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
Four years on from the ‘Actual Life’ series lifting him into the mainstream spotlight, Fred Again.. continues to feel unavoidable. The London producer and DJ born Fred Gibson has moved at a relentless pace, bouncing between sold out stadium dates in New York and surprise appearances at Sheffield’s 1,000 capacity Forge, while also making history as the first electronic artist to top the bill at Reading and Leeds in 2024.
Where the ‘Actual Life’ releases and his fourth album, 2024’s ‘Ten Days’, leaned into warmth and joy pulled from ordinary moments, Gibson has also sharpened his instinct for high impact club weapons rooted in garage, dubstep and jungle. That side of his output lives on ‘USB’, an “infinite album” first imagined in 2022 as a home for tracks that exist outside any fixed universe, including defining moments like ‘Rumble’ and ‘Jungle’.
‘USB002’, the second vinyl only chapter of the ‘USB’ project, brings together 16 recent tracks, many of which surfaced gradually on streaming services over a ten week stretch. The music was shaped live, in step with ten unannounced DJ appearances across the world from Dublin to Mexico City. Even with a Glastonbury style registration system in place, The Times reported that 100,000 people tried to secure tickets for the opening night in Glasgow.
Appropriately, ‘USB002’ feels alive and constantly in motion, helped along by contributions from close collaborators such as Floating Points and Sammy Virji. The rigid, techno driven pressure of ‘Ambery’ echoes elements of Floating Points’ 2019 album ‘Crush’, while Gibson’s take on ‘The Floor’ builds like the slow climb of a rollercoaster before dropping back to earth without warning.
The guest list stretches beyond the usual dance circles, with two Australian guitar bands popping up in unexpected ways. ‘You’re A Star’ reworks Amyl and The Sniffers’ ‘Big Dreams’ into a breakbeat driven rush, while ‘Hardstyle 2’ pulls the experimental post punk edge of Shady Nasty into an Underworld adjacent space alongside Kettama. Gibson’s real trick is his ability to connect with anyone. These tracks are not reinterpretations but full takeovers.
The visual world wrapped around the ‘USB002’ rollout reinforces the instinct behind the music. Phones were prohibited at shows staged in vast warehouse spaces under sweeping light rigs, while Gibson’s team shared striking black and white footage and created artwork for each single on site. Bottling that sense of urgency, the project is rooted in the thrill of the present moment, something Gibson seems able to summon simply by turning up.
If the ‘Actual Life’ series and ‘Ten Days’ captured passing snapshots of experience, ‘USB’ is defined by constant movement, a space where boundaries are removed entirely. Sitting somewhere between an album and a playlist, ‘USB002’ underlines why Fred Again.. feels so dominant right now, and suggests that his current run may only be the beginning of something much bigger.
