William Grigahcine is a French DJ and producer whose stage name is DJ Snake. He has collaborated with an eclectic collection of artists including Diddy, Pitbull, Tyrese, and T-Pain, but is best known for his production work with Lady Gaga. Snake worked on "
Government Hooker," which was voted best song by Gaga's fans after the release of
Born This Way. He also contributed towards the
Artpop singles, "
Applause" and "
Do What U Want."
This collaboration with the King of Crunk, Lil Jon, became Snake's first US Top 40 hit under his own name. It was brought to many people's attention after featuring in a RadioShack commercial promoting Sol Replic and Motorola's DECK wireless speakers.
This was Lil Jon's first appearance in the Hot 100's Top 40 since he was one of the featured performers on Jay Sean's 2009 hit, "
Do You Remember."
Lil Jon explained the song title: "When DJ Snake sent me the track with a sample of Redman saying 'bang the underground,' he wanted me to redo it with my voice. When I heard the song I was like this beat is too crazy for that sample. I wanted to make it hip and current and the first thing that came to mind was the phrase 'Turn Down For What!'"
The bizarre music video stars Daniel Kwan, who is part of the directing team the Daniels, which put the clip together. The Daniels have also worked with Foster the Beat filming their visuals for "
Houdini" and "
Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)." Kwan told
Billboard magazine : "The idea was a guy humping his way through a building. Each floor would have its own series of gags."
Lil Jon told Billboard magazine why he feels the track has proved to be so popular. "The genre of the song is dance, but it's really a hip-hop beat," he explained. "It captures a moment with people - they listen to the song, and no matter what they're doing, it pushes them to do something. If you're in the gym and it comes on, it's like, why are you going to stop? Work out harder! If you're out partying and the song comes on, it's like, let's have another shot!"
When Rolling Stone asked Lil Jon if there's anything he would turn down for, the rapper listed two things: sleep and the police.
"Turn Down For What" was the only hit song of its time with a chorus but no verses. The structure of the song is: chours-break-chorus-break-chorus-break.
Lil Jon showed up at the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show in Las Vegas, where he brought the heat with "Turn Down For What" before joining Ludacris and the show's headliner, Usher, on "
Yeah!" While the cameras were on Lil Jon, Usher changed out of the roller skates he used while performing "OMG." The show was as exciting as the game, which the Chiefs won in overtime against the 49ers.
Lil Jon sang "Turn Down For What" during Georgia's roll call vote at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, throwing his support behind Kamala Harris. The roll call is traditionally a tedious formality, but that year the democrats spiced it up with a DJ performing songs for each state as they announced their votes. Lil Jon brought his live energy to the proceedings, getting the place jumping.
We thought "turn down for what?" was a rhetorical question until Lil Jon answered it in 2024. That year, he got really into meditation, which he found life-changing. Yes, the man whose music lives on the red line, pushing the energy levels to their absolute limits, needs quiet time to recharge. In his book Manifest Abundance, Affirmations For Personal Growth, he wrote: "We all live frenetic lives that are full of constant noise and distractions. Meditation is the port in the storm, the safe place where you can go to relax and recharge."
And he answered his famous question.
"I'm known for having a wild and crazy party spirit. But now I'm saying that we should turn down to hear the voice within."
