What the Fuck is Brostep?
What the fuck is brostep?
Is brostep a fucking joke?
The term “brostep” was coined by Kozee, who indeed said that “it was a joke.”
However fratty the name may sound, there is a distinct type of electronic music emerging that can be collectively identified as brostep. Most music fans, even those entrenched in the world of EDM, don’t really even know what brostep is. After hearing the name, many people assume it’s a joke and the music must be crap- however these same people can then be found on Rusko’s or Datsik’s dance floor going absolutely nuts.
Consider this your Wikipedia article:
Brostep (also called ‘mid-range cack’ or bruvstep in the UK) evolved out of dubstep to become what many see as a separate subgenre of music, although it is still largely categorized as dubstep by event promoters, fans and most of the artists themselves. Brostep is characterized by the preference of mid-range frequencies over those of the low end, a massive amount of wobble, an aggressive ‘feel’ to the music and an impatient, almost frantic style of delivery. More drum and bass-influenced than dub-influenced (as is the case with dubstep), brostep is tinged with scrapes of heavy metal and has a jumpier, ravey vibe with very little sub-bass weight.
Despite being known as hard and horny raw dong music for sweaty males to “bro out” to, brostep actually tends to pull in a larger female audience that prefers the dancier, more jump-up nature of the “hype bass party music” over the heavier dubstep, even if they have to put up with a mosh pit here and there to experience it. Slightly faster than traditional dubstep, brostep is also seen as more accessible than its predecessor, and is heartily looked down upon by Old School dubstep enthusiasts who regularly fill over a dozen pages on Dubstepforum.com anytime anyone mentions the word brostep, with many heads calling for an outright ban on the New School name. Brostep is viewed as being very American, from the gutter, and ruining dubstep’s reputation by the minute – which it probably is.
Popular brostep artists (although no one is claiming the brostep label) are: Rusko, Caspa, Reso, Trillbass, Datsik, Excision, Borgore and DZ.
From: The Jaded Review’s Guide to Hippie Watching in North America
Agree? Disagree? Please leave a comment below!
DANCEFEVER5000 
October 6, 2010 at 4:00 PM
Brostep, to me, is a lot more on the crazy aggressive side, and usually is pretty reptitive. Could also be described as “the sound of robots fucking”. Lots of Yahyahyahyah squarewavedownsampled basslines. Although, I think a lot of old school elitists now lump anything that has a midrange to the baseline in with brostep. I don’t really think that Rusko fits in there too much, and would def say that Reso’s sound is a lot richer than clank clank clank clank-step. 🙂
October 6, 2010 at 4:22 PM
i agree with the description. but wouldn’t brostep be a subgenre of dubstep? like how jump-up, liquid, tech-step, etc… are all sub-genres of dnb?
i also think that diversity is strength and evolution prevents death of a species. so having multiple sub-genres with a wide spectrum of sounds should make for a more interesting genre less likely to be a flash in the pan.
all that said, i dont hate brostep tunes, but i definitely hate hearing them for an hour straight. (and i also kind of hate seeing a bunch of bros rush the dj pumping their fists and howling gorilla mating calls 🙂
July 12, 2011 at 6:59 PM
yes! this is axactly how i feel
October 6, 2010 at 10:51 PM
“Brostep” definitely isn’t my whole deal, but somewhat agreeing with Nick I think it could be classified as a sub. I’ve never been one to join a pissing match on what classification a tune should or shouldn’t be, but “if you build it they will come” – someone out there will like it, which could be their gateway drug to dubstep. Just my $0.02.
October 26, 2010 at 11:20 AM
“their gateway drug to dubstep”
hah, it’s a valid thing to consider.
October 7, 2010 at 12:10 AM
Wow didn’t think we were brostep but okay. To each their own.
September 19, 2011 at 6:56 PM
My very educated and informed opinion says that Rusko, Caspa, Reso, Trillbass, early Excision and DZ are not Brostep. This article is a bit old I think, because Chris forgot to mention the king of Brostep: Skrillex.
June 20, 2012 at 6:29 PM
hahaha i get how datsik is brostep. but i still like excision datsik old rusko…… fuck skrillex
April 10, 2014 at 3:14 PM
Evangoffy u can’t say that about Skrill man, he’s what’s made Dubstep accessible to everyone, without him it wouldn’t be half as popular as it is. he may not be making the music that you want him too but it’s pretty decent stuff. people who like Dubstep have alot to thank him for.
October 7, 2010 at 1:39 AM
I would agree with John and rather exclude Reso from the list of brosteppers. Anyway, I still treat this entire ‘sub-genre name’ as a one big joke, though I respond with serious allergy to brostep sound. Too much yahyah, wobbley drills and jumpy beat for me. Not to leave this discussion only in the realm of theory – listen to the superb brostep remix – A Lost People – Big Booty Bitches (Crizzly Dubstep remix). Very American Very Bro! http://www.whitefolksgetcrunk.com/big-booty-bitches-dubstep.html
October 7, 2010 at 12:37 PM
coki isnt actually brostep, he just made the first big brostep tune (spongebob) to be released – on DMZ of all labels! it was all a joke that went terribly, terribly wrong. spongebob was the beginning of the end.
October 7, 2010 at 5:28 PM
Dubstep, Brostep I like it all.
Brostep is a stupid name though.
October 16, 2011 at 12:51 PM
brostep is a stupid genre.
January 31, 2012 at 11:37 AM
agreed.
April 10, 2014 at 3:16 PM
Good chap /10
i’m the same matey
October 8, 2010 at 2:08 PM
You did see Emmy “best T-shirt” post right? Scuba wearing the “brostep” shirt …
http://whattimeisyourflight.blogspot.com/2010/09/best-t-shirt-worn-by-aritst.html
October 8, 2010 at 2:08 PM
Sorry, “Emmy’s” post …
October 26, 2010 at 11:19 AM
I agree with the definitive factors in your piece, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily “ruining” the whole thing… Any style of music will evolve, go through odd spurts of development, “growing pains” and the like.
November 8, 2010 at 8:43 AM
Trillbass, Rusko, and Coki arent brostep. Get your facts straight.
November 10, 2010 at 8:19 AM
^ LMAO you look very dumb. Get your facts straight before I embarrass you.
November 15, 2010 at 7:04 AM
nah, rusko’s early stuff is not brostep, heavy ragga vibes. coki has been around since like 04 with mala, plus running dmz, i don’t really understand how digital mystikz stuff could be considered brostep… juries still out on trillbass… embarrassed? 😉
September 19, 2011 at 7:41 PM
I concur. Rusko and Trillbass I would maybe consider proto-brostep, but Coki is for sure in one of original subweight groups, Digital Mystikz.
November 11, 2010 at 2:53 AM
When I hear people talk about dubstep (like normal people), I assume they are referring to brostep. Brostep killed the word dubstep.
September 19, 2011 at 7:43 PM
Exactly. That’s why we need a term like Brostep. I feel kinda bad because it is sort of pejorative, but oh well. It fits the mood of the music quite well: testosteroney.
November 12, 2010 at 9:39 AM
coki? because digital mystikz haven’t been around for time..
November 23, 2010 at 7:13 AM
Before I spotted this article I actually never heard of this “brostep”. I’ve never been one to put labels on music, it’s a necessary evil unfortunately (like dividing my site into sections…)
Maybe if people stopped putting a freaking newly invented word on every new track they hear and we can except that there is just music with sounds that either appeal to you or don’t. Yes, I love this… “brostep”, so now all the “real” dubstep lovers are gonna hate…
Haters be hating, I don’t care
January 31, 2012 at 11:39 AM
word
January 13, 2013 at 10:31 PM
dude so right either u like the fucking shit or don’t. I like every genre of techno they all have good artist and bad ones and every artist no matter who has a good song or 2. so fuck all haters hating on me for liking music. enjoy the music u like and be happy!!!!!!!!!!!! all I can say is trap go hard 🙂
November 27, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Yes, “Brostep” is a joke and it’s a terribly unfunny one at that.
January 24, 2011 at 11:49 AM
[…] have no idea what brostep is?! [For those of you in a similar position, peep the short explanation DanceFever5000 wrote] But as I said dubstep nowadays is a very broad definition, people don’t have to call it […]
January 24, 2011 at 11:51 PM
Why the fuck are we defining a genre based on the fact that a bunch of frat kids are attending the shows? Are we going to redefine classic rock “geriatric rock” because a bunch of 40 ‘s are showing up to a Rush concert?
Some of us grew up listening to noisy industrial like Imminent Starvation or the entirety of the Ant-Zen label and don’t have a little wuss-fit, pissing our pants whenever someone wants to blast the fuck out of the PA system.
You wanna space out to some boring Burial tune, fine, but don’t go calling the intense shit some derisive term just because you can’t stomach it.
February 3, 2011 at 7:06 PM
THIS.
I listen to all kinds of EDM, but when it comes to dubstep, i prefer the grittier, heavier stuff. Probably because, aside from EDM, the bulk of the music i listen to is Metal, Metalcore and Hardcore… Some of us just like heavy shit. No need for the haters, right!?
October 16, 2011 at 12:52 PM
wrong, i listen to metal, but i don’t listen to earshit like metalCORE or hardCOC- i mean core. anyway, just how metalcore continues to shit all over anything and evertything that USED to be metal, brostep and skrillex continue to shit all over anything and everything dubstep.
March 4, 2011 at 1:38 PM
Honestly he’s right. Any genre is going to have a wide range of different styles to it, from slower to faster styles, lighter and heavier. You can’t discount an entire area of music, labeling it with a shitty-ass name, just because you don’t happen to like it all that much. I don’t like slower shit like Burial (as mentioned). Shall I call it borestep from now on? How about sleepstep? Or maybe snorestep. That’s what I think I’ll call it. Snorestep. You know, cuz i don’t like it and all. Just following the logic of calling more intense stuff brostep. i.e. I don’t like it, therefore the entire genre that other people might like should be labeled in such a way that makes it less likely that someone who would actually enjoy the genre will ever actually listen to it, due to an off-putting name. If that doesn’t make sense, then fine. Call snorestep dubstep, just like I’m gonna call brostep dubstep, because in they end, they’re both still freaking dubstep! Now go grow a pair, get over it, and stop sniveling about how something you don’t like must be ruining an entire genre, since you don’t like it, you spoiled, selfish little twat.
October 16, 2011 at 12:56 PM
just like all the little posers who can’t write an actual song, and jsut steal riffs from classic metal bands call their “music” metalcore? the fact that brostep “music” [read: shit] has a different sound and tempo than the “rest of dubstep” DOES, in fact, make it a different genre. HAI GHUISE, WHAT IF I GET JIMMY BUFFET TO SING MASTER OF PUPPETS? man, that’s a great idea cos you know JIMMY BUFFET IS SO FUCKING METAL.
but, im sure you’re well aware that, past all the sarcasm, jimmy buffet WOULD INDEED be one hell of a metalcore “artist”
May 4, 2011 at 8:30 PM
The music isn’t just ‘too intense’. It’s shit.
Not opinion wise either.
Making that stuff is ridiculously easy.
Hence why it’s becoming soo common.
June 15, 2011 at 5:25 AM
With the Same Sounds and all they do to make the music is fuck around with the LFO…
January 26, 2011 at 10:20 PM
Dubstep is Dubstep. Brostep is the most retarded thing I’ve ever heard.
February 13, 2011 at 8:19 PM
brostep is lol, it was and still is just a joke most likely derrived from the fact that in the beginning alot of dubstep scene goers were male, I’m sure there were some “bro’s” (im not going to explain that part) in that demo., HOWEVER, like any genre ever…it’s about 10% decent/great and 90% turds. I use the term, as a joke, to identify bad dubstep like rusko, datsik, excision or w/e lame oscilating wobble shitty mids crap that is put out.
February 16, 2011 at 8:15 AM
what the hell you doin puttin coki on the brostepp list
February 21, 2011 at 2:22 PM
Yo, Rusko and Caspa (along with Benga) were like the first artists to put dubstep on everyones radar out here in the states. The genre of music you’re referring to might of spawned from their subsonic creations but I would not categorize them as such! Rusko has more of a mainstream twist, upbeat dance tempos. Trance-like hooks that catch you. I think to put Rusko in a box with the likes of datsik or excision is a insult. Same goes for Caspa except his style is different. Btw, you left downlink out of the brostep category lol.
Yeah, the genre you’re referring to is heavy, but it has no substance!!! No soul, it’s machine like, and evil. I suppose it exists to help me appreciate other types more…Excision and datsik do nothing for their music respectively. I mean, it’s always the same thing i’m hearing from them. It would be cool if they could switch gears but they’re clearly stuck on one. I know it’s cause they got a massive following of tuff kids who go start mosh pits at shows, push females, and rake them more $$$$.
but there is no love, and no culture.
February 22, 2011 at 2:15 PM
I agree with the people upping to stop labeling music with shitty names like “brostep”. Just because a bunch of frat boys heard about Rusko and Caspa (both acclaimed UK *DUBSTEP* artists) and parties it up, doesn’t mean you go name a genre after them. They just realized that the shitty mainstream RnB and commercial hip hop they are listening to are ass-dominated by these EDM legends. I will respect Rusko and Datsik any day alongside Skream. Seriously, before you start talking shit, go to a fuckin concert of theirs and see for yourself. Datsik is unreal live. Don’t you dare call him the crap that is this silly name. Drop a sub bass, beat going no faster 143bpm, a lovely wobble here and there and a catchy melody to boot, and that will always be dubstep. No matter how heavy or soft the artist wants to go – cruising or rave. Nuff said.
July 15, 2012 at 2:38 PM
Agreed, couldn’t have said better my self
November 18, 2012 at 5:42 PM
DUDE! Datsik is not all that sick, every time I’ve seen him ( about 6 now) his mc is more focused on getting the crowd to worship this acclaimed dj, than letting the music speak for itself , contrived to appease brosteppers for sure. Go to a Mala concert and learn from the master “the art of relaxation”. Fuck robot sex i want sexy deep medi bass
March 15, 2011 at 3:40 PM
You guys are some high schoolers up in this bitch.
“My favorite music just evolved subtly and more people like it now, and it’s slightly out of the underground and less obscure, so I’m going to take my toys and go home.”
Fuck off. There’s no such thing as “brostep” and if you use the term with any sense of conviction, you are by default an elitist prick.
March 18, 2011 at 9:45 AM
wtf brostep? i like everything from slow ass downtempo to hardcore it just depends on my mood but to classify it brostep is just plain wrong. if i wanna mosh and be angry let me and if i wanna be happily moved by some deep and slow basslines so be it. brostep…. yech. 😦
March 26, 2011 at 5:38 AM
to me, thats kinda weird and ridiculous. dubstep is dubstep. kode 9 to mount kimbie, cooly g to goth-trad, starkey to lv, el-b to burial, rusko to roska and whoever, those guys are in the same dubstep genre though they sound different apart from similar polyrhythmic drum patterns with syncopation. some are too bassy and some are not much, but thats not even a prob. (heavy one isnt really my thing lol)
the only things i hate this kind of music are the small number of narrow-minded fans. i like it all except those bullheads. brostep is a part of dubstep like metalcore is a new sub-genre of metal
March 31, 2011 at 4:37 AM
i gotta say i live in the U.S milwaukee wisconsin to be specific never seen a frat boy never seen a “bro” at a dubstep show people say “brostep” has no lows and all mid range well if all the shows ive been too are considered brostep there was definately a large amount of bass. been to bassnectar yea i hate him now his old old shit was amazing he hopped on the dubstep train but he still shakes the dance floor with bass. i produce…well try to anyways and i kinda consider the term a little insulting cuz im not some fucking bro siffter. how can you even consider a word like brostep for a sub genre.
April 18, 2011 at 5:21 PM
If you think Coki is a brostep artist you seriously need to do your homework before posting things like this acting like you know. Coki was around in the early 2000s when dubstep started and made it big along side: Skream, Mala, Distance, Loefah, Pinch ect. Labeling him as brostep is an insult to him and real dubstep.
April 20, 2011 at 11:53 PM
Sounds like oldfags complaining that people are trying something new. Just because brostep makes you go through bass withdrawl doesn’t mean it won’t evolve into a decent subgenre given some time. Or maybe it won’t! It’s really to early to judge, there hasn’t been enough time for a mature brostep artist to develop– right now we’ve just got a bunch of kiddies playing in the sandbox.
September 18, 2011 at 9:24 PM
The “complaining that people are trying something new” line isn’t really entitling you to anything when uninteresting, exploitative music is going to be a phase that will die out once people realize, “oh god, I regret having listened to this.” I mean, how long did Dutch Trance last until dedicated Trance Producers decided to step it up?
April 22, 2011 at 12:10 PM
I’m a MUSIC lover that rarely allows DJ-stuff into my collection as it is mostly too simple and boring to me. If I do it had to be complex and powerful as Venetian Snares, Otto von Schirach, Doormouse….
Non-electronic I love Deerhoof, Cambodian 60/70’s, CAN, Amon Düül, early Animal Collective, Sonic Youth, Elevator, Sic Alps, original “Kraut”-Rock, 60’s psychedelic fuzz, old Black Sabbath, Steffen Basho-Junghans, KatieJane Garside, whatever more.
Just recently stumbled upon “DUBSTEP” on tjoonz.com and the spectacular “Shambala 2010”-mix. Love it.
Excision can clearly find and mix the pearls out of a huge pile of plain crap like 16 Bit (the name alone reveals little knowledge about electronic music history: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwSKFcKBdmA)
Spend a lot of time finding more similar mixes – almost all of it too crappy and/or boring.
It seems to be the ‘original dubstep’ without the distortion and ‘evil’ elements is just tedious and boring to me. Searching for hours on afromonk, all I’ve found was average electronic boredom except 1 or 2 tracks…
So, whatever is Dubstep to me it’s what comes from around Vancouver/Canada..
And I’m not into metal at all since 15 years now.
Motörhead dosn’t count.
😉
April 29, 2011 at 12:28 AM
This is all kinda funny to me cuz I’m a frat dude, but I’m on the dubstep scene too, have been for a while. To have an entire genre named after “bros” like me is pretty fucking ridiculous. I like heavy ass intense in your face shit. When people go to raves that’s what they want. If thats too much for you to handle go listen to fucking John Mayer. Sorry we go to hard for some of you. How bout y’all take some more hallucinigenics and listen to some of this “brostep” with a legit system. Tell me it doesn’t blow your fucking mind
May 4, 2011 at 8:31 PM
It’s shit, shuddafuckup you flaming homosexual.
Raves with you guys in it aren’t raves.
May 6, 2011 at 7:55 AM
I’ll break it down for you kids. dub+2 step=dubstep aggro+bro=brostep
May 6, 2011 at 12:46 PM
When a brostep song calls women “bitches and hoes”, we mean it in a misogynistic way not a respectful way. Oops wait, flip that. I get confused sometimes when my trucker hat is on too tight.
May 7, 2011 at 5:07 AM
My my! Why are you guys crackin on bros and our choice of music? It’s not my fault i’m so douche-tastic, wear trucker hats and try to grind up on your girl when i’m drunk. Next they’ll take juke and dubstep and call it hoe-step! WEEEEEeeeeeeeee!
May 9, 2011 at 11:35 AM
[…] That’s too bad for that sub-genre. But to get geekier style, isn’t this song really Brostep? Which is basically accessible dubstep? And nothing is more “bro” than Sublime, […]
May 16, 2011 at 11:40 PM
Fuck me! Clearly a lot of people here don’t know the history of dubstep talkless of how this ‘brostep’ genre came about! First of all for those people who think coki,rusko and caspa are ‘brostep’ then you haven’t a clue about dubstep,coki made one of, if not THE dubstep tune of dubstep tunes with benga its called ‘NIGHT’ that automatically puts him out of that genre,period! .rusko and caspa have been on the dubstep scene for years now! I take it a lot of people who wrote comments on this are from america too but realise that this brostep genre never originated from any UK djs and is straight from the usa so datsik,borgore,excision etc there what you should be referring to as your ‘brostep djs’. But does it matter now? We have dubstep djs from every angle of the world now with sud-genres poping out of everywhere,djs like 16bit and joker making dubstep for grime artists,magnetic man a group made up of three top dubstep djs bringing
dubstep to commercial radio and recording artists putting vocals on not the greatest but clearly dubstep influenced tunes does this ‘brostep’ genre really matter,at the end of the day? I like listening to deep dub when I’m chilling,and I like my hype shit when I’m out
maybe not datsik more flux pavilion but whatever gets you in a hype so long as it makes you happy! At the end of the day brostep can easily be seen as a gateway genre to dub dubstep
August 27, 2012 at 7:36 PM
Borgore is from Israel…
May 19, 2011 at 10:23 PM
1)There are a few brostep tracks i like but who the hell likes minimal subbass? If i go to a show/festi/whatever with electronic music I better be able to feel it. Play some dubstep.
2)Datsik, Excision, Downlink, Caspa, Coki, Caspa, Rusko are primarily dubstep artists. If you are going to label it brostep, plz at least know what brostep is supposed to be (the definition is pretty good at the top of this page). Clearly people cant even hear what they are listening to or they dont have subwoofers or they are too retarded to understand basic musical concepts.
3)There will always be douchebags.
May 24, 2011 at 10:09 AM
I wanna hear what everyone’s take on Liquid Stranger is then hahahaha
May 24, 2011 at 10:24 AM
@cg code Datsik, Excision, Downlink CANNOT be put in the same category as caspa,coki and rusko because they don’t and never have made dubstep,just NOISE they, for me are about the same as skrillex,another dj that gets props for making ‘dubstep’wen its complete and utter bullshit! I’m from manchester I’m surrounded by dubstep and believe me it aint what datsik and the likes are making
June 27, 2011 at 5:22 AM
Sounds like a bunch of hurt vaginas in here. People can’t seem to take the fact that dubstep has evolved, and it has gotten noisier and dirtier. If you think you’re too cool for it because you “listened to dubstep before anyone else” then fine, take your pretentiousness with you on the way out the door. Datsik and Excision do what they do better than 90% of the original dubstep artists.
August 20, 2011 at 12:18 PM
A music style that sounds different from its influences isn’t evolution. Brostep sounds clearly different from Dubstep, it was never its intention to “elevate” the Dubstep genre and replace it.
June 28, 2011 at 9:06 PM
Let me get this straight; because it’s different, means that it’s bad? The dubstep community is looking down on brostep like a bastard child? Maybe cause it’s horribly named… I like it cause it’s an entirely different style and keeps dubstep fresh, opposed to everything sounding the same; which is what dubstep has turned into lately.
June 29, 2011 at 2:17 AM
What I find ironic is that you get more girls at a “BROstep” event then you do a “real dubstep” event.
July 7, 2011 at 11:23 PM
it’s clownstep all over again yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!hardcore you know the score , from taking too much E in the dallas nightclubs in the 80’s and getting the shit banned to taking too much meth at the greatest counter-cultural events since the hippie generations and ruining rave scenes both in europe and in the states in the 90’s ,the bro’s latch on to the latest thing (that they had nothing to do with)that should be kept only in the underground and for the heads(hardcore for the headstrong only muthafucka’s !!) just to ruin it for everyone else that truly is down . here we go again…srsly fuck it and fuck the overpaid dj’s and producers that milk the bros for every cent they got just so they can suck bro cock . this used to be counter-culture and now it’s just pathetic and sad and makes one wish for the death of the human race so that the truly good creatures of this planet can survive .
July 12, 2011 at 7:09 PM
all i know is at edc when skrillex came on people were going fucking nuts. it was kinda cool cus the party wuz raging but it was definitely not plur. people pushing and shoving and getting gnarly. I left and went to above and beyond lol. there isnt much peace, love, unity or respect with brostep. thats really my only turnoff.
July 26, 2011 at 8:54 PM
where there’s a nirvana there’s a pearl jam
September 28, 2011 at 1:40 PM
^ Genius. Just, genius.
August 8, 2011 at 6:26 AM
the term brostep is a hindrance in enjoying the fukin music! because of its stigma, people new to the dubstep genre are frightened of listening to the full range of styles in fear they will be labelled “brosteppers”. if you like it, listen to it and enjoy it! people going around labelling other listeners are missing out on the unity dubstep brings and creating a division, its crap. From Benga to Bare Noize, from Skream to Skrillex, have a good fukin time.
August 11, 2011 at 3:07 PM
The whole “peace and love” element of electronic music has always been way overblown, IMO. You are listening to music that makes you feel good, and taking drugs that make you feel like you and everyone around you is a fucking god. But guess what? When the show’s over, everyone goes back to the same lives they had been living, with elements of love and hate interspersed as with everything in real life. In terms of hardcore dubstep (I refuse to use the other term), my opinion is that it’s some crazy-ass amazing face melting flesh eating robot music that makes me want to drive around with 2000watts blasting at level 20 through my subwoofers. Music evolves. Get over it.
September 3, 2011 at 8:06 AM
Rusko actually accepts his label as brostep. He admits that he was one of the main starters of the subgenre, but thinks it’s gotten out of hand lately, there’s an interview floating around somewhere where he says that.
September 3, 2011 at 6:38 PM
“People can’t seem to take the fact that dubstep has evolved, and it has gotten noisier and dirtier”
evolve??? please, this brostep shit has nothing to do with evolving, they just copy boring old basic ideas, where its quantity over quality, these producers have little skill and are bringing NOTHING new to the table. If you want to talk about evolve, talk about new artists with talent like James Blake, Mount Kimbie, Joy Orbison, Addison Groove, Korless, Scuba ect ect who actually have new ideas
September 19, 2011 at 6:59 PM
Music is music and it is constantly evolving, whether you like the style or not. I am not a fan of Brostep, and am one of Joy Orbson, et al IMMENSELY, but I respect 16-24 year old male’s desire to like Brostep. And it is music, if you know anything about music theory you’d understand that.
September 19, 2011 at 6:57 PM
Chris’s observations of underground culture are usually spot on, as is his account of Brostep, except I think his artist references are of those made by someone who doesn’t actually listen to Brostep. Plus, a lot of Brostep has exploded onto the world in the last year, namely Skrillex.
September 19, 2011 at 7:44 PM
Actually, that should read, “someone who doesn’t listen to Brostep OR Dubstep.”
September 20, 2011 at 8:23 PM
I thought this whole article was from “The Jaded Review’s Guide to Hippie Watching in North America”, because of the formatting of the source link being where it is (below everything else)… mah bad!
September 19, 2011 at 10:22 PM
Maybe its cause I mostly listen to thrash metal and grew up on punk, but when it comes to EDM IMO most the good shit out there is what you Kids call “brostep”. Im glad there is a sub genre so I can sort out the boring hippie garbage that makes me fall asleep and sounds too much like shitty ray-gay.
Bassnecter, Datsik, Nero, Akira Kiteshi, Skrillex, Tek-One, excision. Shit like this sounds good to me
Other stuff I found I couldn’t listen to to more than 30 seconds (BORING). Skream, Hatcha, coki, burial, benga, youngsta
September 20, 2011 at 4:20 PM
Yeah but, I grew up listening to breakcore and UK hardcore, and *I* still like the “boring” stuff! Your argument is just stating your personal preference. No one is attacking that, the article just criticizes the banalness of brostep.
September 24, 2011 at 11:17 PM
Couldn’t agree more. Grew up on Slayer, Pantera, Cannibal Corpse, Cephalic Carnage, this compliments each of those very well.
February 1, 2012 at 2:54 PM
brostep is the good shit?? brostep is like fashion..everybody hear’s/see’s it and wanna try it and be part of the scene but sooner or later it becomes DEAD! and everyone moves on..
dubstep or in your case the ‘BORING STUFF’ will always be original end off and wont be disappearing any time soon. mala, loefah,coki,hatcha,skream etc they created and established that sound, yeah its dark and deep but that doesnt mean its boring,thats just one style of dubstep..brostep on the other hand isnt dubstep,it doesnt take any influence from it, and i personally think it shouldnt even be labelled as a sub-genre for dubstep.. when your tryin to convince someone whos never heard a dubstep track before that its a good genre your not going to show them a skrillex track?? your not gonna show em any brostep tunes! they’ll either cringe,get pissed off,tell you that you have shit taste in music or laugh at you for playing rubbish and they’ll never wanna hear it again.
you play them a proper dubstep track say a classic like benga and coki – night, do you think there be complaints? if they want something heavier play em some pinch,goth-trad or tunnidge!
..fuck brostep,its the most pointless commerical-based genre(Not sub-genre) created..
oh btw all the ‘boring’ djs you metioned there have each made tunes that are banging and not just noise, coki – spongebob,listen to it.
September 24, 2011 at 11:14 PM
Love brostep, hate the name. It was this that I was looking for when I got into dubstep in ’09. It really is the mids for me, how it can accentuate the bass. That dirty, filthy, grindy bass. Also, I’ve tried producing these sounds with old euro hoovers and stabs, never came out right. But use a waveshaper (Saturator in Ableton, Subtractor in Reason), you can formulate the wave to what you need. That’s where that quick attack/release comes from with the insanely fast wubwubs, not to mention the pitchshifting/modulation/enveloping possibilities. The name has got to go (someone on youtube called it “Brovstep”? idk), but it has a lot of potential musically, be it better dubstep integration or crossing over into more traditional instruments.
September 24, 2011 at 11:22 PM
Sounds like a lot of old geezers in here. “You’re music’s too loud, it doesn’t sound like music, it’s just a bunch of noise.”
November 8, 2011 at 3:47 PM
OMG….I just came across this thread and I have never had so much fun reading a thread killing time at work! Thank you Shilo! …..and on a side note-I always thought Brostep was Hip remixed with dubstep….durrrrrrrr….hahah!
November 30, 2011 at 3:14 PM
I agree with the other “metal guys” above… For a death or thrash metal fan like me (and even progressive metal, jazz fusion or free jazz… and even a bit of IDM), “brostep” is much more appealing to me : more breaks, agressive glitches (I like glitches in EDM) and… yeah testosterone. But I’m pretty bored when listening to what some people call “dubstep”… I mean, if I want to chill out, I listen to The Future Sound of London or some trip-hop stuffs.
December 5, 2011 at 5:45 PM
Brilliant article.
But how the fuck did people start lumping the master of atmosphere that is Burial in with the cess pit of (I’ve just cringed so hard my rectum’s inverted) Brostep.
Burial is acoustic perfection in many ways and his beats reach far further into the roots of dubstep than so much of the bullshit listed here.
it isn’t a valid genre of dubstep. It’s a bastardisation of a once beautiful genre of music that’s brought with it this Ketamine fuelled hipster sensation. You only have to look down the Youtube comments, of which 99% are most retarded sentences I’ve ever read. ‘Filthier than fingering your sister and finding your dad’s wedding ring’ to realise that it’s breeding a wasted generation.
I can’t believe I’d say this so young in my years, but it’s the most mind numbing, disgusting noise in the most literal sense.
It should all be lumped into an LP entitled, ‘The Karma Sutra for Gameboy shagging Transformers”.
December 8, 2011 at 9:38 PM
Just listen to the fuckin’ music before you put it in a box… damn. I mean really people.
December 12, 2011 at 12:32 PM
http://smallvictories41.tumblr.com/post/14082761432/dubstep-vs-brostep-research-paper
Research Paper done on the history of dubstep and the differences between dubstep & Brostep
December 27, 2011 at 6:10 PM
thoughts? http://soundcloud.com/thick-beats/brostep-haters-dubstep-mix
February 15, 2012 at 5:53 PM
Sucks, I listen to awesome music with a gay name.
March 8, 2012 at 9:01 AM
Is correct to strip the word Dub from a genre which is forgetting about heavy bass and calls bass what bass is not.
March 16, 2012 at 5:53 PM
Thoughts Id sign up to this to give my two penneth….i disagree with alot of what you lot have said but i ent got the time (but whoever put Burial and brostep in same bracket, your a TWAT!)… the existence of brostep styles is good, i loved flux paviilion, dr p n caspa/ruskos early stuff, but now i find most their releases one dimensional and boring n i cant listen to skrillex longer than a minute (or borgore whatsoever!)…
But the fact that ‘brostep’ appeals to heavy metallers, which is essentially dubstep, which originated from a fusion of dub/reggae and UK garage makes me smile… to explain to all the man dem across the pond… In the 90’s in UK schools, you had garage heads/ townies and metallers/ grebos, and they kicked the shit outta each other for their differences, you probably had a similar dynamic over there, i dunno, and now they may be brought together on the same dancefloor embracing something which has crossed that bridge of irrational hatrid … so why dont we embrace the diversity of bass culture and do our ting, whatever it is… peace, croatia croatia…
PS can people stop with the retarded comments on youtube clips [filthier than etc etc…] just click “like” and skank out!!…[feelin Harlan Ashleyone_troop’s comment!!]
March 16, 2012 at 10:37 AM
Sub genres are bollocks and the older you get the more laughable they become.
March 16, 2012 at 5:54 PM
Thoughts Id sign up to this to give my two penneth….i disagree with alot of what you lot have said but i ent got the time (but whoever put Burial and brostep in same bracket, your a MORON!)… the existence of brostep styles is good, i loved flux paviilion, dr p n caspa/ruskos early stuff, but now i find most their releases one dimensional and boring n i cant listen to skrillex longer than a minute (or borgore whatsoever!)…
But the fact that ‘brostep’ appeals to heavy metallers, which is essentially dubstep, which originated from a fusion of dub/reggae and UK garage makes me smile… to explain to all the man dem across the pond… In the 90′s in UK schools, you had garage heads/ townies and metallers/ grebos, and they kicked the shit outta each other for their differences, you probably had a similar dynamic over there, i dunno, and now they may be brought together on the same dancefloor embracing something which has crossed that bridge of irrational hatrid … so why dont we embrace the diversity of bass culture and do our ting, whatever it is… peace, croatia croatia…
PS can people stop with the retarded comments on youtube clips [filthier than etc etc…] just click “like” and skank out!!…[feelin Harlan Ashleyone_troop’s comment!!]
March 26, 2012 at 5:25 AM
i’m an old man and all this ranting sounds like 1963 all over again or was it 1977, maybe ’82 or ’91…fcuk, i can’t remember but it sure sounds familiar
March 26, 2012 at 7:01 PM
Ok……… Now who are the REAL dubstep DJ’s? Mt Edon, Boxcutter? Brostep is 16 bit and Cookie Monsta type of shit? You people are crazy and going to turn people off to dubstep all together. How about a list of REAL dupstep DJ’s ???
1. ?
April 15, 2012 at 6:59 PM
i got into dubstep about 4 years ago im only 18 and i loved the sound of reggae dub music fused with 2 step garrage i followed alot of artists including (1). coki, benga, radical guru, reso, rusko, GWN, caspa zomby, mala, 16 bit and (2) skrillex bassnectar borgore datsik exicion zomboy and what i realised with those (2) is that they didnt really follow the convetions of dubstep and got really annoying to listen to that i skipped them on my ipod everytime i heard them then ended up deleting them. then skrillex got big and continued making the same noise over and over again datsik dubstep or not sounds the same as him now borgore with his metal backgroung failed and sounds the same too, same with exicion even tho hes been trying but is always 2 steps behind, bassnectectar isnt even really dubstep after i listened through his discography…
but any way most of what i now know is call brostep holds no wait or timeless value its just commercialized music intended for the sole perpose of making money off of shallow non musicly minded people, its no different from pop music and once the fad is over us true fans will still be listening to the real dubstep wile the sub genre faids into the dust in (1) i have songs that i listen to over and over again that are filled with some sort of feeeling emotion etc or a steady rhythm, sycapation good arangment and on top of all of that influence, bro steps not for me and i dont see it lasting for too much loger give it about 3 years tops and it will die..
dub meets 2 step
kick/snare 2 step beat
hi hats in the middle (or whatevah)
syncopation/rhythm
emphasis bass (low frequency or even a bass guitar like in dub music whatevah)
reverb on snares, notes, dubs/vocal
compression on snare
american people just eat anything dont they even music…what a shame but yeah this thread is joke, refuse to fix my grammer and yeah
“let music with heart and soul live on…to be passed down to your children and your childrens children”
“mindless chatter and noise clouds the mind and distracts one what truly important”
August 10, 2012 at 5:44 PM
You sound like one of those people that we call a “hipster” always trying to avoid the mainstream music because you feel less “hip” if you do follow what everyone is listening too.
Pop music has been around for years! Has it disappeared in 3 years? NO! Then what makes you think that just because you don’t like a genre it’s automatically going to “fade out.” Once you find out that some people are open-minded and like listening to new things. Then you might learn to appreciate music more.
You just sound like a stereotype. You are going to remain one until you just let people listen to what they like. Don’t try to shove whatever you like down someone’s throat. We all like different music. DO NOT LISTEN TO BROSTEP IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT!
I do however happen to like Excision, DatsiK, Zomboy, and Skrillex. Apparently, you are just too cool to listen to what a majority of the people like.
May 1, 2012 at 9:06 AM
kick/snare 2 step beat, ha ! the whole history
May 10, 2012 at 8:00 AM
Out of sheer curiosity and fascination, I read almost every comment here. It never ceases to amaze how mostly irrelevant issues spawn the most sweeping and pissy little arguments on the Internet. Everyone’s a critic, yet damn near no one ever has any credentials to back it up. You don’t like “bro”step, so it’s shit? How very adolescent of you. The haters sound like the old fogies that complained when metal started crawling out of good ol’ rock n’ roll. Some producers took your fav genre, tweaked it to suit their own personal taste, and the suddenly its popularity exploded. What’s wrong with that?
I like BOTH.
May 19, 2012 at 4:30 PM
i agree, if it’s out there than obviously someone likes it, and yes i too like both
August 19, 2012 at 11:17 AM
…but you see, there is nothing ‘wrong’ with ‘brostep’. It is its own genre of music, and, no matter how much people hate it, it has its own crowd and reputation.
HOWEVER, and here is where I draw emphasis, the fact most people know this sound exclusively as ‘dubstep’ and have no idea about the ‘original’ sound (what grew out of 2-step, dub), even as far as dismissing it for the most part, is what is annoying most people. ‘Brostep’ have may have originated from dubstep, just as dubstep may have originated from 2-step, but neither is really a sub-genre of the other. Styles originate and evolve, and that is why ‘brostep’ is not ‘dubstep’.
It is its own sound, no matter if people like it or not. It deserves a better reputation and, personally, a better name (maybe hardbeat?), but let time take its course, I suppose.
I like dubstep, but I agree–some people really just need to calm down!
July 5, 2012 at 6:57 PM
What is the etymology of the term “brostep”?…
Supposedly, San Francisco producer Kozee came up with the term on Twitter to make fun of dubstep-influenced music designed to appeal to fratboys or “bro’s”. She did so as a joke, but the name caught on to describe the new sub-genre. Further reading:…
August 28, 2012 at 7:54 PM
Youre all as bad as the metal hipsters. Coining every new sound with some name to seperate yourself from it.
Megadeath, Metallica, Slipknot, Otep, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park are all metal and thats the bottom line.
The same thing is with dubstep.
Just because someone isnt tripping on mushrooms while listening to psy trance doesnt make them a “bro”.
If you really want to hate on it should I even start on the kandi ravers or the hippies?
Dubstep is attracting more punks than anything else and should be a welcomed assimilation.
I jump, pump, bang AND dance. I like high energy “bassey” music that I can dance to. I like feeling a pressure wave from 130,000 watts on Excisions set flow through my body.
This makes me a bro?
No.
This makes YOU a hipster.
August 28, 2012 at 8:01 PM
Also, I love that they call dubstep “filthy” “dirty” “grimy” because thats what it is when youre dancing in the mud and rain for five hours with 8000 people!
November 1, 2012 at 9:30 AM
For real, I love you.
The only thing “brostep” has done wrong here is be accessible to people who only look for pleasure out of their music.
I never understood this need for music making to be insanely hard. Someone can spend a hundred hours making a 30 minute track with countless insanely complex layers and have it still be a steaming pile of shit. Music is more of an organic expression than slaving away at an electronic keyboard; it’s solid waves of pure thought being transmitted through wire. The more you bog it down in a hazy fog of processed shit the more soulless it becomes. It’s a lot like social interaction; which is why most if not all elitists are unlikeable as fuck. That being said production quality is important and you probably know your shit, but the knowledge should become secondary to the emotion you want to put out.
TL;DR – You’re all elitist cunts that only make music other people in your prideful gutter could like. Re-evaluate your life.
November 22, 2012 at 7:18 AM
@Cryptic:
You are f’ing clueless. You can’t even spell MegaDETH correctly.
Go into any metal forum and claim that “Otep, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park” are metal and you will be laughed off in two seconds.
Brostep like Skrillex and their ilk are not “dubstep” and they will never be.
Brostep is nothing but a FAD, a cash grab and a marketing scam by American record companies and empresarios.
September 1, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Most “brostep” is crap, especially the songs based of “pop” music. However tell me that “Crave You advencture club remix” doesn’t sound like shit. It has soul IMO, but is still classified as “brostep” because of the mid-range drops.
November 2, 2012 at 6:57 PM
Brostep has violently extracted and over-simplified 20+ years of beautiful, culture-rich, underground UK dub music and repackaged it into a retail 6-month cash-grab-for-a-Grammy pop-lic-inspired, tweaked-out, sexual ear-assault slur for the masses.
The greed and over-zealous musical aggression of a few ambitious producers has successfully deconstructed and sifted-through what could have a legendary movement into a 2 year fucking fad.
November 22, 2012 at 7:19 AM
AMEN.
November 5, 2012 at 12:56 PM
all i got to say is imve been a musician for 10 years now and a music lover for 22 years and i love bro step, drum step, DUBSTEP, rhaggaton, moombahton, dnb and ALL its subgenres, i like electrohouse, i like trance and trap/trapcore/trapstep, i just plain like EDM in general i like regge, i like hip-hop i like metal and classic rock and even a few counry songs, i like korn because i love nu metal, i also like metal core and crunk beats and 90’s gangsta rap and some micheal jackson and some wierd 80;s music and jazz and classicall mucic and everything inbetween, i think that poeples mental conditioning to whats cool and whats not turns them off of alot of great music…from bieber to batoven,music is music and if it sounds cool to you then thats all that matters.
all you hippsters and eletists can go douche your pussies and GET FUCKED. I like it all i am a TRU music lover. hehe jk talking like that would make me a hipster/eletist so just go enjoy some music my brothers and sisters. just dont forget to douch your pussies.
December 22, 2012 at 7:05 AM
Dubstep artists: Skream, Hatcha, Digital Mystikz, Benga, Sukh Knight, Roksonix, Chasing Shadows, Jakes and even Excision & Datsik make some good dubstep (and brostep occasionally).
Brostep artists: Skrillex, Kill The Noise, xKore, Zeds Dead, 501 (occasionally), Zomboy, Dodge & Fuski (occasionally) and some Rusko and Datsik.
December 31, 2012 at 4:00 AM
I still think Brostep as term is for “regular” non-music making haters…status quo house/trance reminiscing mothafuckaz…
Mostly ppl who are mad that dubstep robbed their dancefloors of young girls haha
Brostep is like the title Conspiracy Theorist…Created to diminish those you are literally “listening and being influenced by” …despite their valid contributions to the interests of their majority…
Brostep like Conspiracy Theorist is a way to write ppl off…I think a lot of dubstep haters who don’t know the discographies of the artists they call Brostep, but write BS articles like this to get hits, while hurting the careers of the OG DUBSTEP Producers… Call me a conspiracy theorist or “Brostepper” when I say why the hell would anyone cite wikipedia for Dubstep unless they did not know the story already? I mean dont you know any fuggin better? Do u listen to it? I mean do some “real” research and listen to Reso again for example. Brostep really? Speaks volumes of the persons’ knowledge of dubstep- both who put this on wiki and cited it.
Quick note on Skrillex…He is what you wanted so u got it…He’s talented AND gave u what u wanted…That’s why you all go see him… I can’t be one of the few here not hating EDM in public yet going to these massive shows having fun and talking shit later?
Alot of the producers mentioned above are being majorly shortchanged by the hipster EDM critics who dont really listen to EDM except at “raves” or whateva. Plus those who know dubstep dont call great producers in the genre “Brostep”…U think other Dubstep producers are hating on other producers because of their aggressive sound? Just cause I dont listen to much House or Trance these days does n’t mean the producers are less talented than they are in reality…
Electronic Music is not ruined it evolves with the ppl who listen and subscribe…Get smarter and your popular-underground music will too…Or just dig deeper for up and comers and stop listening to what u dont like… easy enough… As for me DUBSTEP has not been a fad or trend, been producing it and other styles 06…its now a genre ppl will refer to for future inspiration like TRANCE OR HOUSE DNB blah blah blah
Brostep is definitely a joke…
Dont label hard working producers with BS labels especially if you’re not familiar with their music or contributions to EDM…
Not trying to be sharp or shady, just a healthy 3 AM passionate reply to something I thought should be replied to.
Get ya facts str8-show love dont h8
ouT!
P.S. Trillbass is pretty badass in my opinioin whatever ya want to call him-and his response was perfect -shows how open minded he is, yet it breaks my heart to see producers have to concede their careers to an ocean of ignorance. So goes the popular music conversations by ppl not really involved in the active listening of it or making of it.
Cheers
January 9, 2013 at 7:05 AM
Okay, I know the solution: we need to have a test for everyone before they can buy or listen to “real” dubstep, or dubstep of any kind, to enure that they are “down with the scene”, and won’t make it too popular and “take it out of the underground where it belongs”. Because, as we all know, music SOUNDS much better when it’s underground, and most importantly, it ruins my image when lots of other people listen to the same stuff as I do. Not cool at all. Anyway, since REAL dubstep is so special, we need to make sure it stays exclusive and out of the hands of undesirables who don’t meet our standards of coolness. They obviously have NO RIGHT to listen to OUR music. How DARE they popularize our underground scene. This should be criminal, as should calling brostep “dubstep”, since when they do that I can’t tell everyone that I listen to dubstep without them thinking I’m listening to that horrid “mainstream” stuff. And if people think you listen to mainstream music, what’s the point in listening to music at all!? Seriously. The nerve of those US wankers, listening to our music and liking it. Definitely need to set minimum standards to ensure only those who are qualified can listen to our stuff, and definitely need to cap the number of those allowed to listen. The way it is, you’d think Those People thought they had some RIGHT to listen to whatever they want! The idea!
January 15, 2013 at 5:04 PM
[…] all but the mightiest of rap albums but Sonny managed to kill it on this one. The notorious “brostep” poster child slowed his frantic Birdy Nam Nam remix into a dynamic, bouncing beat that […]
April 10, 2014 at 9:28 PM
I think there shouldnt be so many sub genres of dubstep. There is brostep chillstep drumstep liquid metalstep i mean fucking god lol.
April 23, 2014 at 10:19 AM
Who cares…. It all sucks
December 11, 2016 at 8:36 AM
Brostep, a term coined as a joke, the very concept of “brostep” is non existent, as many individuals who claim to know how to define it completely invalidate themselves at every turn, the majority of the time “brostep” is typically used as a way to berate and insult Heavy varieties of dubstep as a whole.
Some of the reasons nobody claims the label “Brostep” is because it is non-existent and completely invalid, most people who carry this term would very subjectively describe what brostep is completely differently, this article is an example of one of those variable formats.
So everyone should stop using this ridiculous constant contradictory label known as “Brostep”