Image via Complex Original
Love him or hate hit, YMCMB hitmaker DJ Khaled is a certifiable force within the music industry and one of the go-to producers for mainstream rap. With a signature sound of airhorns and filtered breakdowns, Khaled sits on the edge of electronic and classic, a position that makes for widespread appeal and instantly catchy songs. One of Khaled's famous styles is the “posse cut,” bringing in a large number of features to make music on the 'hood, the lifestyle, and winning itself. RapGenius and Gavin Matthews break down the best, sometimes funny, Khaled posse songs, a mix of polished beats and effortless rapping that cling like nothing else.
Related: What Does DJ Khaled Do and is He Good for Hip-Hop?
15. DJ Khaled f/ Plies, Rick Ross, Schife & Young Jeezy "Put Your Hands Up" (2010)
Album: Victory
“Put Your Hands Up” is a trap anthem that tries to blend the realness and raw life of the streets and the luxury trappings of the rich rapper. Though Plies bravely demands that “if I die tonight, bury me in the hood,” the formula is not that logical. The reality, despite even Jeezy's best, is that the streets and the successful rapper necessarily part ways, making appeals to the old life harder to believe. Still, “Put Your Hands Up” is a perfect example of the Khaled view of the hood, bringing rappers together to pump out a raw, beaten sound.
14. DJ Khaled f/ Akon, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Lil' Boosie, Trick Daddy, Ace Hood, & Plies "Out Here Grindin'" (2008)
Album: We Global
“Out Here Grindin'” is Khaled's infamously large seven artist cut that manages not to drown in itself. The song is mostly notable for being hilariously overproduced and for lacking balanced vocals and any sense of flow, but the content is solid and the features stay sharp. Lil' Boosie wins the show, leaving the canned features around him in the dust. While not the best Khaled cut by any reach, the unintentional hilarity of the track forces a repeat. The top comment on YouTube says it all: “They should have sold all there [sic] gold chains and put that money into the special effects department.” Touche.
13. DJ Khaled f/ Usher, Young Jeezy, Drake, & Rick Ross “Fed Up” (2010)
Album: Victory
With Usher “so sick and tired of being sick and tired,” "Fed Up" certainly hit the streets where it hurt. Jeezy's raw voice mixed with Drake and Usher's crooning is a perfect mix, but the track lacks that Khaled polish of his more popular works. Despite sounding like an arena's 7th inning stretch song, “Fed Up,” is a solid lyrical effort and interesting take on a mixed genre. Distinguishing itself from the typical Khaled form, the song has a fluidity that, finally, the backing air horns are not producing.
12. DJ Khaled f/ Chris Brown, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, & Nicki Minaj “Take it to the Head” (2012)
Album: Kiss The Ring
One of the strongest electronic club bangers in Khaled's catalog, “Take It To Head” is exactly what you want to hear at 2 a.m. Lacking any real standout features, except for the welcome “M-M-M-Maybach Music” chant, the song flows perfectly alongside the relaxed, yet driven beat. Similar to the drugs the title references, this record is best consumed when you don't have to think about it too much.
11. DJ Khaled f/ Rick Ross, Plies, Lil Wayne & T-Pain “Welcome To My Hood” (2011)
Album: We the Best Forever
The “Mr. Roger's Neighborhood” of Khaled songs, “Welcome to My Hood” is the story of Miami, where “everybody knows everybody” and the police are corrupt. Though more recent, the song is a certified Khaled classic, breaking a tricky question for successful rappers: What happens when you leave your first hood to follow money? The answer is more simple than you would expect, with the two biggest movers, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, happy to embrace the old and new with equal passion. A shout to KRS-One never hurts, either.
10. DJ Khaled f/ Scarface, Nas, And DJ Premier “Hip Hop” (2012)
Album: Kiss The Ring
“Hip Hop” is everything that you expect: a clearly Khaled-blooded anthem that is mastered by the two legendary rappers and the always-excellent DJ Premier. In love with hip hop, the rappers discuss the finer parts of their relationship with her, from sex with the beats to the pain of realizing that other rappers love her, too. Not following the mold of the typical Khaled posse cut, the change is refreshing but not extreme, a downbeat song in a catalog filled with high-energy rage.
9. DJ Khaled f/ Ludacris, Rick Ross, T-Pain, & Snoop Dogg “All I Do Is Win” (2010)
Album: Victory
“All I Do Is Win” is one of the triumphant Khaled cuts that shows what a DJ who believes in his direction in music is can accomplish. That direction combines some of his best guest features, including Rick Ross' tight verses and Ludacris' ballyhooed appearance. Snoop Dogg holds a swagger that cannot be matched and a talent that balances perfectly with the somewhat canned nature of any Khaled banger. The song still resides as a posse cut to remember, drenched in Ciroc and victory.
8. DJ Khaled f/ Kanye West And Rick Ross "I Wish You Would" (2012)
Album: Kiss The Ring
Pairing two artists as distinct as West and Ross is a trick that few producers can pull off, but Khaled's fluid beats and attention to detail fill in the gaps. The song is a boast and hate check, with West waiting for a weaker rapper to call out his style so that he can shred his competition. In the meantime, Ross continues to live up his success and puts his bravado on the table to prove his strength. As one of Khaled's newer tracks, it proves he still has a knack for putting tracks together.
7. DJ Khaled f/ Rick Ross, T-Pain, Plies & Trick Daddy “I'm So Hood” (2007)
Album: We The Best
With Khaled ad-libs flooding the intro, “I'm So Hood” was impossible to find disappointing. Followed by furious Plies and Trick Daddy verses, the hype held up with a dominant Rick Ross presence. Even T-Pain, whose Auto-Tuned bars were at their peak, mixes free verse and more variety than usual to bring it all home. For once, the obscenely rich rappers, now far from any place like their old 'hoods, seemed believable.
6. DJ Khaled f/ T-Pain, and Kanye West “Go Hard” (2008)
Album: We Global
“Go Hard” is irresistibly catchy, somehow successfully mixing Khaled's ad-libs, Kanye's baritone, and a post-West Coast beat. The pre-MBDTF and post-808s Kanye is raw and confused, adding a believability that Khaled usually lacks. “Go Hard” is a good example of the “carpe diem” Khaled song; seize the day and embrace potential, even if that means another George Bush diss.
5. DJ Khaled f/ Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Diddy, Nicki Minaj, Fabolous, Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Swizz Beatz, & T-Pain “All I Do Is Win (Remix)” (2010)
Album: N/A
The lineup variety and higher quality raps make the “All I Do Is Win” remix all the better. While Diddy and Fabolous struggle to find a real voice in the mix, Nicki Minaj steals the show and Bussa Buss brings his veteran swagger center stage. The track starts off mean and lean, but stalls toward the end. Still, Khaled raps, so that's something. Undeniably better than the original, the track still lights up in spite of its flaws, and continues to prove that Khaled can pick his features well.
4. DJ Khaled f/ Kanye West, Consequence & John Legend"Grammy Family" (2007)
Album: Listennn... the Album
“Grammy Family” was one of the first iterations of Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint. As a celebration of changes in lifestyle, from playing the “demo up outta the Camry” to “racing Bentleys,” the song proved that the distinct styles of the artists could work together under the same label. Consequence, cousin of famed Q-Tip, left the label, but the unparalleled combination of Legend and West drives the track home. Yeezy has 18 Grammys, so it's no surprise that this award-themed Khaled combination was a winner.
3. DJ Khaled f/ Fat Joe, Juelz Santana, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross & Young Jeezy "Brown Paper Bag" (2007)
Album: We The Best
In perhaps the most potent posse mix of Khaled's career, “Brown Paper Bag” combined the talents of classic favorites and new stars. The titular brown paper bag holds huge wads of money, gained from drugs and rap and used to buy new shoes, guns, and cars. The theme is old, but the MCs involved breathe new life into the formula. Ross' wordplay kills, with the rapper declaring that he can sell 20 bricks of cocaine in 20 minutes. Then you have Juelz and Jeezy spitting at their sharpest, and the track reaches its peak with Wayne floating through the lush instrumental, rhyming "dolphin" and "orphan" like only he could in 2007.
2. DJ Khaled f/ Drake, Rick Ross, And Lil Wayne “I’m On One” (2011)
Album: We The Best Forever
The quintessential DJ Khaled track is a black hole, one that combines drama and club beats so fluidly that the listener is sucked in with no escape. “I'm On One” sets the bar from any angle, a tender mix of Drake and his sensitive thug image, a dark Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne's newest piece of flair. The track gains its strength through the undeniable Khaled production, the timeless themes, and the sheer talent soaked into its notes. When Khaled puts together records like this, you can't help but think that his appeal and success are here to stay.
1. DJ Khaled f/ Akon, Birdman, Fat Joe, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross & T.I. "We Takin' Over" (2007)
Album: We The Best
“We Takin' Over” is one of those unbelievable mixes, combining an incredible amount of talent with smooth production and a message of victory. T.I. starts the track by listing the cities, states, and regions he now owns, while Akon and Ross offer jobs and drug money to the world and Fat Joe threatens any hopeful opponents. Birdman brings his trademark swagger to close the track, only before Lil Wayne steps in with an outstanding, scene-stealing guest verse that rightfully established him as the rapper of the moment.