DJ Snake sat down with Billboard during his magazine cover shoot to reflect upon his big break in music and to explain why he sees himself in young aspiring DJs.
The French DJ and producer explains that he came close to quitting music before his 2013 song “Bird Machine” took off. “Nothing really worked out for me before that,” he tells Billboard. “I was trying to send [the song] to all the big dudes…and the only dude that emailed me back was Diplo. I think he said something like, ‘Wow, that’s a game changer. I want this for Mad Decent.’”
DJ Snake adds that when he was in Miami for Ultra Music Festival, he heard acts like Skrillex and Dillon Francis playing his record, and when he came across Francis, he introduced himself as the person behind the track, with Francis telling him that the track was “dope as fuck” and subsequently inviting him backstage.
There, he met the likes of RL Grime, Flosstradamus and Baauer, who he then went to see play at a club during the festival, armed with USBs of his music to give out. DJ Snake notes that now, when he sees people waiting at the back entrances of clubs he plays at to give him their music, he makes sure to listen to it because he sees himself in them.
“You never know, the next DJ Snake, the next Skrillex, the next big DJs might wait outside of the club,” he says. “You gotta give back and listen to the next generation, and show some love.”
You can watch the full video interview with DJ Snake above.