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Ever since DJ Khaled’s stardom reached critical mass on Major Key, his descent from that top has been a disappointing one. Khaled reached a point where he could theoretically capture any artist, but for whatever reason the magic was lost. What would usually end in phenomenal collaborations became pointless & lackluster, on top of other embarrassing social media moments that are too many to recount. He hit a new low on his most recent album, Khaled Khaled, where not only was he pulling lackluster collaborations but also pulled these poorly mixed songs.
However, with the arrival of God Did, he sloppily sticks the landing. On this one, he leaves behind the unnecessary R&B collabs that ran rabid on his albums & moves to a more modern hip hop sound. It doesn’t carry the same super stardom of previous albums, but maybe that’s for the better. What’s pulled here is a much more listenable experience, even if not every track is the bombastic collaboration we would get on earlier albums.
The track that does immediately confirm you are listening to a Khaled album is “God Did,” an eight minute long track featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend, Fridayy & Jay-Z. This has all the makings of earlier over-the-top anthems like “Welcome to My Hood,” but surprisingly goes for a more iconic hip hop moment with Jay-Z’s verse.
Rick Ross & Wayne do competent features on the track, but Jay-Z goes in with a verse that is about four minutes long & jaw-dropping in its endless rhymes about billionaire status. While “Sorry Not Sorry” on the previous had Jay alongside Nas speaking financial pipe dreams of crypto, Jay’s verse here highlights how he took it from the drug game to one of the riches men in the world.
DJ Khaled – GOD DID (ft. Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend, Fridayy)
Its a verse that’s so showstopping, that returning to 2019 song immediately afterward is quite jarring. The track that immediately follows is a remix of a song from Kanye’s Jesus is King, an album not held too favorably in his catalog. Possibly a leftover from the Dr. Dre remix sessions of the rumored Jesus is King 2, it feels even stranger than the original track. The original track is rough, as Kanye notoriously recorded his verses on an iPhone, but now its layered with the same vocals but these overproduced Dre drums. If that wasn’t enough, a completely unlistenable Eminem verse comes in with a hilariously misplaced dubstep outro.
A rare moment in Juice WRLD’s music comes in the form of “Juice WRLD DID,” where he raps over a lighthearted instrumental where he plays with Khaled’s old slogan. While his music is fairly dour, this track is the complete opposite, celebrating the grandeur of excess. Hearing Juice WRLD in such a state of happiness is heartwarming, as its something you can rarely find from him outside of interviews.
DJ Khaled – Juice WRLD DID (ft. Juice WRLD)
There is a “Jadakiss Interlude,” following a similar fashion to tracks like “Jermaine’s Interlude” & “Nas Album Done.” Building off of the hype of the legendary Verzuz between The LOX & Dipset, Jadakiss continues to deliver his verses with passion on this track. Recognizing himself amongst the legends of New York, yet comparing him to the everyday people struggles, make him embrace the passion of New Yorkers.
Not every track here is of note, “Grateful” with Vory is a fairly boring outro & “Staying Alive” with Drake features one of his weakest features unfortunately. The majority of the album is a decent pop rap affair, which is a far-cry from the street hip hop anthems Khaled brought on his earlier albums. Yet, it is a massive step up from the overproduced pop work he was diving into.