“God Did” or Khal-Did?

When some think of DJ Khaled, they automatically think of his top-tier Jordan collection, erratic dance moves and memorable catchphrases– especially “another one.” Those two simple words became not only a trademark for him but an identity. 

One of Khaled’s featured artists, Juice Wrld in “Juice Wrld DID,” refers to his catchphrase in the song and uses it as a continuous punchline in his chorus and hook. In Khaled’s songs, he lets his artists do the rapping and singing. This didn’t change this past August when Khaled produced his 13th album with an extraordinary number of stars collaborating on his project. To some, this makes him one of the best music recruiters.  

  Now those who keep up with album releases may know DJ Khaled released an album just last year in 2021 called “Khaled Khaled” starring pop artists such as Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake and Drake. Khaled’s latest album, “GOD DID,” was focused more on the hip-hop genre, featuring amazing instrumentals and God-driven motivational messages. Khaled kept repeating “they ain’t believe in us, God did. You either win with us or you watch us win.” This was said throughout his album, interviews and snippet videos on his Instagram accounts.   

  After being able to listen to the whole album more than once, I believe there were distinct characteristics of this project that needed to be highlighted music-wise. First, his ability to be very diverse in his songs being in both minor and major keys and give us various vibes in genre whether a great piano instrumental that drops in and out percussion, a barbecue-grilling vibe, or even the drill and trap beats.  

  He does a great job in terms of having classics sampled in his album with a grand total of 8 songs. Tracks 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 18 had the likes of James Brown, The Bee Gees and others referenced. For those curious about which songs were sampled, you can visit whosampled.com and look up “GOD DID”(2022), and it’ll show each track and its details.  

  We can’t do a “God Did” review without honoring and breaking down the title song of the album. “God Did” which featured Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend, Friday and Jay Z. This eight-minute song had great musical characteristics. There was a continuous melody in C minor/ B flat major playing F minor, Ab major, C minor, and Bb major on the piano. The artist Friday had a great amount of tone in their voice while singing the chorus. Khaled starts off the song with motivational words, the addition of drums, and a beat when it’s someone’s verse, then drops off the beat when the verse is over to transition to the next one. The song ends with Legend’s vocals. All these elements are essential to the elegance of this song. Even with the stars on this very track, the biggest highlights were the lyrics and various quotable lines in this song, specifically in Jay Z’s verse.  

  The meat and potatoes of the song was definitely Hova’s 4-minute verse starting at 3:05. It was set up well with the faded Legends vocals and unique guitar riffs in the background. 

Hova’s four-bar set up definitely the best was his biblical reference to Jesus’ powers– and his own– saying “These ain’ songs, these is Hymns cause I’m Him, It’s the Psalm 151, this New Testament, Book of Hov, Jesus turned water to wine, for HOV, it just took a stove.” His exercise of wordplay and delivery in his message made this a highlight of the song for me. It ended off his legendary verse, which hit home for me and other Meek Mill fans: “Me and Meek can never beef, I freed the n- from a whole bid, HOV DID, next time we have a discussion who the G.O.A.T we don’t you just know this.”   

  So overall, this album– like many of his other albums– had everyday bangers, some songs that wouldn’t be played daily, great instrumentation, valuable musical crediting through samples, and an overall message clearly portrayed– that GOD DID.