Get More: DJ Khaled, Music NewsOur collective bullshit detectors went off when DJ Khaled, rap's perennial jolly hype man, proposed to Nicki Minaj on MTV UK. Sure enough, DJ Khaled’s new single, “I Wanna Be With You” (featuring Nicki Minaj of course, as well as Future and Rick Ross) hit the web this week. Even so, the proposal was highly entertaining. Khaled came off surprisingly sweet, subduing himself as much as he could to say things like “I like you!.” Boston DJ and producer Durkin heard the potential and quickly went to work chopping up the unusually sentimental Khaled. The result is the incredible “Khaled’s Lament”, nearing 4000 plays on his Soundcloud in one short day.
It was interesting … it’s definitely a stunt of some kind, it was very well-produced and on MTV … but at the same time, it seemed pretty earnest and sincere.It was almost quaint!
It’s just funny because you only hear DJ Khaled’s voice when he’s super hyped up. And in this he’s reserved, but he’s still speaking in the DJ Khaled voice.I feel like while i was working on the song my whole opinion changed about the proposal. It went from being a joke to me kind of believing in what he was doing. I was trying to capture the emotion of it in the beat and by the end of it, I was almost on his side.It feels like a joke at Nicki’s expense, but because he can’t turn off the DJ Khaled voice it ends up being self-depreciating.
Of course it’s a stunt but you gotta give Khaled some credit. As part of the hip-hop world, feelings are frowned upon. Look at all the shit Drake catches from people just because he puts out sad half R&B songs. It’s a never-ending joke about how soft Drake is. This is a tribute to Khaled’s honesty and bravery in showing his feelings (laughs) … I mean it’s tongue and cheek but I honestly do give him credit.We’re actually in a pretty good time for feelings in rap, with Drake and Future and even Kevin Gates…
.. and just the fact that R&B is hot right now. Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, all of it’s based around being vulnerable. But you still get ragged on if you do a song like that.You have to be able to pull it off, but the bar for pulling it off is getting lower and lower.
Well now maybe Khaled will do a whole mixtape where all his drops are emotional confessions.@skinny412
Advertisement
It’s not a coincidence Durkin was able to put the samples to such excellent use. His production, which he calls “Dream Club” (or #dreamclub, if applicable), is lush, beautiful and meloncholy. It’s also dancefloor appropriate. If you like “Khaled’s Lament” you should also check out the “hi jump” / “joy ride” single and the sno.biz EP.I caught up with Durkin on the phone to talk about DJ Khaled, rap and feelings (before “I Wanna Be With You” leaked).How did you feel about the proposal itself?
It was interesting … it’s definitely a stunt of some kind, it was very well-produced and on MTV … but at the same time, it seemed pretty earnest and sincere.It was almost quaint!
It’s just funny because you only hear DJ Khaled’s voice when he’s super hyped up. And in this he’s reserved, but he’s still speaking in the DJ Khaled voice.I feel like while i was working on the song my whole opinion changed about the proposal. It went from being a joke to me kind of believing in what he was doing. I was trying to capture the emotion of it in the beat and by the end of it, I was almost on his side.It feels like a joke at Nicki’s expense, but because he can’t turn off the DJ Khaled voice it ends up being self-depreciating.
Of course it’s a stunt but you gotta give Khaled some credit. As part of the hip-hop world, feelings are frowned upon. Look at all the shit Drake catches from people just because he puts out sad half R&B songs. It’s a never-ending joke about how soft Drake is. This is a tribute to Khaled’s honesty and bravery in showing his feelings (laughs) … I mean it’s tongue and cheek but I honestly do give him credit.We’re actually in a pretty good time for feelings in rap, with Drake and Future and even Kevin Gates…
.. and just the fact that R&B is hot right now. Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, all of it’s based around being vulnerable. But you still get ragged on if you do a song like that.You have to be able to pull it off, but the bar for pulling it off is getting lower and lower.
Well now maybe Khaled will do a whole mixtape where all his drops are emotional confessions.@skinny412