DJ Khaled is opening up about the much-talked-about Instagram picture of Kanye West that he shared on Wednesday, in which the rapper is still wearing his wedding ring amid his divorce from his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian West.
ET’s Kevin Frazier spoke to Khaled about his new album, Khaled Khaled — out now — and Khaled gave the background on the photo he shared of West, in which West has his hands up, clearly enjoying the new music Khaled played for him. West is wearing a ring on his left ring finger.
“First of all, God bless him and his family, remember this was a while ago, and when I say a while ago, like, when I was first starting to create my album,” Khaled shares. “And I was just playing him song ideas I had so this was long, not too long ago, this was like way before, you know, all that and I want to send my love to him and his family and his kids, you know what I mean? God bless him and his whole family, you know?”
Khaled also shared how West surprised him at 8 a.m. in the morning during his visit.
“One of my team members knocked on the door, ‘Yo, Khaled, Mr. West is in your backyard,’ so I go to my backyard and he’s eating scrambled eggs with ketchup because he asked my chef to make them and some vegan bacon,” he recalls. “And we was just kicking it, catching a vibe, and catching up and he gave me a surprise visit. We ended up going into my studio of my house and we just ended up playing each other music. … And there was just a vibe, you know what I’m saying? It was just a vibe and, like, you know, I was grateful to have a great conversation with him but at the same time hear some of his music, and he heard some of my music.”
Meanwhile, Khaled has an impressive list of music superstars featured on his new album, including getting rap legends Nas and JAY-Z — who were famously at odds with one another in the past — together on the song “Sorry Not Sorry.”
“That song is so inspiring and motivating but so beautiful at the same time,” he says of the track. “And you know, Nas and JAY-Z are like two of my favorite MCs ever and to put them together and to know what they’ve been through and where they come from … what they’ve been through together, to be able to make this beautiful song to inspire everybody … You know, you have to look at this like, man, this is what you call unity … coming together, and when you come together, they spread the light, they spread the love, and it’s inspiring.”
Khaled also talked about collaborating with both Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake, recently missing a FaceTime call from the two of them together.
“They screenshotted it, it’s crazy to be blessed with Justin Bieber and also Justin Timberlake,” he shares. “Because Justin Bieber, man, that’s my brother, you know what I’m saying? We’re actually shooting a video of the song that we got together with 21 Savage, we’re shooting that this week coming up and just a blessing to continue to work with him.”
“And Justin Timberlake, I’ve known Justin Timberlake since I was, like, before a teenager,” he also reveals. “And you know, we always wanted to work with each other, and we were just waiting for that right moment and that right time, and I sent him something special and it really touched his heart, you know what I’m saying?”
But perhaps the most special touches on his album are from his two sons, 4-year-old Asahd and 1-year-old Aalam.
“Asahd and Aalam executive produced the album, both of them, they pick the colors, they approve the covers, they help me with the music and Asahd is four and half now so it’s like he is really dialed in, you know what I am saying?” he cracks. “I am not making this up, our kids are geniuses, man. My kids, all of our kids, you know what I am saying?”
“You know, if you put them around greatness and love, they surprise me with something new every day, the knowledge that they have is unbelievable and I am so happy that they are surrounded by love and energy and also fun and joy,” he adds.
