Rusko

During the 2000s and 2010s British producer Rusko helped shift dubstep from a specialized U.K. club sound into a worldwide festival attraction. His intense, wobbling basslines also helped steer the genre toward the harder-edged approach later championed by North American acts such as Skrillex and Datsik. At the same time Rusko stayed faithful to British sound-system traditions grounded in reggae, hip-hop, and rave culture, always following his individual creative direction rather than chasing prevailing fashions. Early cuts like the 2007 track “Cockney Thug” generated underground interest, after which Rusko and associate Caspa assembled the well-received FabricLive.37 mix that introduced the emerging scene to a larger audience. Signing with Diplo’s Mad Decent imprint, Rusko issued O.M.G.! in 2010 and the broader-ranging Songs in 2012, an album he labeled an “anti-brostep album” in response to the style’s more commercial form. Since departing the label he has largely released music independently, issuing several EPs that explore garage, drum’n’bass, electro, and further styles.

Christopher Mercer was born in Leeds in 1985. He completed a Music Performance degree at Leeds College of Music and first encountered dubstep at an event called Sub Dub. Working under the name Rusko, he began shaping his own version of the genre by combining quirky, often home-recorded samples with heavy bass frequencies and commanding beats. After moving to London he affiliated with Caspa’s Sub Soldiers and Dub Police labels, releasing early EPs including 2006’s SNES Dub and the following year’s Babylon: Volume 1. The latter contained “Cockney Thug,” an aggressive yet humorous track that became an underground hit. That same year Caspa & Rusko mixed FabricLive.37, which became one of the series’ strongest sellers and significantly widened dubstep’s visibility. The mix’s success prompted heavier touring for both artists, and Rusko soon received remix requests from Adele, the Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Kid Sister (“Pro Nails”), and others.

After issuing Babylon: Volume 2 on Sub Soldiers in 2009, Rusko joined Diplo’s Mad Decent and delivered his debut full-length O.M.G.! in 2010. The wide-ranging album, spanning rave and jungle flashbacks to funk-tinged hip-hop, featured guest spots from Gucci Mane and Amber Coffman (then of Dirty Projectors) along with singles such as “Woo-Boost.” Rusko also collaborated with M.I.A., mixing and co-writing material for her third album, MAYA. Following the 2011 Everyday/Lick the Lizard EP, he released his second album, Songs, in 2012. The record aimed to steer dubstep back toward its reggae, drum’n’bass, and rave foundations.

After the album appeared, Rusko parted ways with Mad Decent. The Cypress X Rusko EP 01, a joint project with West Coast hip-hop legends Cypress Hill issued on V2, contained the Damian Marley-featuring single “Can’t Keep Me Down.” Rusko’s self-released Kapow EP also surfaced in 2012. Lift Me Up arrived on Skrillex’s OWSLA imprint in 2013, and two volumes of ! followed on FMLY the next year. In 2015 Rusko reunited with Caspa; the pair performed their first American show together and began issuing new material on Sub Soldiers, starting with the 2015 single “Blouse an Skirt.” EP 1, EP 2, and the single “Cheese” appeared in 2016.

Rusko largely stepped away in 2017 after a gastric lymphoma diagnosis. Once chemotherapy ended he returned to performing in February 2018. Additional singles and EPs followed, among them 2018’s Has Made 5 More Songs on Circus Records and 2019’s Megarad on Deadbeats.