Hardstep is a subgenre of darkcore

Darkcore

Darkcore is a subgenre of jungle that became popular in the United Kingdom hardcore rave scene in late 1992. It is recognized as being one of the direct precursors of the genre now known as drum and bass...

 which emerged in 1994. It is characterised by a gritty production style, that has an inner-city feel to it. The breaks are less cut-up sounding than oldschool jungle

Oldschool jungle

Jungle is a genre of electronic music that incorporates influences from genres including breakbeat hardcore, and reggae/dub/dancehall. There is debate as to whether jungle is a separate genre from drum and bass as many use the terms interchangeably...

, and harder, hence the name hardstep. Techstep is hardstep's most popular subgenre.

The genre found favour with junglist

Junglist

Junglist is a slang term first referring to a person living in an area of West Kingston, Jamaica, called Jungle. Then after as a term referring to a dedicated listener of jungle and/or drum and bass. Tracks from this genre often contain calls and references to the "original junglists" and "jungle...

s, despite being overtaken in popularity by techstep, the fans of the style still remain. One characteristic is an accentuated, yet sparse percussive beat. Artists include DJ Hype

DJ Hype

DJ Hype is a stage name of drum and bass producer and DJ, Kevin Ford. His 1993 track, "Shot in the Dark", appeared in the UK Singles Chart in 1993.-Biography:...

 and DJ Zinc

DJ Zinc

Benjamin Pettit, better known by his stage name DJ Zinc, is a drum and bass / breakstep DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc is well known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop / jungle fusion.-Biography:...

.