What is Desiigner's Net Worth?
Desiigner is a rapper and singer who has a net worth of $1 million. Desiigner first achieved recognition in late 2015 with his commercial debut single, "Panda," which went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 the next year. His follow-up single, "Tiimmy Turner," peaked at number 34 on the chart upon its release in the summer of 2016. Although he has continued to release music since then, Desiigner is often described as a one-hit wonder due to his career trajectory.
Early Life
Desiigner, whose real name is Sidney Selby III, was born on May 3, 1997 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. He is of African-American and Afro-Barbadian descent, and is the grandson of blues musician Sidney Selby, known as "Guitar Crusher." Growing up, he sang at church and in his school choir.
Career Breakthrough
Selby originally began his music career under the pseudonym Dezolo. He soon started creating music under the alias Designer Royel, with Royel being his middle name. Eventually, his sister convinced him to drop the Royel part and keep Designer, but spelled with double "I"s. Under his new pseudonym, he released his debut song, "Zombie Walk," on December 3, 2015. However, it was with his commercial debut single, "Panda," that he had his career breakthrough. Released on iTunes on December 20 and re-released in early 2016, the song went viral online and eventually reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It gained further popularity for being sampled and remixed by several other rappers. For "Panda," Desiigner earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Performance.
Def Jam Recordings
Following the release of "Panda," Desiigner signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings and Kanye West's GOOD Music imprint. He subsequently made appearances on the tracks "Pt. 2" and "Freestyle 4," both from West's album "The Life of Pablo." Desiigner then performed at the 2016 South by Southwest festival, and collaborated with seven other rappers on the single "Champions." He went on to release his first full-length mixtape, "New English," on the streaming platform Tidal. In July of 2016, Desiigner released the single "Tiimmy Turner," which peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later, in the spring of 2018, Desiigner released his debut EP, "L.O.D.," which would be his final project released through Def Jam and the GOOD Music imprint.
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LOD Records
After leaving Def Jam and GOOD Music in 2019, Desiigner became an independent artist. He established his own label, LOD Records, through which he released the song "Diva" in 2020. Desiigner went on to release the EPs "Diamonds Forever" and "3 the Hard Way." In 2022, after the shooting death of rapper Takeoff in November, Desiigner announced on Instagram that he was "done rapping." However, he returned to rapping later in the month.
Featured Appearances
Desiigner has been a featured artist on a number of songs by other artists. They include "Strapped & Ready," "Finesse," "On the Low," "Danny DeVito," "New Beamer," "All Around the World," and "Up Next." Desiigner had his biggest hit as a featured artist on BTS's "Mic Drop (Remix)," which also featured an appearance by Steve Aoki. The 2017 track peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Legal Problems
In September of 2016, Desiigner and three other people were arrested in New York City after allegedly pulling a gun on someone. Upon a police search of the SUV of the accused, oxycodone and guns were allegedly found. Desiigner and his acquaintances were all consequently detained in custody with drug and weapon charges. A couple days later, the weapon charge was dropped, and soon after that Desiigner was cleared of all charges when it was discovered that the pills that were found by the police were actually anabolic steroids belonging to Desiigner's driver.
Desiigner ran into legal trouble again in the spring of 2023 when he was charged with indecent exposure for allegedly masturbating in front of flight attendants on a Delta Air Lines flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis.
Personal Life
Desiigner was previously in a long-term relationship with Zana Ray. However, the two split up in 2021 after Ray was in a near-fatal car accident and claimed that Desiigner neglected her while she was in the hospital. Desiigner allegedly began dating rapper Lil' Kim after that.
