The Keys Read online

  It’s real out there. But you have to believe in your instincts and your vision because when you stay away from “they,” there’s a reward. There’s a feeling out there that the whole world is missing out on, and it’s called joy.

  Joy is an all-body experience that touches your soul. Some people think they have joy now, and they might be happy, but what I’m talking about is really special. True joy. You’re going to be so much better once you stay away from “they.” You’ll feel like you’re living a whole new life, a life free of hate, doubt, envy, and trash vibes, and let me be the one to tell you that that’s when you can start winning. Major key: The ungrateful and jealous “they”s are the most dangerous “they”s out there.

  “They” don’t want you to have breakfast. “They” don’t want you to have Jet Skis. “They” don’t want you to have Jay Z as your manager. I don’t know if you sense a pattern here but let me tell you: “They” don’t want you to have anything worth having. If it brings you joy or success, you can guarantee that these people will do everything in their power to stop you from accomplishing it. You see me on Snapchat or with Fan Luv and you’ll know that I’m always talking about all the things that “they” don’t want you to have. Stay woke. Constantly remind yourself and speak out loud on the things that you want in life. Picture yourself having everything. It might be a boat, or a plane, or a platinum plaque or a bestselling book or even egg whites, turkey sausage, and a glass of water for breakfast. You deserve all of these things as long as you work hard. Envision all the obstacles you might run into while trying to get them, and then beat them down. “ ‘They’ don’t want you to…” is like a battle cry against the “they” energy. Go out into the world and declare what you want even if “they” want to stop you. Always do exactly the opposite of what “they” want, and you’ll prosper.

  I HAVE SEEN Khaled work for years—hustling to put together these songs, get clearances, have people work together that normally wouldn’t. I have always been a fan of his work ethic and passion. I love how he never gives up and puts his ego to the side to get the job done. He told me he moved his family to NY to get [my] verse. I wanted him on my team after that! Ha. What we are seeing from Khaled now is really who he is; the cameras are just capturing his natural state. That’s why the world is so drawn to him. The most important “key” is honesty: It is best to be a failure with who you are than successful as someone else.

  —Jay Z, legendary rapper, CEO of Roc Nation, and Khaled’s manager

  BE YOURSELF

  I’m always telling you to be yourself all the time. I know it may be easier to conform, and it’s okay that you might want to follow your friends, but just remember that you don’t have to.

  I don’t know how not to be myself. I told you there was no blueprint for me. I never followed the journeys of any of the types of rappers you saw at the time I was coming up. I wasn’t a gangster or a drug dealer, and not to say that you had to be one of those things to make it, but I still hustled every day. A lot of people I grew up around, that was their life, and everybody had their way of hustling and that’s what they spoke about. I had my way. But my grind wasn’t easy. I would inherit other people’s problems and headaches that I had to navigate my way through. Coming up in Miami also made me different. I love Florida more than anything, but I was a big fan of Southern, New York, and West Coast rap. There weren’t a lot of people in my hometown at the time who were into what I was. I remember I’d have my friends in New York record radio shows on cassette tape and send them down to me. I used to go to music seminars and DJ battles all the time. I’d always make sure to fly to New York to buy vinyl and to tape Red Alert, Funkmaster Flex, and Clark Kent on the radio. I’d go watch and study Kid Capri at the clubs because his mic game and his selection were unbelievable.

  But being unique in Miami ended up being a huge blessing. Often there was no one else in my lane. We didn’t have mainstream hip-hop radio stations in Miami, so I made that work for me.

  When I was working at a pirate radio station called Mixx 96, it was just me playing that kind of stuff, so I owned that whole market. When you’re an original, you’ll look crazy at first—and let me be honest: you might look crazy for a while—but eventually people will know exactly what to come to you for.

  Having a distinct brand and voice helps you corner the market. I’ve always had that big personality that loves connecting people and making people smile. But sometimes being yourself isn’t easy.

  I love hip-hop and genuinely think there are a lot of geniuses in the culture who I’m blessed to work with, but over the years there have been occasions when people mistook my kindness for weakness. I have a big heart and I promote peace and unity, but sometimes that’s not the most popular way to be. Hip-hop can get real sometimes. People think beefs sell a lot of records, but they’re wrong, and that’s why I stay out of it. My character can be seen as the opposite of all that. I believe in my vision, and I can’t be any other way. People might think loving peace is soft, but we all know that’s not true. It takes all the strength and discipline in the world to stay calm in certain situations. And I won’t lie, there have been times that I had to remind people of my power just in case they forgot and mistook me for someone they wanted to test. It’s the strongest, wisest man who knows how to come to the table seeking solutions.

  It doesn’t matter what everybody else is doing; I just have to keep doing me. Even if it’s unpopular or people don’t understand it. Because when you ain’t yourself, how are you living with yourself? Think about that. If the person you are when nobody’s watching is so different from who people think you are, how is that not a waste of energy and emotion? I know some people who have like three or four versions of themselves, and I don’t honestly know how they keep track. How can you claim to have a focused vision when your head is so mixed up?

  Who does your team even know to follow? You can’t keep the pathway to more success clean if you don’t even know who to be. Meaning as in, be yourself.

  Being yourself means first learning who you are. Take time to identify and develop your natural talents and you will be successful. Also, take time to figure out what makes you happy. If you combine what comes naturally to you with what makes you happy, then you will be unstoppable.

  Also think about the parts of yourself that you get from your parents—who they are and the way they raised you—and the parts that you learned from the teachers in your life. I don’t just mean at school; I mean wherever you worship, in the streets, from your mentors. Add these things to your talents so that you become better at your passions. Don’t just be a star, be a superstar.

  The other part of being yourself is also being true to what makes you unhappy. I despise “they.” I can’t stand liars and disloyalty and complaints. I keep these things out of my life at all costs. Removing what makes you unhappy will make you happy. That sounds obvious, too, but believe me, people forget to take out the trash all the time.

  Being yourself is power. In some ways, of all the major keys, it’s the most important key. But it’s the hardest to master. It’s the one you have to keep working at as life goes on, and it’s the one that leads to the others. Not being true to yourself is how you know that “they” are in your head. That’s real talk. Ignoring who you are will eat at you. When you live life by what you think other people want from you, you aren’t really living. Over time it might make you feel hollow or hateful.

  Because here’s a major key: Know that most people in the world aren’t being themselves. Being real when other people are fake is what sets you apart. The issue is that it’s easy to forget who you are. Especially if you’re young. Especially if you’re different from everybody else. People are suspicious of people who stick out. But there’s no path to more success where the first chapter isn’t being yourself. Matter fact, look at any artist or successful person. I guarantee that there isn’t a single person I look up to who wasn’t called crazy or weird at some point in their life. “T
hey” will always tell you that your ideas are stupid and that they’re never going to work—until they do. This is the hardest part of being yourself; it’s risky. It’s scary to think that people might reject you or what you create. There’s nothing to hide behind, and there’s no one else to blame. But you have to be fearless. No one else is going to ride for you harder than you will. And being loved for being someone else is an empty life. You’ll never experience true joy, and a life without true joy is not living. Once you learn who you are and the rewards come, think about how to be better. It’s not about changing the essence of your personality and character; it’s about working on the parts of you that may not be the best yet. This is how to become more than who you’re born as. This is how experience and wisdom make you develop into a better person, and this is how your goals get bigger and your standards get higher.

  Maybe it’s learning to become more patient. Or spending time with your family. I try to dedicate time to enjoying life now. And I’m working on my health and anxiety. Just understand that it all takes time. The journey starts with making peace with who you are, accepting that you’re one of one, and loving yourself so other people can, too. Then give thanks and make sure to live well by making yourself better your way.

  I’ve always been special cloth and I’ve always known. Knowing I was different is one of my earliest memories. Think about it: My first and last names are the same; I’m Khaled Khaled. From the beginning I dealt with kids telling me that I was a liar, and it’s not easy to argue with everyone about something as fundamental as your own name. See, “they” were after me even back then. This was even before I knew to call them “they.” Being special cloth makes “they” show themselves early.

  Special cloth. What does that mean? It means that you’re special edition. You’re one of one. Like they broke the mold after you. Matter fact, there wasn’t even a mold, because you’re a masterpiece. It means that when people compare you to everyone else, it doesn’t make any sense.

  From a young age I knew that I was blessed by God. I am God’s son. It’s called always knowing that I wanted to be the best. It’s called knowing that I was different from everyone else. Everything I do is Khaled. I don’t even have to try; I can’t help it. It’s a special thing. We love Barack Obama, Muhammad Ali, Jay Z, Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, and Martin Luther King Jr. because these are all special cloths. Prince was special cloth. Rest in peace.

  When you’re special cloth, it’s hard at first. There are a lot of challenges because it can be lonely. People try to confuse you and try to change you, but when you keep working and putting your unique brand out there, you find out there’s other special cloth in the world. That can be a huge relief. Matter fact, sometimes you can bring your specialness together, collaborate, and make something amazing. That’s what I do.

  There was no blueprint for me. You can just tell by knowing me that I’m one of one. Some people might call it passionate. Other people call it annoying or loud. I don’t care what “they” say. The important thing is just to block out the negativity. Just make sure that your cloth is the finest cloth. Keep studying what makes you happy. Keep grinding and getting better. Learn everything you can and stay hungry. Study the business and the moguls who came before you. If you meet another special cloth, learn about what makes them special and overstand more. You might be born special cloth, but don’t take it for granted. Oprah, now, she’s special cloth. We look up to Oprah and we’re inspired, but go read her story; it didn’t just happen. Oprah had to make sure she became Oprah. Remember that. Make sure that you become the you you’re meant to be.

  KHALED IS A hard worker, he’s dedicated and focused. Khaled’s show came on after ours and I don’t remember exactly what building we were in, but we were on a high floor and he would come and start bringing in equipment all by himself, like one crate, two crates, three crates…MPC, turntables, and I just remember thinking, “Just how many trips in the elevator is this man taking?” He would do this every time, and the second we’d finish he’d start setting up his stuff. He was never late, never skipped a beat. I’ll never forget me and Dre ended up leaving for Atlanta for some R&B endeavors and we were gone for a while, and we gave Khaled our six-to-ten slot, which was prime time, because he used to go on at ten p.m. to one in the morning. And when we came back everything was DJ Khaled.

  We stayed close because we haven’t fallen into the music industry crap—the bullshit that comes along with the music business. Sometimes you might not be popping or people might be saying shit or people didn’t get on certain projects that you got on and feel some type of way, but we never fell into any of that with Khaled. Khaled doesn’t operate like that. It’s always been a mutual respect with him. Any time something came across the table for us to speak highly of Khaled, we would do it, and whenever something came for us, Khaled would speak highly of us. We’re just grateful to do business. We all work so hard on our own visions and have so much love and respect for each other. We produced his first single and the majority of the first album, so it’s been a special relationship since the beginning.

  He was the first one to buy his house in our area, and then me and Dre went and bought houses right after, and when he had the pool put in and we were swimming in the Jacuzzi, it was so hot you could have boiled some eggs in there, and he’s like, “Cool, we did it, we did it!” I’m like, “Khaled, how do you even have skin left, bro? This shit is blazin’.” But he had the Jacuzzi cranked up because “they” didn’t want him to have a Jacuzzi. He’s a great example of what happens when you follow your dreams and stay the course. If there’s something out there that you really believe in, do it. Stay focused and stay away from “they.” Be original and don’t stop. Everything he’s done, it’s because he believes in himself, and that’s how me and Dre have gotten to do everything we’ve done. Don’t count on nobody else, and once you have that vision, it’s damn near impossible for you not to win.

  —Cool, producer

  WE MET KHALED at an underground radio station in 1996. We were just fresh out of high school, and Cool and I had been producing and making beats as kids and trying to get on. We were like seventeen and he was like nineteen. We really were kids. We had a little time slot on a mix show, and back in the day in Miami you really couldn’t get the music you wanted to hear; they weren’t playing New York or West Coast hip-hop. You’d hear the hits like LL Cool J but we didn’t have a mix show like a real DJ playing the dope shit that the streets were tuned into. You would get more pop-rap, which there’s nothing wrong with, but the way the local radio was doing their shit was what gave someone like a DJ Khaled the space to come and occupy it. Cool and I were on the radio station; it’s illegal and pirate, it would move around. We’d be good for a couple months in this building in North Miami and then it’d be like, “Oh shit,” and we’d have to move it over here in the hood now. When we met Khal, his approach was just honest. He said, “Yo, check this out, I’m new. I just moved here from Orlando and I’m trying to get time on the radio and ‘they’ be hating.” So me and Cool immediately were like, “No problem,” and the minute we said that, the man walked in with so many crates of records, a beat machine, a recorder; he was just prepared for us to say yes. This man came with a production. Our first impression was a lasting impression. He was about his business. Cool and I left to pursue our careers as music producers and we were even singing in a group at the time. And we stopped doing our radio show and Khaled got our time slot, and we were in Atlanta chasing L.A. Reid, trying to get down and to see if he’d sign us. We made some headway but after nine or ten months we got back to Miami and the guy that we met, the new guy, he owned the city. He owned Miami. It was the wildest shit. In nine months he took over Miami. Everybody was tuned into what DJ Khaled was doing on that radio. It’s the same energy but a younger version, it was really uncut. If you think Khaled’s uncut now, I dare you to meet a twenty-year-old Khaled. That’s my earliest memory but that just showed us that he was a force to
be reckoned with. We actually saw it from the beginning, from when he first moved to Miami and we watched him become one of the hottest people in the city, period. He’s a hell of a DJ and he’s sick and he knows how to blend his shit, but the energy that he puts behind the music, that’s his gift. He took over Miami quick and all the clubs he would DJ at, you just had to be there.

  And the thing is, Khaled’s loyal, too. We had a meeting with Fat Joe at Hit Factory, and he was the biggest artist besides maybe Juvenile at the time. So this was a huge deal, and Khaled walks into the session and was like to Joe, “Oh shit! This is who you got the beat from? These are my brothers.” He just walks in and stamps us and gives us that cosign of trust. Joe could see how happy Khaled was about it and he trusted Khaled, so he immediately took us in as family after that. Khaled’s seen me and Cool’s progression from the birth, and we were there for his as well. We have a lot of special moments over the last half of our lives that we’ve shared with him. That’s special and unique. Khaled is also just a very driven dude. When he has his eyes on a goal he’s gonna get it. And we don’t have regular goals, we have the loftiest of goals. That’s what he means when he says, “ ‘They’ don’t want you to have that.” I remember when I bought my first Bentley. One day Khaled just gave me a talk. I was good at the time, I was driving a Benz and I had a Range, but Khaled pulled up to me at a hotel in a brand-new GT coupe. Nobody had it and I was like, “Wow, Khaled, that’s how you’re doing?” And he goes, “Now you’ve got to get it.” And I said, “Nah, I’m good.” And he goes, “No, Dre, ‘they’ don’t want you to have a Bentley so you’ve got to make sure you get it.” And this was 2006. It’s amazing to be able to see how this same personality, the guy that he’s been, is so influential and infectious. We always knew it—we know his influence on the circle and what it’s like to be in the studio with him because he inspires you to be great—but now everybody gets to see it and read about it, and it’s beautiful.