Skrillex

Before he was Skrillex, Sonny Moore was the screaming frontman of the post-hardcore band From First to Last, fronting the group through two albums before vocal cord issues forced him out in 2007. That could’ve been the end of the story. Instead, Sonny grabbed a laptop, started digging into production, and reemerged a couple years later under a name he swiped from an old AOL screen name: Skrillex.

The turning point was Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, the 2010 EP that basically kicked the door down for dubstep in America. Those filthy, mid-range-heavy drops weren’t the deep, spacious UK dubstep purists were used to — they were louder, snarlier, and built for festival mainstages. Whether you call it brostep or just “that Skrillex sound,” it reshaped what American EDM sounded like for the better part of a decade and put a generation of producers onto the genre.

Grammys, OWSLA, and Jack Ü

Skrillex has since become the winningest dance artist in Grammy history, picking up nine wins across categories like Best Dance/Electronic Album and Best Dance Recording, including a 2024 win for “Rumble” with Fred again.. and Flowdan. In 2011 he launched his own label, OWSLA, giving early platforms to artists like Porter Robinson and Alvin Risk. And in 2013 he linked up with Diplo to form Jack Ü, a project that gave us “Where Are Ü Now” with Justin Bieber — a genuine crossover hit that proved he could mess with pop just as easily as bass music.

What makes Skrillex Skrillex, though, is that he never really sat still in one lane. He’s worked with everyone from XXXTentacion to Missy Elliott to Yoshiki, hopping between hip-hop, rock, and pretty much anything with a pulse. In February 2023 he dropped two full albums back to back — Quest for Fire and Don’t Get Too Close — a wild, ambitious pair of records that pulled from jungle, dubstep, and everything in between and reminded everyone he’s still one of the most restless minds in dance music. He followed that up with more surprise releases in the years since, including a fourth album dropped out of nowhere in 2025.

From a screaming post-hardcore frontman to the guy who literally changed the sound of American dance music, Skrillex’s whole career has been one long refusal to stay in his lane — and honestly, that’s exactly why he’s still one of the most important names in the game.