The phrases, “we the best music” and “another one” have become very popular introductions to rap and pop songs, thanks to musician and producer DJ Khaled. A lot of people have turned these sayings into memes and jokes because they are used so frequently. How did DJ Khaled, who is a media personality, American DJ and record producer, gain worldwide attention in a matter of a few years?
Humble Beginnings and Family Life
DJ Khaled was born as Khaled Mohamed Khaled on November 26, 1975, in the town of New Orleans, Louisiana. His parents were immigrants from Palestine. They came to the U.S in their 20s, with only 20 dollars in their pockets. They sold clothes out of a van at a flea market in order to make a living for themselves. Khaled said “they worked every day, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.” Khaled’s family raised him as a Muslim, and he has described himself as a devout follower of the Muslim faith. Khaled also has a brother named Alec, who is an actor.
When he was young, his parents liked to play Arabic music around him, which sparked Khaled’s interest in music. He quickly discovered his passion for rap music and his parents fully supported this endeavor. Just like many musicians, even today it is possible to notice influences from his earlier years throughout his music.
Khaled first started working in record stores before moving into the DJ circuit and relocating to Miami in 1998. He co-hosted a radio show with Luther Campbell on The Luke Show on WEDR “99 Jamz”. After a couple years of that, he was able to land his own show on the same station.
Over the years, DJ Khaled has tried to brand himself with a number of different names. Some of these included “Big Dog Pitbull”, “Arab Attack” and “Mr. Miami”.
Making His Own Albums
Khaled released his first album called, Listenn…the Album, which was somewhat successful, reaching a cool number 12 spot on the Billboard 200 charts. His next album, We The Best, featured collaborations with people such as Lil Wayne and Rick Ross. In 2008, Khaled released another album titled We Global which featured even more high profile names like Kanye West, and T-Pain. The same year Khaled won the “DJ of the Year” award at the BET Hip Hop Awards. In the year 2010, Khaled released a song titled “All I Do is Win,” which featured Snoop Dogg and Ludacris and earned a double platinum status.
Later, in August of 2010, Khaled signed to Cash Money Records and announced his next album We The Best Forever. The album was to be released under the label and under E1 Entertainment as well as Khaled’s own label entitled “We The Best Music Group” as a multi-label collaboration.
In 2011, DJ Khaled performed one of his songs “I’m On One” featuring Drake, on the BET Awards.
In 2013, Khaled released an album, Suffering from Success, which was inspired by his doctor telling him the reason he had a bald spot in his beard was because of his success, and the stress of it all.
Khaled’s Family Values
Khaled first met his wife Nicole Tuck before he was famous in the 90’s. They have been together for over eleven years. Together, they had a son named Asahd Tuck Khaled who was born on October 23, 2016. Khaled gained a lot of attention online after streaming the birth of his son on his Snapchat account. In January of 2020, Nicole gave birth to their second son, Aalam.
DJ Khaled’s Pad
Khaled owns a mansion in Beverly Hills which was purchased for $9.9 million. It sits on a 10,681 square-foot estate, and has seven bedrooms and eleven bathrooms. The backyard has a pool, a spa, an outdoor kitchen and two patios. On the inside, there is a gym, media room and a massive kitchen with two stoves and three ovens.
Blowing Up In The Media
In 2015 and 2016, Khaled became extremely popular on social media after a few of his Snapchat videos went viral. He had discussed “the keys to success” which received a lot of attention due to Khaled’s magnetic personality. He quickly became an internet phenomenon, which transcended him into meme territory very quickly.
One of the major reasons Khaled has gained so much success is his own brand of positive language for success. His videos on how to be successful were compiled into web pages by fans.
Khaled has branded the phrase “bless up” from Rastafarian culture. Khaled says that it is a reminder to himself that his god is good, and he has a lot to be grateful for.
Criticism Over Album Credit
When DJ Khaled released his album Father of Asahd, which featured SZA and Nipsey Hussle, he credited Allah as a producer on the album. A lot of people accused Khaled of sacrilege for doing this. Beanie Sigel, a fellow Muslim commented on Khaled’s album being against the religion’s practices. Fans of his on Twitter were outraged by this decision as well. One user said “During the holy month? Imma pray for you cuz this ain’t it.”
Different Rules for Men
In 2018, an old interview with DJ Khaled from 2015 gained a lot of attention online. In the interview, Khaled revealed that he does not perform oral sex on his wife, because there are “different rules for men” in that area. He then went on to say, “A woman should praise the man – the king.” This resulted in a number of responses from celebrities and fans online, ridiculing Khaled for disclosing this information. Dwayne Johnson replied to Khaled’s comments and said, “as a man, I take great pride in mastering ALL performances…” Evan Rachel Wood commented on this bit of info by telling Khaled he should “grow up”.
DJ Khaled the Author
In 2016, Khaled released a motivational book entitled, The Keys. The book is all about creating the life that you have always wanted to have. It is described as being “upbeat and inspirational”. It has received many good reviews from readers, and has even been called a “masterpiece” by one reviewer’s blog.
DJ Khaled the Actor
Over the years Khaled has proved that he is a man of many talents and skills. He has appeared in 2017’s Pitch Perfect 3 as himself, and was a voice actor in 2019’s Spies in Disguise. He also had a cameo in Bad Boys for Life, and Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan.
In Summary
There are many people who will claim that DJ Khaled is famous for doing mostly nothing. The truth is that DJ Khaled has become one of the most popular social media influencers in the world because of one thing: his brand. He is known for being genuine, hard working and a hustler at the same time. He’s all about “the grind” and not letting the haters win. He has truly found “the key to success” by resonating with so many people through his music, his media personality and his unique sense of style.
Sources:
- https://summary.org/dj-khaled-wife-nicole-tuck/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/dj-khaled-from-broke-to-snapchat-famous-and-working-with-jay-z.html
- https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/dj-khaled-the-breakfast-club-oral-sex-interview-2015-a8337276.html
- https://raptv.com/artist/dj-khaled-the-full-profile/
- https://raptv.com/editorials/dj-khaled-catches-criticism-over-album-credit/
- https://raptv.com/news/dj-khaled-accuses-billboard-of-foul-play-and-is-planning-to-sue/
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