at 11:32 pm

16 bit, 6blocc, doctor p, datsik,

EzDuBz wrote on February 11, 2010 at 6:12 am

Bassnectar, caspa, rusko, hey and check out dayn so sick! Vaski, theres too many to consider even making a top 5

sadf wrote on February 13, 2010 at 2:23 pm

No offense because these are still decent, but you could have picked way better artists. I understand there is a dark and light side to dubstep, you picked the dark one sir. Go check jack beats, nero, bassnectar is a beast as well, (you could have picked better Rusko and Chase&Status songs as I’m sure we all can agree there are better ones). Some of this is on a whole new level too but Subvert, Drop the lime, Sloppy (local artist for me, is actually mad good). Broken Note and 16 bit are pretty gnarly too in a great way. I dunno, these are great songs but I feel like there IS better.

Joe wrote on February 13, 2010 at 10:12 pm

First of all.. like a lot of people have said probably… Chase and Status… what the fuck… they’re DnB. and as I do like them.. they wouldn’t be in my fav dubstep artists.. it would be like putting Benny Page up because he’s done some good dubstep tracks.. I would class him as a DnB artist!

ANYWAY

1.Rusko
2.Reso
3.Datsik
4.Benga
5.Flux Pavillion.

straight up

djoverdose wrote on February 17, 2010 at 3:12 pm

this is an embarresment to dubstep you know nothing these are the top 5 dubstep artists you definatly do not need in your life grow some balls and listen to proper dubstep you fag

mollie my man wrote on February 20, 2010 at 3:07 am

i’m new to the whole dubstep scene. can anybody point me towards hip-hop influenced dubstep? similar to glitch mob?

mollie my man wrote on February 20, 2010 at 3:16 am

marty party is soon to be on this list. that fool is a true mc his energy at live sets is like nothin else

Jethro wrote on February 20, 2010 at 9:50 pm

Check out my shit…on myspace.com/simplisticated………dark dubstep…is yours.

Ab wrote on February 21, 2010 at 2:04 pm

my top 5:

1 Broken note
2 Bar 9
3 Rusko
4 Datsik
5 Cookie monsta

carl wrote on February 24, 2010 at 1:16 am

these really suck
Mt Eden!

Jesse wrote on February 27, 2010 at 7:56 am

damn his name is long as hell.

Hard Bass wrote on February 28, 2010 at 9:03 pm

you people dont understand shitt… C&S do both Dubstep and DnB, and why the fuck isnt Nero or Caspa on that list or even Mt Eden

wasup wrote on February 28, 2010 at 11:57 pm

cmon weres bar9 and caspa and rusko dam.

/THUMPER\ wrote on March 4, 2010 at 1:19 am

DUBSTEP goin change the world !!!!!!!!

Dubsteppin wrote on March 6, 2010 at 12:21 am

The article is so archaic… there’s so many artists now in Dubstep/Grime…

Excision
Bar 9
DZ
Datsik
Cragga
6Blocc
16Bit
Eskmo
Nero
Mt Eden
Joker!!!

….

Yes Skream, Benga, Rusko, Caspa where some of the first, but there’s way too much out there now to say they are the only ones…

The article needs to be updated BADLY!

McPot86 wrote on March 8, 2010 at 1:18 pm

Don’t forget the greasy maaccaroni’s!!
Big it up for Italian Dubstep!!! Numa Crew & ERBA Records gonna blast this world up!!

MR duckstep wrote on March 11, 2010 at 12:35 am

Well from what ive heard (1#Datsik), Rusko, nero, bar9, mt eden, (old pendulum) <– original gurn tunes not dubstep as such bring on the dup step scene you monstaaaa's

Top 5 Dubstep artists you pretty much need in your life.

Related Posts...

100 Comments - “Top 5 Dubstep artists you pretty much need in your life.”