“Dancehall Is A Part Of My Story,” DJ Khaled Talks Jamaica’s Impact On His Career
Music tycoon DJ Khaled, who has always been very outspoken about his love for Jamaica and Dancehall music, recently discussed the significant impact the culture has had on his career.
In the latest episode of Up Close & Personal for Grammy.com, Khaled explained that in the early years of his career, he would travel between Miami and Kingston to observe soundclash culture. Eventually, his determination and vigor pushed him to evolve from a teenage bedroom-turntablist to a popular Miami radio DJ, who would dabble in Rap and Dancehall mixes.
“I grew up listening to Dancehall, playing Dancehall music with Hip Hop. As a young kid, I used to be in Jamaica, I use to basically live in Miami and Jamaica. I sound clashed, I’ve deejayed in Kingston throughout the whole beginning of my career,” Khaled said.
According to Khaled, his popularity quickly grew thanks to a few exclusive dubplates from his Jamaican deejay friends.
“I blew up, my name got big in Miami and the Caribbean because Khaled was known for playing Hip Hop and Reggae but also known for his special dub plates” he said.
The New Orleans native’s said he would never forget the support he received, so much so, he closed out his chart-topping 12th studio album ‘Khaled Khaled’ with the Reggae banger Where You Come From, featuring Buju Banton, Capleton, and Bounty Killer.
“All those artistes you saw on my album on that song, my friends that cosigned me in the beginning of my career. They use to give me dubplates and they put their hands around my shoulder saying we love this kid and I never forget where I come from,” he said. “Dancehall is a part of my story, you know what I’m saying, Jamaica is a part of Khaled’s story and it’s such a blessing… I love Reggae music and I love Dancehall.”
Khaled added that he was proud to have aligned some of the biggest names in Dancehall on Where You Come From.
“That record, Buju, Capleton, and Bounty have never been on a record together and those are all big huge Reggae Jamaican worldwide icons and that record is one of my favorite records,” he said.
They shot the visuals for the track at one of Khaled’s favorite places on the island— Holy Mountain in St Ann, without a video treatment. It was just old friends coming together to do what they do best, while the camera rolled on. The song has since racked up over 13 million views on YouTube.
Khaled also confirmed that he’s working on a track on Bounty Killer’s upcoming album King Of Kingston and that he was “excited” about the record. Bounty’s album will reportedly feature over 30+ artists.