''Khaled Khaled'' (stylized in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

) is the twelfth studio album by American

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

and record producer

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...

. It was released on April 30, 2021, by We the Best Music Group and

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. The album features guest appearances from

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. He embarked on a musical career after meeting record producer Mick Schultz in 2008, and signed a recording contract wi ...

Lil Baby Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 mixtapes ''Harder than Hard'' and ''Too Hard'' — the for ...

Lil Durk Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. Regarded as a pioneering artist in the Chicago-based hip-hop subgenre drill music, he is often considered the subgenre's most commercially suc ...

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

, H.E.R.,

Migos Migos () were an American hip hop group founded in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in 2008. The group was composed of rapper Quavo, his nephew Takeoff, and their "cousin" friend Offset. Quavo is from Athens, Georgia, while Offset and Takeoff were bo ...

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...

DaBaby Jonathan Lyndale Kirk (born December 22, 1991), known professionally as DaBaby (formerly Baby Jesus), is an American rapper. After releasing several mixtapes between 2014 and 2018, he signed with Interscope Records in January 2019 in a joint ...

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...

Bryson Tiller Bryson Djuan Tiller (born January 2, 1993) is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. He began his career in 2011 with his debut mixtape, ''Killer Instinct Vol. 1''. He gained mainstream recognition following the release of his 2015 single ...

Roddy Ricch Rodrick Wayne Moore Jr. (born October 22, 1998), known professionally as Roddy Ricch, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Compton, California, Moore rose to fame in 2018 following the release of his song "Die Young ...

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

A Boogie wit da Hoodie Artist Julius Dubose (born December 6, 1995), known professionally as A Boogie wit da Hoodie or simply A Boogie, is an American rapper, and singer-songwriter. He released his debut studio album, '' The Bigger Artist'', via Atlantic Records in ...

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

Puff Daddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

, James Fauntleroy,

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group the Blo ...

Buju Banton Mark Anthony Myrie (born 15 July 1973),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, known professionally as Buju Banton, is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae singer. He is one of the most significant and well-re ...

Capleton Clifton George Bailey III (born 13 April 1967),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 67–69 better known by his stage name Capleton, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician. He is also referred to as Kin ...

, and

Bounty Killer Rodney Basil Price OD (born 12 June 1972), known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant fl ...

Background

The title of the album is named after Khaled's real name, Khaled Khaled. It was executive produced by himself, his respective first and second children and sons, Asahd and Aalam Tuck Khaled, with

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

also being credited as an executive producer due to the Khaled family's religious beliefs and spirituality in

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. ''Khaled Khaled'' is the first album by Khaled to be released since the birth of Aalam, his second child, on January 20, 2020. Khaled also played songs from the album to American rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, who came to his house days before it was released. On April 29, 2021, in an interview with Chelsea Briggs of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', Khaled said that he hopes that the album will help his fans "to be inspired, motivated, but I want them to be great" and "don't hold back your greatness, don't let nobody stop the vision, but move with love", and stated that the latter takeaway is the most important part.

Release and promotion

On July 15, 2020, Khaled announced the title of the album alongside the titles and respective song artworks for its dual lead singles, "

Popstar A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...

" and "

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

", both of which feature Canadian rapper

, which were released two days later. Khaled had originally planned to release it sometime in the third or fourth quarter of 2020, but did not for unknown reasons. He teased most of the collaborations on the album before since he announced it. On April 27, 2021, he shared the album artwork and announced its release date. The following day, he revealed its track listing, while also teasing the ninth track from the album, " Sorry Not Sorry", which features American rappers

and

and American singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy. American singer

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

appears as part of the Hive. He revealed an updated track listing that added the track "Big Paper", which features American rapper

, which was not on the previous track listing.

Singles

DJ Khaled released the dual lead singles of the album, "

" and "

", both of which feature Canadian rapper and singer

, on July 17, 2020. The second single, "

Let It Go "Let It Go" is a song from Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film '' Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. The song was performed in its original show ...

", which features Canadian singer

and Atlanta-based rapper

, was released on May 10, 2021. The third single, " Every Chance I Get", which features American rappers

and

, was sent to US

rhythmic contemporary radio Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hits. ...

one day later, May 11, 2021. The fourth single, " I Did It", which features American singer

and American rappers

, Lil Baby, and

, was sent to UK

on May 21, 2021 and US

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

on June 1, 2021. The fifth single, "

Body in Motion ''Khaled Khaled'' (stylized in all caps) is the twelfth studio album by American disc jockey and record producer DJ Khaled. It was released on April 30, 2021, by We the Best Music Group and Epic Records. The album features guest appearances from ...

", which features American singer

and American rappers Lil Baby and

, was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on September 14, 2021.

Critical reception

''Khaled Khaled'' was met with mixed reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 58 based on eight reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". A few days before the album's release, Chris Deville of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' opined that the "extravagant list of guest stars" on it "feels especially indulgent" and "it's not just that ''Khaled Khaled'' seems predestined to be an event album nearly every track seems like it could be a breakout hit based on the lineup of performers alone". In a lukewarm three-star review,

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

's Luke Morgan Britton wrote: "This is a slightly hollow, glitzy blockbuster of an album, and we could well be reaching Brand Khaled fatigue very soon. But for now, and after endless hits and three Platinum albums, you can forgive him for refusing to change the blueprint." Of the album's lengthy guest list, Britton said: "If you swapped numbers with Khaled at an after-party and aren't on this album, you should feel offended."

Commercial performance

''Khaled Khaled'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, earning 93,000

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...

s (including 14,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week. This became DJ Khaled's third US number one album on the chart. The album also accumulated a total of 106.87 million on-demand streams of the album's songs. On February 23, 2022, the album was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 1,000,000 units in the United States.

Track listing

Sample credits * "Thankful" contains a sample of Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City, performed by

Bobby "Blue" Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was describ ...

, which American rapper

JAY-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

sampled for his song Heart of the City. * "We Going Crazy" contains a sample of Children of the Sun, performed by

Mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is Sexual dimorphism, sexually ...

. * "I Did It" contains a guitar riff sample from

Layla "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded with their band Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, '' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' (1970). Its contrasting movemen ...

, performed by

Derek and the Dominos Derek and the Dominos was an English–American blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by singer-guitarist Eric Clapton, keyboardist-singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. All four members had previously playe ...

. * "This Is My Year" contains interpolations of Long Kiss Goodnight, performed by The Notorious B.I.G. * "Just Be" contains a sample of All That I Got Is You, performed by

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

and

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

, which is built around the song Maybe Tomorrow, performed by

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

. * "I Can Have It All" contains a sample of Whole Lotta Something Goin' On, performed by Raphael Ravenscroft. * "Where You Come From" contains a sample of Under Mi Sensi, performed by

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist from Clarendon, Jamaica. Career In 1977, Levy formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bla ...

. Notes * signifies a co- producer * All tracks are stylized in

. * "Sorry Not Sorry" contains additional vocals from

, who is credited as "Harmonies by the Hive". * "I Can Have It All" also appears on H.E.R.'s debut studio album, '' Back of My Mind'' (2021), with DJ Khaled and

being credited as featured artists; however,

is not credited, but his verse is still present on that version.

Personnel

Technical * Chris Athens – mastering * Mike Dean – mastering, mixing (track 5) *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...

– mixing (1–7, 9–14) * Chris Galland – mixing (1, 5),

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

assistance (2–4, 6, 7, 9–12, 14) * Jeremie Inhaber – mixing (6, 7, 14), engineering assistance (1–5, 9–12) * Derek Ali – mixing (7) * Raymond "Cino" Argueta – mixing (7), engineering (10) * 40 – mixing (8, 13) * AyoJuan – engineering (1–7, 9–12, 14), vocal engineering (8, 13) * Ed1dmc – engineering (1) * Manny Galvez – engineering (1) * Darth "Denver" Moon – engineering (2) * Mattazik Muzik – engineering (2, 5, 7) * Evan LaRay – engineering (3) * Smitty Beatz – engineering (4) * DJ Durel – engineering (4) * Luis Bordeaux – engineering (4, 12) * Nick Mac – engineering (5) * Heidi Wang – engineering (6) * Elijah Marrett-Hitch – engineering (6) * Josh Gudwin – engineering (6) *

– engineering (7) * Chris Dennis – engineering (7) * Noel Cadastre – engineering (8, 13) * Alex Estevez – engineering (9) * Roark Bailey – engineering (9) * Thomas Tomcat Bennett – engineering (9) * Tom Kahre – engineering (9) * David Kim – engineering (10) * Gabriel Zardes – engineering (10) *

Young Guru Gimel Androus Keaton (born February 27, 1974), professionally better known by his pseudonym Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from Wilmington, Delaware. In 2019, Young Guru won a Grammy ...

– engineering (10) * Chris Godbey – engineering (11) * Anthony Cruz – engineering (12) * Jermaine J August Reid – engineering (14) * Orette Howell – engineering (14) * Taj-Vaughn Johnson – engineering (14) * Dave Huffman – engineering assistance * Anthony Vilchis – engineering assistance (1–7, 9–12, 14) * Zach Pereyra – engineering assistance (1–7, 9–12, 14) * Joseph Villiard – engineering assistance (4) * Paul Joasil – engineering assistance (4) * Richard Evatt – engineering assistance (11) Artwork and performance * Christopher Feldmann – art direction, design *

Jonathan Mannion Jonathan Mannion is a photographer and film director. He has shot album covers for hip hop and R&B performers including Dr. Dre, Jay Z, Aaliyah, Outkast, Nas, Nicki Minaj, Brandy Norwood and Kendrick Lamar. Early life and education With English ...

– photography * Erick Coomes – bass guitar (4) * Maxime Breton – background vocals, programming (11, 12)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2021 albums DJ Khaled albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by DJ Khaled Albums produced by 9th Wonder Albums produced by Cool & Dre Albums produced by Tay Keith