DJ Snake

Biography

William Sami Étienne Grigahcine (born 13 June 1986), known by his stage name DJ Snake, is a French record producer. He was first credited with production work on several singles for other artists—including "Shut It Down" by Pitbull and "Applause" by Lady Gaga—before gaining widespread recognition for his 2013 debut single, "Turn Down for What×Turn Down for What18 December 2013 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Turn Down for What3:33" (with Lil Jon).
Released by Mad Decent, an imprint of Columbia Records, the song peaked at number 19 on the French SNEP singles chart, number four on the Billboard Hot 100, and received octuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Furthermore, it was nominated for Best Music Video at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, and won Top Dance/Electronic Song at the 2015 2015 Billboard Music Awards. DJ Snake's 2015 collaborative single with label boss Diplo, "Lean On×Lean On2 March 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Lean On2:56" (with Major Lazer featuring MØ), was met with similar success, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking atop music charts in nine countries.
His debut studio album, Encore×Encore5 August 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Intro (A86)1:232Middle3:413Sahara4:194Sober3:275Pigalle4:236Talk3:587Ocho Cinco3:428The Half3:379Oh Me Oh My4:1610Propaganda4:10114 Life3:3312Future, Pt. 23:4213Let Me Love You3:2614Here Comes the Night4:47 (2016), was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top five single "Let Me Love You" (featuring Justin Bieber), and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200. His second, Carte Blanche (2019), peaked at number 48 and was supported by the top 20 single "Taki Taki" (featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B).
He and Dillon Francis were announced as alternating supporting artists for the summer Mothership Tour 2014 with Skrillex. In March 2018, Billboard named DJ Snake number nine on their 2018 ranking of dance musicians, Billboard Dance 100.

Early life

Grigahcine was born in Paris to Algerian parents and grew up in Ermont, a banlieue district outside Paris, which he describes as a ghetto, though Ermont is not an economically-deprived suburb featuring low-income housing projects. He cites a scene with Cut Killer in the French film La Haine as well as hip-hop artists KRS-One and Cypress Hill as early influences. In his youth, Grigahcine produced graffiti art, earning him the moniker "Snake" because he was able to consistently evade the police. Of his name, Grigahcine says "When I started DJing, everyone called me 'Snake' in my city first, I was like 'DJ Snake, OK let's go for it.' The name sucks, but it's too late now." He started DJing at age 14, and later producing at 19. In his early career, Grigahcine performed at clubs including Le Bains Douches in Paris. In 2005, he met his manager Steve Goncalves, who encouraged Grigahcine to begin creating his own music.

Career

In 2011, DJ Snake produced for Lady Gaga's album Born This Way. This earned him a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year in February 2012. DJ Snake was co-producer for the song "Government Hooker", which was voted best song by Lady Gaga fans after the release of the album. This song was supposed to be released as a single before Interscope Records decided to stop the marketing of the album after its release. He remixed Kanye West's "New Slaves", AlunaGeorge's "You Know You Like It×You Know You Like It14 October 2014 · Single · RemixSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1You Know You Like It4:07", Duck Sauce's "It's You", Major Lazer's "Bubble Butt" and Junior Senior's "Move Your Feet". In 2013, DJ Snake produced three songs with Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair on Lady Gaga's album Artpop including "Applause", "Sexxx Dreams", and "Do What U Want".
DJ Snake and Dillon Francis were alternating supporting artists on the Mothership Tour 2014 with Skrillex. He performed at the 2015 Coachella Music Festival with guest appearances by AlunaGeorge and MØ, who did vocals on "Lean On×Lean On2 March 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Lean On2:56" with Major Lazer. "Lean On" and DJ Snake's remix of AlunaGeorge's "You Know You Like It" were both top 10 Shazamed songs from Coachella 2015.
In October 2015, DJ Snake and fellow electronic producer Tchami were injured in a car crash, causing them both to miss a scheduled stop at Toronto's Monster Mash festival. In January 2016, Forbes named him one of their "30 Under 30 In Music" for the year.

Standalone singles (2013–2015)

In December 2013, "Turn Down for What×Turn Down for What18 December 2013 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Turn Down for What3:33", DJ Snake's collaboration with Lil Jon, was released on Columbia Records. The song was featured in a commercial for the Sol Republic DECK, a wireless speaker, which aired in October 2013. "Turn Down for What" entered the top ten of the Billboard Dance/Electronic chart during the last week of December. In January 2014, the single entered the top 5 on the Dance/Electronic chart and debuted No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified gold in February 2014 and platinum in March 2014. The song reached the top ten of the Hot 100 in April 2014. The music video for the single was released in March 2014. "Turn Down for What" was nominated for MTV Video Music Awards for Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, and the MTV Clubland Award.
In February 2014, DJ Snake and Dillon Francis released "Get Low×Get Low11 February 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Get Low3:33" on their official SoundCloud and YouTube pages, as the lead single from Francis's debut studio album Money Sucks, Friends Rule. Both "Get Low" and "Turn Down for What" were featured on the Furious 7 motion picture soundtrack. Along with the exposure gained from commercials for Dodge and Taco Bell featuring the song, the inclusion of "Get Low" on the soundtrack helped the song re-enter the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic chart while DJ Snake re-entered the Billboard Artist 100.
In December 2014, DJ Snake's remix of the AlunaGeorge song "You Know You Like It×You Know You Like It14 October 2014 · Single · RemixSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1You Know You Like It4:07" was released on Island Records. "You Know You Like It" reached number one on Billboard's Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart and Rhythmic Songs chart in June 2015. It peaked at 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. In November 2015, the song received RIAA double-platinum certification. For the remix, DJ Snake used a fusion of European dance music and hip hop beats. It took him about four hours to write. The collaboration was done via the Internet, with the vocals emailed to DJ Snake, who worked in Paris.
In March 2015, "Lean On×Lean On2 March 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Lean On2:56", DJ Snake's collaborative track with Major Lazer featuring MØ, was released on Mad Decent, as the lead single from Major Lazer's third studio album Peace Is the Mission. It made it on Billboard's Rhythmic Songs, Mainstream Top 40, Latin Pop Songs, Dance Club Songs, Hot Dance/Electric Songs and Adult Top 40 charts. It peaked at 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. In June, Time magazine named it one of the "Best Songs of 2015 So Far" In September 2015, "Lean On" was named Spotify's global song of the summer. In November 2015, the song surpassed 526 million Spotify plays, making it the service's most streamed song ever. The video for "Lean On" was released in March 2015. It was shot in India and directed by Tim Erem. Amplify magazine named "Lean On" one of "The Best Videos of 2015". In January 2016, the "Lean On" video reached 1 billion views on YouTube, and has since reached over 3 billion.

Encore (2015–2017)

DJ Snake released his next single "Middle×Middle15 October 2015 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Middle3:40" on 16 October 2015. The song was released by Interscope Records, Mad Decent and Spinnin' Records. It features the vocals from English singer Bipolar Sunshine. The song's accompanying music video premiered on 16 March 2016 on DJ Snake's YouTube account on Vevo.
On 2 June 2016, the single "Talk" was released. DJ Snake had hinted the possibility of releasing new music via Twitter a few days before the single's release. It features vocals from George Maple's song "Talk Talk" that was released in December 2014. The track infuses tropical house sounds and was released by Interscope Records and made available for purchase on iTunes on 10 June 2016. The music video for the song was released on DJ Snake's YouTube account on 11 July 2016. In July 2016, he announced the release of his debut studio album, titled Encore×Encore5 August 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Intro (A86)1:232Middle3:413Sahara4:194Sober3:275Pigalle4:236Talk3:587Ocho Cinco3:428The Half3:379Oh Me Oh My4:1610Propaganda4:10114 Life3:3312Future, Pt. 23:4213Let Me Love You3:2614Here Comes the Night4:47, released on 5 August 2016. "Middle" and "Talk" serve as singles from the album.
On 5 August 2016, with the release of Encore, DJ Snake released the album's third single, "Let Me Love You", featuring the vocals of Canadian singer Justin Bieber. On 2 January 2017, DJ Snake started promoting the album's fourth single "The Half", featuring Jeremih, Young Thug and Swizz Beatz. In fall 2017, DJ Snake performed at the Arc de Triomphe to promote Paris' bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Carte Blanche (2018–present)

On 23 February 2018, his single "Magenta Riddim×Magenta Riddim23 February 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Magenta Riddim3:14" was released. In late August 2018, DJ Snake announced via his social media platforms that he would be releasing a new song later that year. The following month, he confirmed the song would be called "Taki Taki" and it would feature Selena Gomez, Cardi B and Ozuna. The track was released on 28 September 2018.
On 16 July 2019, DJ Snake revealed his second album, Carte Blanche×Carte Blanche25 July 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Butterfly Effect3:252Quiet Storm3:463When the Lights Go Down3:514Recognize3:355No More2:466Made in France4:117Enzo4:088Smile3:189Try Me3:1810Loco contigo3:0511Taki Taki3:3312Fuego3:1713Magenta Riddim3:1414Frequency 754:2715SouthSide4:1316No Option3:0617Paris3:45 would be released on 26 July 2019. It includes his singles "Magenta Riddim", "Taki Taki", "Enzo" (with Sheck Wes featuring Offset, 21 Savage and Gucci Mane), and "Loco Contigo" (with J Balvin featuring Tyga), on 10 October 2019 Snake released his new single "Fuego" (Featuring Sean Paul, Anitta & Tainy).
DJ Snake is a Vegas resident DJ at Zouk Nightclub and AYU Dayclub at Resorts World. Aaron Musicaro in conjunction with Jared Garcia worked together to get this partnership as a resident DJ.

Pardon My French

DJ Snake is currently part of the Pardon My French team, a collective of four French DJs composed of Tchami, Mercer, Malaa and himself. Throughout the year 2016 and into early 2017, DJ Snake was part of the Pardon My French Tour with Tchami and Mercer.
For his special venue at the Accor Hotel Arena (Paris), in 2018 DJ Snake had an exclusive collaboration between his own trademark Pardon My French and the denim brand Levi's. It was composed by the emblematic Levi's trucker jacket sprayed with the DJ's brand. The very limited edition was available as a world exclusive at the Champs-Elysées Levis flagship the day of the venue (24 February 2018) and encountered a huge success.

Premiere Classe Records

In March 2018, he established his own record label named Premiere Classe.
List of Premiere Classe released tracks:

4B & Teez – "Whistle"
Aazar & Bellecour – "Da Vinci"
Chace – "Never"
Masayoshi Iimori – "Flow"
SAYMYNAME – "Burn"
Gammer featuring Sam King – "Out with the Old"
Mercer – "Boss"
Plastic Toy & DJ Snake – "Try Me×Try Me15 March 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Try me3:18"
Malaa featuring Jacknife – "Revolt"
SQWAD – "Big Ting Vibe"
Plastic Toy – "Escape"

Personal life

DJ Snake is a fan of French football club Paris Saint Germain. He has passports from both France and Algeria.

Albums

Encore (2016)
Carte Blanche (2019)
Nomad (2025)

Berlin Music Video Awards

The Berlin Music Video Award is an international festival that promotes the art of music videos.

Denmark GAFFA Awards

Delivered since 1991, the GAFFA Awards are a Danish award that rewards popular music by the magazine of the same name.