Written and published by X
I wanted to sit down and write about an album that isn’t even out yet, but still somehow has so much criticism already. As many of you have seen, Skrillex is releasing a new album that seems to be filled with a lot more diversity than his older dubstep music. The public has not taken this news quite well for the sole reason that Skrillex was just about everyone’s first step into dubstep, and they feel as if they can put him into a box. I understand the nostalgia and the pivotal role his older music has played in relation to our childhood and our introduction to electronic music, but that shouldn’t mean anything other than the realization that we’re growing up…and so is he. You're allowed to have your own opinion of course, but here's my take on it.
I think it’s awesome when producers diversify their music. As long as they’re being authentic and honest about their music and intentions, why not? If you haven’t caught on, this isn’t just about Skrillex. Skrillex is a prime example of how the public boxes in artists, but another great example of this is what happened with Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus is actually the perfect example. She said the word “hell” in her first song that wasn’t collaborative with Disney and the world went absolutely wild. I mean, do you remember when she cut her hair and came out with the song We Can't Stop? Why was it such a huge deal? She was growing up and her style was changing, but no one wanted to accept it, because the public wanted her boxed in with a kids channel for the rest of her life. My point being, artists change their styles all the time, and everyone goes crazy over it for no reason at all. I want to express how toxic that can be to smaller artists as well. If these big artists can’t diversify and change up their style, smaller artists will never feel comfortable putting out music that’s even slightly different from their first works.
If you take a look at Skrillex’s past and current discography, his music has actually always been diverse. There’s been so much more innovation in his music than his old style of dubstep. You can’t really call yourself a die-hard Skrillex fan if you only know More Monsters and Sprites. People seem to forget that art and artists are forever evolving. Imagine if we kept all artists in a box like that. No one would grow or expand their minds into creating something new or rebranding themselves and their art. -X