DJ Khaled photographed on May 8th at The Fig House in Los Angeles.
Sami DrasinDJ Khaled announced Tuesday (April 27) that his 12th album Khaled Khaled will be released on Friday, April 30, via We the Best Music, Epic and Roc Nation.
"ALBUM 100% DONE! ITS TIME," Khaled shared on his socials with the alarm-clock emoji. "I TOLD MY TEAM LETS PUSH THE BUTTON! #KHALEDKHALED THIS FRIDAY APRIL 30TH!"
In a followup post, he revealed his kids would take a leading role on the recording,
"Executive produced by Asahd Khaled and Aalam Khaled," he wrote, explaining the meaning behind the album title.
He promised the album cover next and he delivered, sharing the art on Instagram. "This my name. This is my legacy. This my COVER. Time to bring MORE LIGHT," Khaled captioned the post. "I have a gift for the world. I can’t wait to share it with you. Let’s talk tomorrow, are you available?? I couldn’t post any pictures of this gift I had to sign an NDA." The cover art features Khaled alongside his two sons: Asahd and Aalam.
DJ Khaled (real name Khaled Mohamed Khaled) jumped for joy (and into his pool) last week when two famous Justins -- Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake -- tried FaceTiming him after submitting their vocals for the upcoming record.
On Monday, he announced Khaled Khaled was "99.1% DONE" in a one-minute clip featuring a choir singing behind him as he preached the good news about his forthcoming LP. "Khaled Khaled is coming. It's special. I worked my whole career, I worked my whole life, and I'm just getting started," he declared. "But to make this album... was... God's hands all over it. Be great but be grateful. And remember, the light is love and God is love. When it's dark, be the sun. I am Khaled Khaled, child of God."
He confirmed in the comments section of Meek Mill's "#ZONE" Instagram picture from the recording studio that he received the rapper's vocals as well. "Facts ! Vocals is in! KHALED KHALED coming [soon]," he wrote on Monday.
Last July, DJ Khaled sent two top 10 singles to the Billboard Hot 100 with the help of Drake: "Popstar," which peaked at No. 3 on the chart, and "Greece," which reached No. 8. "As people that are two music execs, two guys that make music, two guys that put out albums, two guys that are bosses and CEOS, we relate to each other in a great way meaning IT'S BIG," he told Billboard in an interview last year. "If I come to Drake like, 'Let's do something,' in his head, he's already saying that 'Khaled isn't doing just anything.' That's how I look at Drake too, because everything he do is big."
Khaled Khaled will be the follow-up project to Father of Asahd, which was released in 2019 and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The song "Higher," featuring John Legend and Nipsey Hussle, from the album earned DJ Khaled his first Grammy at the 2020 Grammy Awards for best rap/sung performance.
MUSIC PREMIERES
Lykke Li didn’t hold back when speaking about the making of her sixth studio album, ‘The Afterparty’, during a listening session in Los Angeles earlier this year. “Let’s talk about the album. It was a motherfucker to make,” she admitted to the crowd. While balancing motherhood, the chaos of modern culture shaped by Trump and AI, and her own desire to create something more “extroverted, impulsive and chaotic” than ‘EYEYE’, as she previously shared with NME, the Swedish alt pop star arrived at a headspace that “feels like it’s 4am and the sun is going to rise”. The record captures that blurry final moment before regret, exhaustion and reality settle in, which makes it even more emotional considering she has hinted this could potentially be her final album.
There is something fitting about how brief the project feels. With only nine tracks running across 24 minutes, it never overstays its welcome. Lykke immediately drops listeners into the atmosphere with opener ‘Not Gon Cry’, painting a picture of those lonely early morning hours with the line, “No angels here tonight, no dancing queens.” Alongside the shadowy pulse of ‘Happy Now’ and the twisted disco energy of ‘Lucky Now’, she revisits the emotional yet dance driven spirit of her earlier material while blending in the sharper, more confident attitude heard on ‘So Sad, So Sexy’ and the shimmering influence of her 2019 Mark Ronson collaboration ‘Late Night Feelings’.
The emotional fallout begins to settle in quickly. ‘Famous Last Words’ carries a lush orchestral sadness as Lykke reflects on lessons that only came after years of chaos and late nights, confessing, “I had to crash and burn to tell the tale.” Then comes ‘Future Fear’, a delicate acoustic track with robotic textures that stares directly into anxiety and uncertainty with the chilling question, “I’m going to a dark place, do you need anything?” Meanwhile, ‘So Happy I Could Die’ glows like sunrise after a sleepless night, holding onto fleeting moments as she sings about “slipping through the hourglass”.
Throughout the album, Lykke Li vividly captures the beauty and wreckage of reckless nights with the vulnerability that has always defined her music. On ‘Sick Of Love’, she channels heartbreak into revenge, wanting to “make you beg for it” after rejection in a way that feels spiritually connected to Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’. One of the strongest moments arrives with ‘Knife In The Heart’, a track that fully embraces her desire to become the “rock god” and “fuck boy” she spoke about, firing back at anyone who tries to tear her down with the words “you can spit, you can walk on me” while delivering one of the catchiest songs she has created in years.
Closing track ‘Euphoria’ leaves behind the same bittersweet feeling that runs through the rest of the album. With sweeping strings, pulsing beats and emotional intensity, Lykke Li reminds listeners that nothing lasts forever as she sings, “Player play your song, waste the night away”. Like the fading energy of the perfect night out, ‘The Afterparty’ ends in a haze of beauty and uncertainty. If this truly is her farewell, she leaves with one final intoxicating statement, though it still feels like there could be another chapter waiting.
