dj snake

He is the French DJ who makes the most movement in the world and his singular artistic signature is surely not for nothing. DJ Snake is now one of the most important DJs on the international music scene, but do you really know him? We will reveal everything you may not have known about the DJ who proves that anything is possible!

DJ Snake

His stage sound is unusual and yet he is on everyone’s lips. If William, his real name, decided to rename himself with a very reptilian blaze, it’s simply because before being a world famous DJ, he was a street artist in his spare time. In the field of graffiti, the young man also had his little place as an artist. His works were recognized in the streets of Paris, thanks to his signature: that of a snake.

Cut Killer

His passion for music is undoubtedly due to the French DJ, Cut Killer. The cult scene in the movie ‘La Haine’, where the DJ scratches ‘Assassins of the police’, left its marks in the history of the music, but especially, in the eyes of the young DJ Snake. He then studied the gestures of Cut Killer, his way of playing with the voices. In short, he takes a close interest in his work, becomes a real fan, and following a job at Châtelet, he meets his idol. He became his little brother and Cut Killer gave Snake his chance, especially on the radio, and never stopped teaching him, seeing in him a great potential.

Clinton Sparks

While DJ Snake is pacing the Parisian clubs with his mixes, Clinton Sparks, an American DJ who has collaborated with the greatest, drops by one of the clubs where he performs. The manager of the Frenchman decided to give a record of Snake to this great artist. Bingo! A few weeks later, the American calls him back and DJ Snake collaborates with famous stars like Big Sean or Lady Gaga. The French dream begins to take shape beyond the borders and the beginning of the American dream seems to be at the door.

Turn Down For What

While his career was taking a small turn, DJ Snake comes from the Paris suburbs and is struggling to make ends meet. His dream of making a living from music is slowly slipping away and financial misery is forcing him to make a choice: sink or rise. With nothing left to lose, the DJ gave himself two months to compose and try to get his music career off the ground for good. Locked up in a small studio in the middle of summer, he works day and night without respite and it is exactly at this moment that trap music arrives.

This genre inspires him enormously, he creates about three tracks a day, he gives everything because finally, he has nothing to lose. That’s how the magic happens and Diplo signs him. The title of his life is released, the one that will propel him to the front of the stage and change his life forever: ‘Turn Down For What’. With more than 10 million singles sold and a repost from the Obama family, the song he made in an hour in his kitchen and that he considers “stupid”, because it is composed of four words and three changes of rhythm, will make him famous.

Mixing of genres

Since then, DJ Snake is the “I don’t care” incarnate, it’s zero calculation and no headaches, it’s just: challenge. The DJ only works through challenges he gives himself, for the rest, he does not calculate anything, he does what he wants and is passionate about. His artistic touch comes from there: the mixture. French and Algerian of origin, Snake comes from the four corners of Paris, where the mixture of cultures is commonplace. He is the product of this mix of cultures, French style.

Musically, he is inspired by hip-hop and rap, but also reggaeton and latino sounds, pop and electro, house, dubstep and trap. He has always had an exacerbated sensitivity for music and all the styles it offers. He has references in all fields, and his travels around the world always bring him an extra vibe that he uses in his creative process. Despite everything that has been said about him, he has always kept his signature and retained the recipe for his initial success: mixing genres. Thus, in 2015, he hit hard with a track on which he was not expected, ‘Lean On’, which will make billions of views and become a global success.

The career of DJ Snake is launched, the Frenchman will even settle in Miami, without denying his origins, he who considers himself the most French of Americans. He will realize a childhood dream: to mix on the Arc de Triomphe. He made a series of major collaborations and big hits, and is now the most listened to Frenchman in the world.