Helping define the sound of EDM in the mid-2010s with his combination of hip-hop and electronic dance music, DJ Snake (born William Sami Étienne Grigahcine) is a French DJ and producer of Algerian origin.

Born to a French father and an Algerian mother, he grew up in a Parisian ghetto, where he earned the ‘Snake’ moniker for his ability to escape police for his graffiti. By the age of fourteen he began DJing before picking up producing when he was nineteen, combining his backgrounds in hip-hop and electronic dance music.

He first gained attention for his work on Lady Gaga’s album Born This Way, which earned him a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. His mainstream breakthrough followed a few years later with his 2013 single “Turn Down for What”, an EDM-trap song that peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, ultimately becoming the twelfth biggest EDM song of the 2010s.

The massive success of this song was replicated in the following years by a slew of hits including the top five hits “Lean On” with Major Lazer and MØ and “Let Me Love You” with Justin Bieber, as well as the top twenty hits “Taki Taki” with Selena Gomez, Ozuna, and Cardi B, “You Know You Like It” with AlunaGeorge, and “Middle” with Bipolar Sunshine.

To date, he has certified album sales of 1.5 million and certified singles sales of 33.5 million in the United States alone.