Later, 21 shines once more on “Way Past Luck,” using his electrifying verse to stoke the already-considerable excitement over the prospect of his next full length. On “Keep Going,” a veritable modern-day dream team converges and as is customary these days, both Lil Durk and 21 Savage attack their verses as if their status in the game depends on it, while Roddy Richh reiterates why he’s one of the most reliable hook men in music today. While this has been the biggest takeaway from the record and rightfully so, it should be stressed that it’s not just the elder statesmen that shine on this project. However, what is undeniable is that this luxuriously rendered Streetrunner and Tarik Azzouz-produced track has proven that Hov’s latter day victory lap is every bit as compelling and quotable as his road to success was. Hyped up ahead of time as a song which featured Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and one of the finest ever verses from Jay-Z, there’s certainly a debate to be had as to whether it met that last criteria. While other songs expand on the theme, its star-studded title track is always going to be the record’s defining characteristic.
Where this redux of an existing track would normally seem like an odd inclusion, the religious overtones that permeate much of the record not only provide context for it, but speaks to an album that has something of a connecting throughline- a component typically absent from Khaled’s compilation-style projects. Augmented by those trademark speaker-knocking drums that Dre cut his teeth on, the track delivers one of Em’s most focused verses in recent times as he eschews the dazzling multisyllabic gymnastics in order to drill his point home, spitting about “temptation” delivering “a bunch of painkillers on ya, wavin' 'em in your face and then watch 'em comin' extra strength and that's why they make 'em in rectangular objects cause that's the shape of a coffin.” Above all else, Khaled’s continued relevance depends on the ability to coax cultural moments out of others and there are certainly a few to speak of on GOD DID.Ī record which may be three years old at this point but still holds a natural intrigue for any hip-hop fans, Dr Dre & The ICU’s remix of Kanye West’s “Use This Gospel” is an early highlight. And given the nature of his albums, that really can be make or break. As for whether that mood of grandeur is sustained across its entire 57 minute runtime, well, that's another matter entirely.Īn album that is all about celebrating the power of perseverance, Khaled is fittingly blessed with an assortment of motivated artists this time around. Leading with bombast and big name team-ups, he’s still attempted to craft nothing but anthems that'll bellow from every corner of the globe and initially, it does feels like you're in for something special with the intro, "No Secret," managing to exhume Take Care era Drake. In concept at least, Khaled’s latest album, GOD DID, i s a full length exaltation of what can be accomplished with the degree of faith and determination that he’s shown since he stepped out of the shadow of the Terror Squad to declare that “we the best.” But through it all, two things never wavered- his self belief and his innate trust that a higher power was on his side. When its follow-up, Khaled Khaled, came and went without much of a legacy to speak of, it seemed that perhaps after a long period of prosperity, fans had reached a point of fatigue with the DJ’s tried and true methodology. Even as the enquiries over what he actually did persisted, Khaled was never seen as a detriment to hip-hop culture until about 2019, he informally positioned himself as an enemy of creativity through bemoaning his chart defeat with Father Of Asahd to Tyler, The Creator’s “mysterious”- and far superior– IGOR. Adopting the format of DJ Clue’s The Professional series, Khaled maximized the crossover appeal of the all-star ensemble, and from 2011’s We The Best Forever onwards, Khaled became a vanguard of the middle ground between pop and rap.
DJ Khaled takes advantage of his star-studded address book to deliver one of the more focused projects in his discography.Īfter years of dominance in his self-devised field, the last few years have been an uncharacteristically bumpy spell for DJ Khaled.
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