Ozone Magazine

Back to his usual tricks, DJ Khaled is busy putting the biggest names in rap together onto one super-project. Victory, Khaled’s fourth compilation album, is slated for release this March. Among the expected features like the usual suspects Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Wayne, and T-Pain, there’s also a big surprise Khaled is waiting to reveal.

What’s new with you? We’ve been hearing a lot about the album lately. What’s the update with that?
The album is coming out March 2nd. It’s called Victory. This is my fourth album.

It’s been a little while between your last album and this one. What are some things you’ve been focused on in the meantime?
Well, I’m the President of Def Jam South so I’m busy with that. I’m working with Rick Ross, Jeezy, Ludacris, Ace Hood, basically the whole Def Jam lineup.

As President of Def Jam South, what exactly are your roles under that title? What are you expected to accomplish?
Everything. The President delivers hit records, makes sure my artists are happy, and oversees each project as a whole. I did that last year with Rick Ross’ album. That went #1. We broke a new artist last year named Ace Hood. This year we got Rick Ross coming back out with Teflon Don. I predict that will be #1. We got Jeezy coming out with TM103. I predict that will be #1. Ludacris is coming out with a new album soon. I predict that will be #1. We just workin’. Def Jam is one big team. We all come together and help each other – from all the executives, to all the A&Rs, to all the promotions people.

When you first started working and building the Khaled name, is this where you saw yourself going?
This is exactly what I predicted I was gonna do.

So did you have a specific plan in mind for your career path, like an outline of goals? Or did it just fall into place?
I definitely set goals to get to a certain level every year. I still got more goals to accomplish, but each year it played out.

What’s the plan for Ace Hood? He did two albums and everyone’s wondering where you’re going to go from here with him.
We have a smash record. I’m about to release his single. We got a new record coming out with Trey Songz that’s a fuckin’ hit!

Ace already had one single come out with Trey Songz that did pretty well. Is that why you went with him again on a collaboration? 
The record you’re talking about was like a Top 10 record I think. It was huge. That record doing so well is what made me realize that Ace is good at making records for the ladies. Another reason I had Trey and Ace do another record together – they have great chemistry. But that was a learning experience for Ace, he had to find himself. Ace comes from the hood so he hadn’t experienced a lot of stuff musically in his life. Right now he’s a brand new fresh artist coming into his own. He’s got some hits under his belt, and we’re gonna drop a new one this year that’s gonna be big.

You’re known for creating super collabos. What types of features can we expect on your album?
I’ve got a single out now called “Fed Up” featuring Usher, Jeezy, Ross, Weezy, and Drake. The video is huge. I’m about to drop two records. My second single is called “All I Do Is Win” featuring Ludacris, T-Pain, Snoop, and Ross. I have another record called “Put Ya Hands Up” featuring Jeezy, Ross, and Plies. It’s gonna hurt the streets on a whole other level. I guarantee Victory.

If you could put some artists from any era on one record together, who would you have collaborate to make an epic song?
Definitely Jay-Z, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Tupac, and Biggie.

What would you name that record?
“I Am Legend.”

You also recently signed a new artist from Virginia, right?
He goes by the name of Rum. Rum is from Richmond, VA. I’m taking my time with Rum. He’s so big in his city and his street cred is so amazing. He has like five records playing on radio in his city; he has like 20 records in the club in his city. He has his city in a frenzy. His buzz over there is so crazy. His wordplay and punchlines are so amazing. The way the game is structured now, it’s different, so it’s hard to break new artists because the game is so saturated. So what I’m doing with Rum is taking my time. The same buzz he has in his city, I want that to leak to other cities, like Miami, the rest of Florida, Atlanta, and beyond. We’re doing mixtapes, doing promo runs, and leaking music until we get a groundbreaking record that we can’t control. And when that happens, he’ll already have his big buzz so it’ll all connect. I have a vision with him to be the next big street authentic, down South artist, with real raps.

Do you have anyone else signed to We the Best?
I signed an R&B kid named Jarvis out of Atlanta. You’re going to hear some music from him real soon. Right now it’s all about Victory, so I’m gonna start breaking Jarvis sometime in March.

This is the same Jarvis that was signed to DTP? What made you interested in him?
He used to be with Jermaine Dupri too. I didn’t really know who he was, and what happened was, I heard his music, some of the new records y’all haven’t heard yet, and it was so amazing. I heard the passion. I got records in the safe right now that’s crazy. He just hasn’t had his chance yet. I feel like he’s young, the girls love him, and under my brand with his hit records, he’s about to explode. He’s another one that I’m going to take my time with. Everyone under my belt, I’m developing them right now. I’m not just gonna throw them out there, it takes time. It took me 15 years to get where I’m at, maybe longer. If you ask any artist, from Jeezy to Ross to T.I. or Wayne, they’ll tell you they’ve been doing it for like 20 years. A lot of people take this game for granted – it’s a grind. It’s work.

You mention developing your artists and making sure they’re ready to be released. Are they ready enough for your upcoming album?
They’re going to get a look on my album, definitely. Rum has a solo record on my album called “Bringin’ Real Rap Back.” I feel like this record is one of those street records that’s just gonna give him a stamp. When people buy my album, they’re gonna love it. They’ll be like, “Damn, who is this kid?” It’s part of the breaking process. Then when they research him in Virginia, they see that he’s the king in Virginia.

You’re helping put together major releases for solo artists alongside doing your album, which involves a lot of artists. Is creating an album like yours more difficult? There’s probably a lot more involved.
It’s harder because I have to deal with clearances, scheduling, and there’s so many artists involved. But I’m respected, and with my relationships and passion for the music, people know I can do it. That’s why I’m on my fourth album. I put quality music out there. But I make my albums like I’m a solo artist, like I’m Nas, Biggie, Pac, Pun, Wayne, or Jay-Z. When a lot of people make compilation albums, they just put records together, but not me – I put a sound together. When you hear it, you’ll understand why it’s titled Victory. My records are big records. It’s special.

Do you have plans to work with any female artists? I don’t think we’ve seen too much of that from you yet.
I’m supposed to put Nicki Minaj on this one. She’s agreed to it, but with her schedule and mine we haven’t done it yet. I don’t want to put her on just any record. It’s got to be right. I’ve worked with females before – Lil Kim was on my last album. Trina’s been on two or three albums. I’m looking forward to working with Nicki Minaj in the future. I want to work with Lil Kim again. And of course I want to work with R&B artists like Keyshia Cole, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige. That’s my next goal. I’ve worked with some of them on other projects, but not on mine.

You’ve confirmed that Shyne is being featured on the album. When can we expect to hear that?
I’m going to talk to Shyne and see if we’re going to put it out ahead of time or wait. I’m letting Shyne decide the destiny of the record we have together, out of respect, because nobody’s heard from him in a while. He actually co-produced the record. I got a totally different respect for Shyne. I don’t want to give away the concept of the record, but we have a big surprise.

What else do you have going on that people should know about?
My album Victory is coming out March 2nd. I promise you it’s amazing. I got every artist in the game on there, and I put amazing concepts to amazing records. Look out for “All I Do Is Win” and “Put Ya Hands Up.” Look out for “All My Life” – that’s one of the titles I want to put out there. //