Why Is Dubstep Called Dubstep?

Dubstep takes its name from the fact that it is primarily a dub (remix) of UK garage, a genre that originated in London in the early 2000s. Dubstep producers would sample garage tracks and then remove or alter drums, basslines, and other elements, effectively creating a new version of the original. This process of dubbing was common among reggae musicians, who would take existing songs and modify or "version" them in new and interesting ways.

Since dubstep is fundamentally a subgenre of dub, it is quite literally "dubstep." The term was first used in 1999 by Neil Kulkarni of Big Apple Records to describe a new style of dub originating from Croydon that "took the heavy, sub-bass sound system reggae, or the dub side, to the next level by slowing down the tempo and focusing more on the power and the sound."

So, there you have it. Dubstep is called dubstep because it is a dub remix of UK garage, a subgenre of dub originating from Croydon in the late '90s.