ONE ALBUM, TWO TAKES: DJ KHALED – GOD DID
The king of collaborations is back with another one, but not even Jay-z can save this album from mediocrity
‘They didn’t believe in us, God did.” This is arguably the most ubiquitous marketing aphorism since Gunna’s pushin P took the world by storm earlier in the year. It’s vintage DJ Khaled — a rallying cry that sees him positioning himself as an underdog who made it against all odds.
The 46-year-old Palestinian-american DJ and record producer has crafted a successful career based on virality more than quality musical output.
Since he rose to Snapchat fame circa 2015, Khaled has become almost impossible to avoid. Each new album comes with an inescapable catchphrase and a fistful of all-star collaborators that allow him to play the odds and inevitably luck into a mega-hit song. His latest effort God Did (his 13th studio album and latest Billboard chart-topper), is straight out of the well-worn Khaled playbook.
The album opens with a feature from Drake, a perennial collaborator, on No Secret. Khaled and Drake have struck a fruitful Dj-artist partnership over the past decadeplus. Lately, though, their collaborations have largely fallen short of stellar cuts like Stay Schemin, No New Friends and I’m On One.
True to form, the soulless No Secret sees Drake at his most laboured. “Can’t nobody reach me, dawg. Can’t nobody reach this far,” he declares on what must surely be the biggest waste of a Drake feature ever.
Perhaps to atone for this, which was probably just a shrewd play to manipulate streaming algorithms, Khaled follows it with the eight-minute title track, God Did. It opens with verses from rap veterans Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, and includes satisfactory vocal performances from John Legend and Friday, but it’s Jay-z’s lengthy final verse that steals the show. Despite his commendable effort, the song feels a tad too long and Jay’s billionaire boasts feel tired. That it’s widely considered the highlight of the project speaks more to the album’s mediocrity than the quality of the song.
Lead single Staying Alive enlists Drake and Lil Baby in a “safe” partnership that’s spawned a handful of noteworthy bangers. While it does have a catchy rhythm, thanks to a sample of the Bee Gees’ Grammy-winning 1977 hit Stayin’ Alive, it’s probably the pair’s weakest collaboration to date.
The project’s 18 tracks feature almost 30 performers but it’s rare that Khaled gets the best out of them. Apart from new-school torchbearer Lil Baby, other exciting acts to have emerged over the past few years, such as Roddy Ricch and Lil Durk, are enlisted here. For some reason, despite being perfectly positioned to usher in peripheral acts, Khaled continues to play it safe by aligning with whoever is hot at the time. Pitchfork writer Evan Rytlewski’s apt description of Khaled’s previous album Khaled, Khaled comes to mind: “Khaled’s aversion to risk is unrivalled. He gathers the biggest names in rap, then has them make the same music they’d record on their own anyway.”
Perhaps the best example of this is single Let’s Pray, which features Travis Scott and his star signee, Don Toliver. It sounds like a song the artists made on a random studio night and shelved before Khaled arrived and carelessly recycled it for his album.
Gunna and Roddy Ricch provide a rare moment of inspiration with Fam Good, We Good, a vintage Streetrunner anthem that has the urgency and bite the album sorely lacks. Aside from this, the project fails to meet expectations. — Shingai Darangwa
ADJ Khaled release has gone from being a non-event to being a marquee occasion, growing in popularity with each new release.
He has steadily built his reputation since debuting with Listennn... the Album in 2006. Sixteen years later, now on his 13th album, he has become a household name whose biggest claim to fame is perhaps consistently assembling Avenger-esque rosters of artists and putting them on his albums.
On God Did, the agenda is the same — curate songs that feature as many artists of the day as possible.
On this album he goes from putting dancehall royalty Skillibeng, Buju Banton, Capleton, Bounty Killer and Sizzla on These Streets Know My Name, to having Latto and City Girls on Bills Paid, as well as finally getting his most sought-after collaboration with Eminem, who he put on a song with Kanye West — Use This Gospel — Remix.
This has always been DJ Khaled’s forte. Much to the bewilderment of many music fans, who tend to ask: “What exactly is DJ Khaled’s role, apart from screaming and shouting phrases on songs?”
DJ Khaled is a DJ and producer first and foremost. This means he has a unique knowledge of which artists would blend well to make great records.
It helps that he seems personable enough to form good working relationships with a myriad artists. This compels them to pick up when he calls and, most importantly, to always put their best foot forward.
Illustrating this is none other than Jay-z, who has rarely disappointed when he has appeared on a Khaled record since his first outing on 2008’s Go Hard (Remix).
Providing what is undoubtedly the highlight of God Did, the self-proclaimed god emcee, Jay-hova, delivers what many have touted as the verse of the year on the title track. Eclipsing what are also exceptional verses from seasoned emcees Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, Jay-z raps for a record four minutes on an eight-minute song.
Not only is Jay-z’s verse impressive, owing to its length, it’s the gravitas it holds based on the many touch points it addresses that is great.
In an autobiographical soapbox speech that turns into messianic diatribe, Jay-z essentially stamps himself as the greatest rapper of all time and emphatically declares that he has done it all — triumphantly underscoring it with the phrase — “Hov did!”
Considering that God Did is the second song on the album, great as it is, it sets rather lofty expectations for the rest of the album. Unfortunately, it never quite manages to reach similar heights again.
The novelty of having blockbuster names on songs quickly wears off, especially when the songs themselves are underwhelming.
Drake makes two appearances on the album, on the opener No Secret, which is a paltry 47-second intro, and the sole single Staying Alive, featuring Lil Baby.
God Did is the most bloated of the past five DJ Khaled albums, clocking in at nearly an hour with its 18 tracks. The others were shorter: 2016’s Major Key (14 songs), 2017’s Grateful (double disc, 23 songs), 2019’s Father of Ashad (15 songs) and last year’s Khaled Khaled (14 songs).
And, unlike its predecessors, it didn’t have an outright hit single, with the one single released three weeks prior to the album, Staying Alive, peaking at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.