dj khALEd - Ozone Magazine

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.
//DJ Khaled
continued
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. //
26 // OZONE MAG