Khaled Mohammed Khaled (/ˈkælɪd/; born November 26, 1975),[3] known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record producer, and record executive. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry artists to perform on singles and albums, for which he often serves as hype man. His distinctions are his booming voice presence, "motivational" abstractions, and numerous catchphrases. While his musical contribution is often questioned, Khaled's role has been described as "organization, direction, [and] promotion".[4][5]
Khaled was born in New Orleans to Palestinian immigrant parents. He first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s for the radio station 99 Jamz, and translated his popularity by working with Fat Joe's hip hop collective, Terror Squad, as a DJ for their live performances. Following his production credits on the group's material,[6] Khaled enlisted several hip hop artists associated with the group and his native Miami to perform on his debut studio album, Listennn... the Album (2006). His second album, We the Best (2007), spawned the hit single "I'm So Hood" (featuring T-Pain, Trick Daddy, Rick Ross and Plies). His two subsequent releases—We Global (2008) and Victory (2010)—both peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200; the latter was supported by the single "All I Do Is Win" (featuring T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross), which received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
His fifth studio album and major label debut, We the Best Forever (2011), saw continued commercial success and brought Khaled to mainstream prominence by spawning his first Billboard Hot 100-top ten single, "I'm on One" (featuring Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne). His following three albums—Kiss the Ring (2012), Suffering from Success (2013), and I Changed a Lot (2015)—were released to moderate critical and commercial reception.[7] Throughout 2015 and 2016, Khaled gained wider recognition as a public figure due to his social media activity. This, along with several Internet memes, foresaw the release of his ninth studio album, Major Key (2016), which was met with further critical and commercial success as it debuted atop the Billboard 200 and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
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