Two women were structurally essential to dubstep: Sarah Lockhart organized the scene and Mary Anne Hobbs broadcast it globally

Oris Jay explicitly credits the scene’s creation and exposure to two women in a scene dominated by men: ‘if it weren’t for Sarah Lockhart and Mary Anne Hobbs, there wouldn’t be any of this. The boys were running around, but these two women brought it all together.’ Sarah ‘Soulja’ Lockhart founded FWD>>, ran the Ammunition label, managed distribution of dubplates between producers and DJs, and effectively coordinated the entire scene’s logistics. Mary Anne Hobbs’ ‘Dubstep Warz Breezeblock’ broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in January 2006 aired dubstep to a global audience; because it went out at 2-4 AM UK time, the US heard it during daylight hours. ‘Within 18 months, everyone who was featured on that show got status, straight away.‘

Examples

Youngsta: Sarah ‘even took me to Freek FM every Saturday, because I was too young to go by myself.’ She also ‘supplied me with tunes because of her work’ as a distributor and record shop employee.

Assessment

Describe the specific organizational role Sarah Lockhart played and the specific media role Mary Anne Hobbs played, and explain why each was essential rather than merely useful.