DJ Khaled, music industry mogul, executive, mega producer and multi-platinum award-winning recording artist has been signed to Epic Records by Chairman & CEO LA Reid, in an exclusive deal that encompasses Khaled’s highly successful We The Best Music Group, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2016. Khaled’s hotly anticipated new album, MAJOR KEY, his first release for We The Best/Epic Records, will be available soon.
“Bringing Khaled to Epic is a blessed reunion for me,” said Mr. Reid, who first signed Khaled and We The Best to Def Jam Recordings in 2008. “Khaled is a supremely gifted artist and social media guru whose music has defined hip-hop and R&B for the past decade. With an extremely loyal fan base radiating worldwide out of Miami, every new release by Khaled has now become a firestorm event and his devoted legion of fans only grows bigger by the day. With Khaled’s passion and creative savvy, together with our dedicated and versatile staff, we are poised to reach even greater heights together than ever before.”
“After weeks of consideration I have made a decision on where to land the biggest brand in the game. A brand that has been built from the ground up. A brand that I spent my entire life building even before I gave it a name. Today I proudly announce my new partnership with LA Reid and Epic Records,” said DJ Khaled. “We The Best Music/Epic. Those two brands are synonymous with quality music. Iconic music. LA Reid was the first executive to give We The Best Music an opportunity to distribute my music on a grand scale. It is a very satisfying feeling to realign myself with someone who shares my vision of bringing fans the best music possible. When I think about Epic Records the first thing that comes to mind is Michael Jackson Thriller. An iconic artist with an iconic album and iconic logo. In short I’d like to thank all the people behind the scenes that helped make this partnership a reality. And to all aspiring superstars across the globe I say this I AM SEARCHING FOR NEW TALENT TO PRESENT TO THE WORLD!
When it comes to breaking new artists, no one does it better than WE THE BEST MUSIC!! I’m also proud to announce my new album title to the world. Fan luv you’ve been asking me to bless you with new music. The wait is over!!! My 9th albumMAJOR KEY is the best album of my career and I do it all for my fans. Stay tuned for new singles alert!!! New artist alert!!!! I’m looking for you!!! It’s We The Best Music/Epic. The next chapter of success has begun. The “machine” is the most powerful it’s ever been! Intact it’s the biggest machine in the game. Don’t ever question it!!!! It’s We The Best Music. It’s Epic. Bless up!”
Referred to in the music industry as the “Quincy Jones of hip-hop & R&B,” Khaled has made dozens of chart topping hit records featuring collaborations with the greatest names in music. His most recent (eighth) studio album, I Changed A Lot (October 2015), entered the Billboard Independent Albums chart at #1 and R&B chart at #2. The album spun off a quintet of chart singles including “They Don’t Love You No More,” “Hold You Down” (RIAA gold), “How Many Times” (RIAA gold), “Gold Slugs,” and “You Mine.”
As one of the biggest personalities on social media, what separates Khaled from the pack is his globally viewed Snapchat account (@djkhaled305), with over 6+ million followers devoted to his inspirational and often whimsical quotes on achieving success in life. In homage to him, Khaled’s legion of worldwide fans are constantly creating short videos and posts on Snapchat as well as other social media platforms, including Instagram (where he has over 3+ million followers) and Twitter (with nearly 3 million followers).
“His Snapchat is a renewable source of relentless positivity,” wrote Jon Caramanica in the New York Times, “a kind of choose-your-own adventure motivational talk. It succeeds in the space between laugh-with and laugh-at; he endlessly replays the same scenes and motifs, a Groundhog Day of braggadocio and encouragement. His catchphrases — ‘Another one,’ ‘Bless up,’ ‘They don’t want you to …’ – have become a lingua franca. He is now the foremost user of the key emoji, and, in his discussions of ‘major keys of success,’ has rescued that emoji from obscurity.”
DJ Khaled released his debut, Listennn… the Album in 2006, coinciding with the launch of his independent label, We The Best. After establishing himself on a series of platinum-selling singles over the next two years (“We Takin’ Over,” “I’m So Hood,” “Out Here Grindin”), Khaled signed his first major distribution deal for We The Best with Def Jam in 2008, under Mr. Reid’s watch as then-Chairman. Khaled’s breakthrough was 2010’s 3x-platinum “All I Do Is Win” (from Victory), followed by “I’m On One” in 2011 (from We The Best Forever). To date, Khaled has sold over 15 million singles worldwide.
