William Sami Étienne Grigahcine was born on 13 June 1986. At first his name stood not on covers but in other people’s credits: he produced Shut It Down for Pitbull and Applause for Lady Gaga.

Everything changed in 2013 with his own debut single Turn Down for What, made with Lil Jon and released on Mad Decent. The track reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100, took a Grammy nomination for its video and won the 2015 Billboard Music Award for top dance song.

In 2015 he made Lean On together with Major Lazer and MØ — again number four in the United States and number one in nine countries. The debut album Encore (2016) rested on Let Me Love You with Justin Bieber, and the second, Carte Blanche (2019), on Taki Taki with Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B.

In 2018 Billboard placed him ninth in its Dance 100 ranking of dance musicians. The third album, Nomad, came out in 2025.

His method has barely changed since the first hit: a minimum of elements, a very recognisable rhythmic break and a vocal used as an instrument. That is exactly why his tracks work equally well on a festival stage and inside somebody else’s album.