DJ Snake

Over the last decade, DJ Snake has achieved the kind of rarefied and wildly transformative success that few artists ever come close to attaining. Originally from a housing project on the outskirts of Paris, the multi-platinum-selling DJ/producer has shattered industry records with smash hits such as “Taki Taki,” earned diamond certification from the RIAA for "Lean On" (with Major Lazer), delivered era-defining bangers like “Turn Down for What” (with Lil Jon), and made history as the first artist to perform atop the roof of the Arc de Triomphe. Along with repeatedly turning out tracks that top the charts around the world—including three songs that have surpassed a staggering billion streams on Spotify—the multi-award-winning phenom brings his boundary-pushing ingenuity to music that builds unexpected and undeniably powerful bridges between vastly different cultures and genres. But whether he’s collaborating with pop superstars or elevating under-the-radar artists from all corners of the globe, DJ Snake merges his endlessly forward-thinking musicality with timeless melodies that imprint forever on the listener’s heart and soul. Born to a French father and an Algerian mother, the musician otherwise known as William Grigahcine considers his upbringing deeply formative in shaping his culture-bending sensibilities. (“I grew up with people from different origins such as India, West Indies to Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East,” he told Rolling Stone in recent years. “We’ve always been inspired by each other.”) Taking his stage name from his former moniker as a graffiti artist, he started DJ-ing in his early teens and soon dropped out of high school to work at a famed Paris record shop, then immersed himself in music production at the age of 19. Thanks to his exceptional work ethic and outsize talent, he quickly joined forces with major artists like Lady Gaga—a turn of events that included nabbing a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year after co-producing “Government Hooker” from her 2011 sophomore effort Born This Way. Not long after the arrival of his first viral hit (2013’s “Bird Machine”), DJ Snake became a household name with the release of the immediately iconic, eight-times-platinum “Turn Down for What” and its award-winning video (directed by Oscar-winning duo the Daniels). As he continued his meteoric ascent—fueled by mega-hits like “Lean On” and 2014’s platinum-certified “Get Low” (with Dillon Francis)—he made his full-length debut with 2016’s Encore, a powerhouse album stacked with genre-spanning guest spots from the likes of Young Thug, Bipolar Sunshine (on the triple-platinum “Middle”), and Justin Bieber (on “Let Me Love You,” a five-times-platinum No. 1 hit that cracked the top 25 on Billboard’s list of the biggest dance/electronic songs of the 2010s). Committed to constant evolution in his artistry, DJ Snake next broke barriers with the quadruple-platinum “Taki Taki” feat. Selena Gomez, Ozuna, and Cardi B—an explosive collision of house music and reggaeton that marked his second global #1 record, made Cardi B the first female rapper ever to top the Spotify Global chart, and emerged as one of the top 10 fastest music videos to pass 100 million views on YouTube. Dropping a year after he brought his incendiary live set to the top of the Arc De Triomphe (a livestreamed event watched by more than 1.5 million fans), “Taki Taki” served as the second single from DJ Snake’s sophomore LP Carte Blanche: a 2019 release encompassing everything from dancehall to dubstep, fully embodying the meaning behinds its title (i.e., “the freedom to do whatever you want”). With its eclectic lineup of guests including Offset and Nigerian singer/songwriter Burna Boy, Carte Blanche also features the platinum-selling anthem “Loco Contigo” with J. Balvin & Tyga, one of Spotify’s most streamed songs of 2019. Over the past few years, DJ Snake has made waves with smash singles like 2022’s “Disco Maghreb”—an unstoppably exhilarating track he conceptualized as a “bridge between different generations and origins, linking North Africa, the Arab world, and beyond.” At every turn, he’s also leveraged his ever-growing success to lift up emerging young artists and massively talented musicians throughout the global community. To that end, his most recent releases include “Guddi Riddim,” a collaboration with Spanish DJ/producer WADE featuring Nooran Sisters, a devotional Sufi singing duo from India. An ardent world traveler who gravitates toward the working-class neighborhoods of each locale he visits—from the favelas of Brazil to India’s poorest districts—DJ Snake extends that sense of connection and communion to the people he encounters in his journeys across the planet, frequently joining in soccer games with the local kids. With his latest triumphs including selling out Paris’ 63,000-capacity Parc des Prince in June 2022 (making him the first electronic ever to perform at the legendary football stadium), DJ Snake continues to move forward with his lifelong mission: creating music that pushes the limits of his creativity, leaves a lasting impact on his audience, and—above all—passionately celebrates the global culture.