William Sami Étienne Grigahcine (born 13 June 1986), known by his stage name DJ Snake, is a French DJ and 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 Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

—before gaining widespread recognition for his 2013 debut single, " Turn Down for What" (with

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...

). Released by

Mad Decent Mad Decent is an American record label founded by Diplo. The label has helped introduce Brazilian baile funk and Angolan kuduro to clubs around the world. In the early 2010s, it popularized moombahton, a genre of electronic dance music create ...

, an imprint of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, the song peaked at number 19 on the French

SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

singles chart, number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and received octuple platinum certification by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(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 Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

, " Lean On" (with

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

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'' (2016), was supported by the ''Billboard'' Hot 100-top five single " Let Me Love You" (featuring

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

), 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 Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

Ozuna Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado (; born March 13, 1992), known simply by his surname Ozuna, is a Puerto Rican singer, born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. Five of his studio albums have topped ...

and

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

). In 2014, DJ Snake was named an "Artist to Watch" by '' FoxWeekly''. He and

Dillon Francis Dillon Hart Francis (born October 5, 1987), also known as DJ Hanzel, is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He played a key role in popularizing moombahton and later developed its heavier variants, moombahcore and EDM trap. Earl ...

were announced as alternating supporting artists for the summer Mothership Tour 2014 with

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...

. In March 2018, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' named DJ Snake number nine on their 2018 ranking of dance musicians, ''Billboard'' Dance 100.

Early life

Grigahcine was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to Algerian parents and grew up in Ermont, a

banlieue In France, a banlieue (; ) is a suburb of a large city, or all its suburbs taken collectively. Banlieues are divided into autonomous administrative entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80percent of the inhabitant ...

district outside Paris, which he describes as a

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

, 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 Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

and

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

as early influences. In his youth, Grigahcine produced

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

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

'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 Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

decided to stop the marketing of the album after its release. He remixed

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

's " New Slaves", AlunaGeorge's " You Know You Like It", 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" 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 ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

named him one of their "30 Under 30 In Music" for the year.

Standalone singles (2013–2015)

In December 2013, " Turn Down for What", DJ Snake's collaboration with

, was released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. 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 Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

s for Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, and the MTV Clubland Award. In February 2014, DJ Snake and

released " Get Low" on their official

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

and

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

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 Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

and

Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...

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" was released on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. "You Know You Like It" reached number one on ''Billboard's''

Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance musi ...

chart and

Rhythmic Songs The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

chart in June 2015. It peaked at 13 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. In November 2015, the song received

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

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", DJ Snake's collaborative track with

featuring MØ, was released on

, as the lead single from Major Lazer's third studio album '' Peace Is the Mission''. It made it on ''Billboard's''

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

Latin Pop Songs The '' Billboard'' Latin pop charts began in 1985 when an album chart were introduced as Latin Pop Albums in the June 29 issue of the magazine. In October 1994, ''Billboard'' then established Latin Pop Airplay, which initially rank the most-played ...

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

, Hot Dance/Electric Songs and

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

charts. It peaked at 4 on the

. In June, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' 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 India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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

, and has since reached over 3 billion.

''Encore'' (2015–2017)

DJ Snake released his next single " Middle" on 16 October 2015. The song was released by

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 Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

. 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

and made available for purchase on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

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'', 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

. On 2 January 2017, DJ Snake started promoting the album's fourth single "The Half", featuring Jeremih,

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...

and

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...

. In fall 2017, DJ Snake performed at the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

to promote

' bid for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

''Carte Blanche'' (2018–present)

On 23 February 2018, his single " Magenta Riddim" 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

and

. The track was released on 28 September 2018. On 16 July 2019, DJ Snake revealed his second album, '' Carte Blanche'' 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 Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...

), and " Loco Contigo" (with

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to th ...

featuring

Tyga Micheal Ray StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson

), on 10 October 2019 Snake released his new single " Fuego" (Featuring

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Paul's first album, ''Stage One'', was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, ''Dutty Rock'', in 2002. Its single "Get Busy ...

, Anitta (singer), 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.

Other ventures

Pardon My French

DJ Snake is currently part of the Pardon My French (collective), 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" * 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 F.C., Paris Saint Germain. He has passports from both France and Algeria.

Discography

Albums

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

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

!Ref , - , 54th Annual Grammy Awards, 2012 , '' Born This Way'' (as producer) , Album of the Year , , , - , 57th Annual Grammy Awards, 2015 , " Turn Down for What" (with

) , Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Best Music Video , ,

Billboard Music Awards, ''Billboard'' Music Awards

!Ref , - , 2015 Billboard Music Awards, 2015 , " Turn Down for What" (with

) , rowspan="3", Top Dance/Electronic Song , , , - , rowspan="3", 2016 Billboard Music Awards, 2016 , " You Know You Like It" (with AlunaGeorge) , , rowspan=3, , - , " Lean On" (with

featuring MØ) , , - , DJ Snake , Top Dance/Electronic Artist , , - , rowspan=2, 2017 , DJ Snake , Top Dance/Electronic Artist , , rowspan=2, , - , Let Me Love You (DJ Snake song), "Let Me Love You" (featuring

) , Top Dance/Electronic Song ,

Berlin Music Video Awards

Denmark ''GAFFA'' Awards

Delivered since 1991, the ''GAFFA'' Awards are a Danish award that rewards popular music by the magazine of the same name. ! , - , 2015 , Lean On , Best Foreign Song , , style="text-align:center;" , , -

Electronic Music Awards

! Ref , - , 2017 , " Let Me Love You" , Single of the Year , , , -

iHeartRadio Music Awards

!Ref , - , rowspan=2, 2017 , DJ Snake , Dance Artist of the Year , , rowspan=2, , - , Let Me Love You (DJ Snake song), "Let Me Love You" (featuring

) , Dance Song of the Year ,

Joox Thailand Music Awards

!Ref , - , 2022 , "SG (song), SG" (with Ozuna, Megan Thee Stallion and Lisa (rapper), Lisa) , International Song of the Year , ,

Kids' Choice Awards

!Ref , - , 2017 , DJ Snake , Favorite DJ/EDM Artist , ,

MTV Video Music Awards

!Ref , - , rowspan="4", 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, 2014 , rowspan="4", " Turn Down for What" (with

) , MTV Clubland Award , , rowspan="4", , - , Best Direction , , - , Best Visual Effects , , - , Best Art Direction , , -

NRJ Music Awards

!Ref , - , 2018 , DJ Snake , Best French DJ , ,

Premios Lo Nuestro

!Ref , - , Premio Lo Nuestro 2023, 2023 , "SG (song), SG" (with Ozuna, Megan Thee Stallion and Lisa (rapper), Lisa) , Crossover Collaboration of the Year , ,

Teen Choice Awards

!Ref , - , rowspan="1" , 2014 , rowspan="1" , " Turn Down for What" (with

) , Choice Music: R&B/Hip-Hop Song , ,

''DJ Magazine'' Top 100 DJs

References

External links

*
''Vidéo La minute Sept à Huit. La French touch : DJ Snake, coqueluche des Américains''

''From Tupac To Daft Punk, 30 Under 30 DJ Snake On What He Leans On''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snake, DJ 1986 births Living people French expatriates in the United States French people of Kabyle descent French people of Algerian descent French people of Berber descent MTV Video Music Award winners Musicians from Paris French remixers French electronic musicians French electronic dance music DJs EDM trap musicians French dance musicians Algerian people of French descent Mad Decent artists