DJ Khaled

A hip-hop DJ, radio presenter, label owner, and all-around music mogul, DJ Khaled became an industry institution and one of the few Arab-Muslim hip hop stars in the world. The son of Palestinian immigrants, Khaled bin Abdul Khaled was born on November 26, 1975, and grew up listening to his parents' Arabic music while soaking in all the sights and sounds of his native New Orleans, discovering reggae, soul, R&B, house music, and the early hip hop of Afrika Bambaataa. Moving to Miami in the 1990s, his mix of Jamaican dancehall and old school rap made him one of the hottest DJs in town, and he graduated from local pirate radio to hosting his long-running TakeOver show on Miami's urban station WEDR. His involvement as an assistant producer with Fat Joe, Fabolous, and Terror Squad led to his 2006 debut, Listennn... the Album, which featured Dr Dre, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Akon. With Khaled acting as executive producer and svengali-type figure, the hit US albums We The Best (2007), We Global (2008), We The Best Forever (2011), Kiss The Ring (2012) and Suffering From Success (2013) were mixtapes featuring the cream of the industry and burgeoning young talent, all wrapped up in Miami party vibe and Khaled's eclectic musical knowledge. Drake, T-Pain, Chis Brown, Nicki Minaj, Mary J. Blige, and Cee-Lo Green all contributed to the records, while newer artists such as Wiz Khalifa, Future, and Kendrick Lamar also got their break as a result. DJ Khaled hit a new peak in 2016, when Major Key became his first album to top the all-genre Billboard 200. He repeated the feat with 2017's Grateful and 2021's Khaled Khaled, the latter of which included the platinum singles "Popstar" and "Greece." In August 2022, he released his 13th album, God Did, which included the single “Staying Alive” featuring Drake and Lil Baby. The album also featured appearances by Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend, Future, Kanye West, SZA, Travis Scott, Jadakiss, and many others.

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