Christopher William Mercer (born 26 January 1985), known by stage name Rusko, is a British

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

producer and DJ from

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, England.

Early life and education

Rusko was born on 26 January 1985 in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and brought up in nearby York. He grew up in

Wheldrake Wheldrake is a village and civil parish located south-east of York in the unitary authority of the City of York, which is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,909, i ...

, just outside of the city, and attended Fulford School. He later graduated from

Leeds College of Music Leeds Conservatoire (formerly known as The Leeds Music Centre, the City of Leeds College of Music, and Leeds College of Music) is a higher education music conservatoire based in the Quarry Hill district of Leeds, England. It was founded in 19 ...

with a degree in Music Performance.

Career

Immersed in the world of dubstep through Leeds based event "Sub Dub" which was held at the West Indian Centre, Rusko moved to London to work with the record label Sub Soldiers with now no longer associated act

Caspa Gary McCann, known professionally as Caspa (born 30 May 1982), is a dubstep music producer from West London. Biography McCann's creative involvement in music began after a promising basketball career was cut short by a shoulder injury. Growing ...

. On 26 October 2012, ''Fact Magazine'' posted an interview with Rusko where he stated he planned to release his music for free instead of signing with

Mad Decent Mad Decent is an American record label founded by Diplo. The label has helped introduce Brazilian baile funk and Angolan kuduro to clubs around the world. In the early 2010s, it popularized moombahton, a genre of electronic dance music create ...

again, following his dispute with the record label about the release of his second album. The Kapow EP was his first self-release. In 2013 he joined

Owsla Owsla (stylized in all caps) is an American record label and creative collective. It was founded by Skrillex, Tim Smith, Kathryn Frazier, and Clayton Blaha in 2011. Skrillex announced the label on August 17, 2011. The label's first release was ...

. In 2015, Rusko and his former production/DJ partner

announced a reunion with their first American show together.

Health

On 4 May 2017, Rusko announced on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that he had been diagnosed with gastric lymphoma and would be cancelling all events in summer 2017 while undergoing treatment, with his first cycle of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

completed on 31 May 2017. On 24 October 2017, Rusko appeared in an interview with Your EDM and announced he was given the all-clear. He returned to the stage on 23 February 2018.

Discography

Albums

*'' FabricLive.37'' (with

) (2007) *'' O.M.G.!'' (2010) *''

Songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

'' (2012)

Singles and extended plays

*''SNES Dub'' / ''Hornz Cru'' / ''Tru Powwa'' (Dub Police 2006) *''Acton Dread'' / ''Cockney Flute (Rusko Remix)'' — Rusko /

(Dub Police 2007) *''Babylon: Volume 1'' (Sub Soldiers 2007) *''BetaMax'' / ''Bed Bugz'' — Rusko / The Others (Veri Lo 2007) *''William H Tonkers'' / ''Roma'' (2nd Drop 2007) *''Dubstep Warz'' / ''Get Your Cock Out'' — D1 / Rusko (Dub Files 2008) *''Gone 2 Far'' / ''2 N A Q'' (Sub Soldiers 2008) *''Mr Chips'' / ''Hammertime'' (Sub Soldiers 2008) *''Babylon: Volume 2'' (Sub Soldiers 2009) *''Cockney Thug'' (Sub Soldiers 2009) *''Woo Boost'' (Mad Decent 2010) #194 UK *''Hold On'' (featuring

Amber Coffman Amber Dawn Coffman (born June 15, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California, formerly based in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. She was formerly a guitarist for Sleeping People, and was later a guitarist and voca ...

) (Mad Decent 2010) #96 UK *''Everyday'' / ''Lick The Lizard'' (

2011) #106 UK *''Somebody To Love'' (Mad Decent 2012) *''Thunder'' (featuring

Bonnie McKee Bonnie Leigh McKee (born January 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut album '' Trouble'' was released in 2004 by Reprise Records. After being dropped, she took a musical hiatus and established herself as a songwriter. She ...

) (Mad Decent 2012) *''Roll It, Light It'' (with

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

) (V2/Cooperative Music 2012) *''Can't Keep Me Down'' (with Cypress Hill) (featuring

Damian Marley Damian Robert Nesta “Jr. Gong” Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican reggae musician. The second youngest child of Bob Marley, he is the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Early life, education and family Marley is the youngest son of leg ...

) (V2/Cooperative Music 2012) *'' Cypress X Rusko'' (with Cypress Hill) (V2/Cooperative Music 2012) *''Kapow EP'' (Self-released 2012) *''Lift Me Up'' (

2013) *''! EP'' (FMLY 2014) *'' Look Out!'' (Self-released 2018) *''Has Made 5 More Songs'' (

Circus Records Circus Records is an independent record label founded by Joshua "Flux Pavilion" Steele, Shaun "Doctor P" Brockhurst, Simon Swan and Earl Falconer in 2009. Kanye West and Jay-Z sampled the Flux Pavilion song "I Can't Stop" in " Who Gon Stop M ...

2018) *''Mr. Policeman'' (Self-released 2018) *''Squeeze (Burnin)'' (Deadbeats 2019) *''Megarad EP'' (Deadbeats 2019) *''Bounce'' (with Subtronics) (Cyclops Recordings 2019) *'' Genghis Danger'' (Deadbeats 2019) *''Sauce'' (Wakaan 2020) *''Mac 19'' (Elevate Records 2021) *''Shut Ya Mouth EP'' (Souped Up 2021) *''Butcher Shop'' (Elevate Records 2022) *''Wassup'' (

Monstercat Monstercat (formerly known as Monstercat Media) is a Canadian electronic music record label based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 2011 by Mike Darlington and Ari Paunonen, the label released regular compilation albums featuring music ...

2024) *''1 Man Army EP'' (Monstercat 2025)

Remixes

* 2006

Skream Oliver Dene Jones (born 1 June 1986), known professionally as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream has released records on several British record labels, such as Tempa, Tectonic, and Big Apple Records, and ...

– "Dutch Flowers (Rusko Remix)" (Not on Label) * 2007

– "Cockney Flute (Rusko Remix)" (Dub Police) * 2007 Mike Lennon – "When Science Fails (Rusko Remix)" (Z Audio) * 2008 Leon Jean Marie – "Bring It On (Rusko's Granny Smasher Remix)" (Island Records) * 2008

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

– "

Cold Shoulder "Cold shoulder" is a phrase used to express dismissal or the act of disregarding someone. Its origin is attributed to Sir Walter Scott in a work published in 1816, which is in fact a mistranslation of an expression from the Vulgate Bible. There i ...

(Rusko Remix)" (XL Recordings) * 2008

Kid CuDi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...

– " Day & Night" (Not on Label) * 2008

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

– "

I Kissed A Girl "I Kissed a Girl" is the debut single by American singer Katy Perry. It was released on April 28, 2008, by Capitol Records as the lead single from her second studio album, '' One of the Boys'' (2008). Perry co-wrote the song with Max Martin, ...

" (Not on Label) * 2008 D. Kay – "Fire (Rusko Remix)" (Not on Label) * 2008 Audio Bullys – "Flickery Vision (Rusko's Staying Awake Remix)" (Vizo Records) * 2008 HK119 – "C'est La Vie" (Rusko Masher) (One Little Indian) * 2008 L-Wiz – "Girl From Codeine City" (Dub Thiefs) * 2008 Kotchy – "Sing What You Want (Rusko's Skwee Remix)" (Civil Music / Seclusiasis) * 2009 Marco Del Horno – "Samurai (Rusko 'Safe Sex' Remix)" (Bullet Train Records) * 2009

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

– " Take Me to the Hospital" (Rusko Remix) (Ministry of Sound) * 2009

Skunk Anansie Skunk Anansie are a British Rock music, rock band whose members include Skin (musician), Skin (vocals, guitar), Cass (bass, guitar), Ace (guitar) and Mark Richardson (musician), Mark Richardson (drums). Skunk Anansie formed in 1994, disbanded ...

– "I Can Dream (Rusko's Hands In The Air Remix)" (One Little Indian) * 2009

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

– "

Alejandro Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander ( Czech, Polish), Alexandre ( French), Alexandros ( Greek), Alsander ( Irish), Alessandro ( Italian), Aleksand ...

(Rusko's Pupuseria Remix)" (Not on Label) * 2009

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton (born 30 April 1970) and Simon Ratcliffe (born 28 November 1969). The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first ros ...

– "Feelings Gone (Rusko Remix)" (XL Recordings) * 2009

Little Boots Victoria Christina Hesketh (born 4 May 1984), known professionally as Little Boots, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ. She was previously a member of the band Dead Disco. Since performing as a solo artist, she has released four albums: ''H ...

– "

Remedy Remedy, Remedies, The Remedy or Remediation may refer to: Computing and gaming * Remedy Corp, an American software company * Remedy Entertainment, a Finnish video game developer Law, politics, and society * Environmental remediation, the remov ...

(Rusko's Big Trainers Remix)" (679) * 2009

Mr Hudson Benjamin Hudson McIldowie (born 26 June 1979), better known by his stage name Mr Hudson, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer from Birmingham, England. He formed the band Mr Hudson and the Library in 2006, for which he served ...

– " White Lies (Rusko's Euphoria Remix)" (Mercury) * 2010 Kid Sister – " Pro Nails (Rusko Remix)" (Asylum Records) * 2010

Kelis Kelis Rogers (; born August 21, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and chef. She attended Manhattan, New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she played saxophone and was selected for the Girls Ch ...

– "

4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

(Rusko Remix)" (Interscope Records) * 2010 Rusko – "Bionic Commando (Rusko Remix)" (Bionic Records) * 2010

Sub Focus Nicolaas Douwma (born 13 April 1982), better known by his stage name Sub Focus, is an English DJ, music producer, songwriter and sound engineer. He has been releasing records since 2003. On 12 October 2009, he released his self-titled debut ...

featuring

Coco Coco or variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Coco'' (2009 film), a French comedy film * ''Coco'' (2017 film), an American animated fantasy film * '' Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle'' (), a 2020 Japanese anime film ...

– " Splash (Rusko Remix)" (RAM Records) * 2010

The Temper Trap The Temper Trap are an Australian indie rock band formed in 2005 by , Jonathon Aherne, and Toby Dundas. In 2008, the group relocated from Melbourne to London. The band released their debut album ''Conditions (album), Conditions'' in June 2009 to ...

– "Soldier On (Rusko Remix)" (Infectious Records) * 2011 Sunday Girl vs. Rusko – "Stop Hey" (Polydor) * 2011 Netsky - "Everyday (Rusko Remix)" (UKF Music) * 2013 Left Boy – "Get It Right" (Made Jour Label) * 2016

Pegboard Nerds Pegboard Nerds is a Dano-Norwegian electronic music group, consisting of Norwegian DJ Alexander Odden and Danish DJ Michael Parsberg. The name Pegboard Nerds is an anagram of the duo's surnames, Odden and Parsberg. The duo first met in 2005 and f ...

featuring Johnny Graves - " Just Like That (Rusko Remix)" (Monstercat) * 2016

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...

- "Parity Error" (Rusko Remix) (Sumthing Else Music Works) * 2019 PLS&TY - "Rebel Love (Rusko Remix)" (Self-released) * 2019 Boogie T - "Supa Fly (Rusko Remix)" (Drama Club Recordings) * 2020

Lele Pons Eleonora "Lele" Pons Maronese ( ; born 25 June 1996) is an American and Venezuelan YouTuber, actress and singer. Pons came to prominence on Vine before the platform was shut down in 2016 where she was the most followed woman and the third most ...

featuring Susan Diaz and Victor Cardenas - "Volar" (Rusko Remix)

References

External links

*
Rusko's SoundCloud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rusko 1985 births Living people English DJs English record producers English expatriate musicians in the United States British remixers British dubstep musicians Musicians from York Alumni of Leeds College of Music Owsla artists British electronic dance music DJs Mad Decent artists