DJ Snake’s supergroup threesome made “Taki Taki” impossible to ignore
Zephyring 8 Years Ago, DJ Snake unveiled “Taki Taki,” featuring the supergroup threesome made up of Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B — one gloriously stacked collision of reggaetón, pop and rap that arrived on September 28, 2018.
Snake said at the time that he wanted to make a reggaetón club record. He sent the track to Ozuna first, then went looking for Spanish-speaking women who could push the song into an even bigger pop universe. Enter Selena and Cardi, each sliding into the production with a completely different flavor.
Ozuna handles the song’s melodic backbone, Cardi crashes in with her unmistakable bite, and Selena cools the temperature with that breathy, teasing delivery. Underneath them, Snake keeps the production intentionally lean: a hypnotic dembow pulse, sparse synths and enough negative space for all three voices to bounce off one another.
The timing was also pure 2018 crossover pop. Latin music was moving deeper into the global mainstream, Cardi was fresh off a monster breakout year, Ozuna was already one of urbano’s biggest names, and Selena could jump between English and Spanish without making the collaboration feel engineered in a boardroom. Somehow, four very different stars fit into one three-and-a-half-minute record without anybody disappearing.
The official music video came on October 9, 2018, directed by Colin Tilley. It gave the already oversized collaboration the visual treatment it demanded and helped cement “Taki Taki” as one of those late-2010s pop records where streaming-era global crossover stopped feeling like a novelty and simply became the language of the charts.
DJ Snake, Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B — “Taki Taki”
Watch INYIM’s “Taki Taki” anniversary edit featuring DJ Snake’s 2018 collaboration with Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B.
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Sources: DJ Snake official YouTube; E! News; Apple Music. Compilation and editorial presentation: INYIM Media.
