In 2012, with his second album for Mad Decent, Christopher Mercer, aka Rusko, intended to push the envelope on a genre that was increasingly becoming commonplace.
When boiled down to its bare essence, Songs is a dubstep album with the wobbly bass bombs to prove it, but Rusko tackles 14 tracks with 14 vocalists and takes on all sorts of styles, including Top 40 pop, '90s house, grime, jungle, ragga, and even lovers rock reggae.
Amidst all the territory covered, the underlying thread of dubstep is predictable, since Mercer's collaboration with Britney Spears helped introduce the genre to the mainstream -- but his decision to flip the script with what he calls his "anti-brostep" album doesn't seem like such a stretch once you realize how effectively he can mix a wealth of musical styles into 2-step.
It's just as natural to hear the sub-bass drops in a Rihanna pop song like "Dirty Sexy" as it is in the Sly & Robbie-esque "Skanker." All of the music is well executed, and the Leeds College of Music grad shows that he is a rabid music enthusiast who knows his history, and isn't afraid to have some fun bringing it to the surface.
This is the perfect type of album for people who think dubstep is too singular and great proof that there are still possibilities for expansion in the genre.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somebody to LoveNomvula Malinga, Christopher Mercer, Alexander John William Reid | Rusko | Play | 03:01 | 6 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | PressureAjay Bhattacharyya, Anthony Dolhai, Farshad Edalat, Christopher Mercer, Zachary Verxa | Rusko | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | SkankerRodney Michael Craig, Christopher Mercer | Rusko | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | OpiumElizabeth Abrams, Christopher Mercer | Rusko | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 5 | Dirty SexyMelissa Arzoomanian, Christopher Mercer | Rusko | Play | 02:44 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 6 | Be FreeMichael Dunn, Christopher Mercer, Oje Ollivierre | Rusko | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 7 | ThunderTed Bruner, Bonnie McKee, Christopher Mercer | Rusko | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 31 MB |
| 8 | Mek More GreenChristopher Mercer, Michael Mitchell | Rusko | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | Asda Car ParkChristopher Mercer, Danielle Wells | Rusko | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 10 | Whistle CrewNomvula Malinga, Christopher Mercer, Alexander John William Reid | Rusko | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 11 | M357East Chubbers, Christopher Mercer | Rusko | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 12 | Intro - Year 3000 Style | Rusko | Play | 01:02 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 13 | Roll Da Beats (Old School Edition) | Rusko | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 44 mins | 102 MB | |||||
| 44 mins | 324 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elizabeth Abrams | Composer |
| 2 | Alborosie | Vocals |
| 3 | Evanson Allen | Composer |
| 4 | Melissa Arzoomanian | Composer |
| 5 | Rod Azlan | Featured Artist |
| 6 | Ajay Bhattacharyya | Composer |
| 7 | Ted Bruner | Composer |
| 8 | East Chubbers | Composer |
| 9 | Rodney Michael Craig | Composer |
| 10 | Alberto D'Ascola | Composer |
| 11 | Clifton Dillon | Composer |
| 12 | DiRTY RADiO | Vocals |
| 13 | Anthony Dolhai | Composer |
| 14 | Michael Dunn | Composer |
| 15 | Farshad Edalat | Composer |
| 16 | Kate Lesing | Vocals |
| 17 | Nomvula Malinga | Composer |
| 18 | Bonnie McKee | Composer, Vocals |
| 19 | Christopher Mercer | Composer |
| 20 | General Jah Mikey | Vocals |
| 21 | Million Dan | Vocals |
| 22 | Michael Mitchell | Composer |
| 23 | Oje Ollivierre | Composer |
| 24 | Protoje | Vocals |
| 25 | Ratpack | Vocals |
| 26 | Alexander John William Reid | Composer |
| 27 | Danni Rouge | Vocals |
| 28 | Rusko | Primary Artist |
| 29 | Betty Trouble | Vocals |
| 30 | Zachary Verxa | Composer |
| 31 | Vula | Vocals |
| 32 | Danielle Wells | Composer, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |