It's a big day for DJ Khaled, as the father of two has at long last unveiled his GOD DID album – stacked to the brim with an impressive roster of features, including Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, JAY-Z, John Legend, and Fridayy on the title track, as well as two separate appearances from Drake on album opener "NO SECRET" and the previously released single, "STAYING ALIVE," alongside Lil Baby.
While those are all obvious standouts, an unexpected surprise came in the form of a remix to Kanye West's Jesus is King song, "Use This Gospel" featuring Eminem and produced by Khaled's idol himself, Dr. Dre.
DJ Khaled performs at Miami Swim Week 2022 -- Jason Koerner/Getty Images
During the press circuit for his new album, the New Orleans native opened up to Zane Lowe of Apple Music 1 about how the song – which was initially meant to be placed on the Jesus is King 2 project that has yet to see the light of day – landed on GOD DID.
As Khaled tells it, Ye came by his house unexpectedly about a year and a half ago, at which time they played some music for each other. "8:00 in the morning and he just showed up to my house," the "All I Do Is Win" artist recalled.
"I never knew he was coming, tells the chef, 'Give me some eggs with ketchup,' and he had a drink. We go to my studio, I play him music, he plays me music, we both inspiring each other. He plays me an incredible album that he did with one of my idols, Dr. Dre, he played it from top to bottom for me. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing."
Khaled went on, "I told you he was making records for this album, me and Ye, he couldn’t finish them because he was so busy, so I said, 'I got an idea. I remember you playing me this Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kanye record and y’all was talking about God, y’all was speaking that gospel.'"
"I said, 'Man, that would be beautiful if we could put that on GOD DID.' and Ye hits back and says, 'I love the idea.' You know Ye don’t love no idea, he said he loves the idea. I talked to Ye, he said, 'I’m down,' but obviously I said, 'I got to call Dre to get his blessings, and of course, Em’s blessings.'"
After speaking with Dr. Dre, he agreed to help Khaled out, but wanted to ensure that Slim Shady gave his approval as well, which they quickly got. "Zane, this is my idol, Zane, Dr. Dre produced on my album, produced by Dr. Dre, Kanye West and Eminem," the 46-year-old gushed in his interview.