Sidney Royel Selby III (born May 3, 1997), better known by his stage name Desiigner, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. In December 2015, his debut single "Panda" reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. In February 2016, Kanye West (who sampled "Panda" for his song "Pt. 2") signed Desiigner to his GOOD Music imprint. In 2019, he was released from GOOD Music and is currently independent.
Selby was born on May 3, 1997, in Brooklyn, New York. He is of Afro-Barbadian and African American descent, and is the grandson of blues musician Sidney "Guitar Crusher" Selby. He grew up in the Louis Armstrong housing projects in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood. He began practicing vocals at school choir and church. At the age of 14, after being shot, he embarked on his music career.
Desiigner embarked on his music career under his original moniker Dezolo, before he began putting out work on these tracks under the alias of Designer Royel, especially with Royel (his middle name). His sister convinced him to drop the "Royel" part and then keep the "Designer" part as his new stage name, doubling the "I"'s. On December 3, 2015, under his new pseudonym, Desiigner released his debut track, called "Zombie Walk". The song was produced by The Shell God. On December 15, 2015, Desiigner released his commercial debut single, titled "Panda" on SoundCloud. The song released on iTunes within five days later, before being re-released as of February 2016. On February 11, 2016, Desiigner signed a recording contract with Kanye West's GOOD Music imprint, under the aegis of Def Jam Recordings. After signing a record deal, Desiigner subsequently appeared on two tracks — "Pt. 2" (which features an interpolation of "Panda") and "Freestyle 4" — that was taken from Kanye West's seventh album The Life of Pablo. Desiigner then went on to perform at the 2016's South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival. In an interview with Billboard, Desiigner confirmed the release of his first upcoming mixtape, titled Trap History Month.