DJ Khaled Explains The Spiritual Message Of His New Album

DJ Khaled is famous for his party jams, but he says his new album Father of Asahd — named after his two-year-old son — is about much more than simply having a good time.

“The whole album is very spiritual,” he tells Vibe. “The message of the album is to not only receive our blessings but to protect them, as well. Everything for my son, Mama Asahd and fan love.”

The album includes two songs with reggae icon Buju Banton: “Holy Mountain” and “Holy Ground.” Banton is emerging from a long hiatus after not releasing an album in nine years. Khaled says their special relationship led them to collaborating on the album.

“Buju is family to me, and when he came back, I went to Jamaica to welcome my brother back home. He met my son and we were just vibing,” he recalls. “Then Buju asked me to ‘play a chune’ and I played him the ‘Holy Mountain’ beat and Buju finished it in one take.”

“Then Buju said, ‘Play me another one,’” Khaled continues. “I had this idea for ‘Holy Ground,’ played it for him and he loved it. The rest is history.”

Khaled is promoting Father of Asahd more than any other project in his long career. He says he wanted to make sure he did everything to make it his most successful release.

“I decided we can’t do anything dinosaur anymore. For this album, everything had to be big,” he says. “From the music to the rollout, everything had to be big!”

Father of Asahd is another all-star project for Khaled, featuring Cardi B, 21 Savage, Chis Brown, SZA, Lil Wayne, Big Sean, Meek Mill, Travis Scott, Post Malone, John Legend, Chance the Rapper, Quavo, and the late Nipsey Hussle, among many more.