If you’re an EDM fan, it’s likely you’ve been forced to defend your love of the genre at one time or another from cynical haters who have to make their disdain known. If you’re not a fan, it’s likely you’ve used the usual anti-EDM party line at one time or another.

You know the one we’re talking about: “That’s not real music and DJs aren’t real musicians.” To be honest, we semi-agree with you on the latter. Is someone pressing play on a set they pre-recorded in Pro Tools or Ableton Live the way most so-called “DJs” do a musician? Nah.

Are there legitimate DJs out there like DJ Shadow and Qbert who are able to manipulate turntables in such unique ways that they become musical instruments? Yes, there are. And even if you’re not able to do this, being an electronic performer does not mean you’re not a musician.

This is the point that YouTube user BloodyFanGirl wanted to drive home when she made the video embedded below. She was sick of music puritans dismissing electronic artists like dubstep producer Skrillex for not being real musicians because they happen to program synth patches instead of strum guitars.

She compiled several clips of Skrillex, real name Sonny Moore, in his pre- and post-Skrillex days, showing considerable chops on more than one instrument, including the guitar, the piano, and the kazoo, as well as showing off his vocal talents.

“I made a video you can send to people who say ‘Skrillex isn’t a musician’, in the hopes of creating a new beautiful world where music puritans finally shut up about some artists not being ‘real musicians’ or some genres not being ‘real music,'” BloodyFanGirl writes.

“We’re getting real tired of your fundamentalist bullshit!” We must say, we agree. Check out the video below and remember what your third-grade teacher told you: don’t judge a book by its cover. Just because someone doesn’t play a guitar on stage doesn’t mean they’re not a musician.

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