Paris, France · dance · trap

DJ Snake

2 upcoming festivals ↓

Paris-born hit machine — 'Turn Down for What' to 'Taki Taki', festival main stages are his natural habitat.

William Grigahcine was born on 13 June 1986 in Paris to Algerian parents and grew up in Ermont, a suburb outside the city. As a teenager he made graffiti, and his nickname came from his habit of evading police while tagging. He began DJing at fourteen and producing at nineteen, playing clubs such as Le Bains Douches before meeting manager Steve Goncalves in 2005, who pushed him toward writing his own material.

Before recording under his own name, Grigahcine built a career as a session producer, contributing to Pitbull's "Shut It Down" and, in 2011, to Lady Gaga's Born This Way, work that brought him a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. He returned for Gaga's Artpop in 2013, co-producing "Applause," "Sexxx Dreams" and "Do What U Want."

His 2013 debut single as an artist, "Turn Down for What" with Lil Jon, reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100, was certified octuple platinum by the RIAA, and won Top Dance/Electronic Song at the Billboard Music Awards. He and Dillon Francis alternated as support acts on Skrillex's Mothership Tour that year.

The 2015 single "Lean On," credited to Major Lazer and DJ Snake with MØ, topped charts in nine countries. His debut album Encore followed in 2016, carried by the top-five single "Let Me Love You" with Justin Bieber, and his second, Carte Blanche, arrived in 2019 behind "Taki Taki," featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B.

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