Wonky emerged in 2006 as a colourful reaction to the austerity of concurrent UK dubstep and grime

Wonky crystallised around 2006 in the UK as a vibrant, eclectic style — drawing on hip hop, synth-funk, glitchy electronica, and American producers J Dilla and Madlib — positioning itself as a colourful, exuberant alternative to the darker, more austere sound of the concurrent UK dubstep and grime scenes. Some artists leaned more explicitly on an instrumental hip-hop sound than on dubstep. The genre includes the microgenre aquacrunk and is related to purple sound. Notably, many artists associated with the style rejected the ‘wonky’ label itself, which was largely critic-coined.

Examples

Artists associated with the style: Joker, Rustie, Hudson Mohawke, Zomby, Flying Lotus. Microgenre: aquacrunk; related: purple sound. Simon Reynolds’s Retromania (2011) gives critical context.

Assessment

Place wonky on a timeline relative to dubstep and grime; name three artists central to the genre; explain why the genre positioned itself against dubstep/grime and why artists rejected the label.