DJ Khaled – Major Key

Major Key is the ninth studio album by DJ Khaled. It was released on July 29, 2016 by Epic Records and We the Best Music Group. The album features guest appearances from Future, Big Sean, Rick Ross, Jay Z, Drake, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, Betty Wright, J. Cole, Bryson Tiller, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, August Alsina, Jeremih, Kodak Black, Bob Marley, Lil Wayne, Meghan Trainor, Wiz Khalifa, Wale and Mavado. The album produced singles, “For Free”, “I Got the Keys”, “Holy Key” and “Do You Mind.”

Background
The album’s title and themes originate from Khaled’s recently raised profile in social media. In late 2015, Khaled became highly popular on Snapchat, sharing his advice that he calls his “keys to success”, utilizing the ‘key’ emoji as a symbol of his knowledge. The album’s title is also a play on words, alluding simultaneously to the musical scale and songs being performed in a major key. Some songs featured in this album, like “For Free (feat. Drake)”, have Khaled announcing the album name in the beginning of the song, shortly after announcing his record label, like in many other recent songs.

Release and promotion
On April 12, 2016, DJ Khaled announced that he has signed a record deal to Epic Records. He also made the announcement that the title to the album would be called Major Key. On April 18, DJ Khaled joined Beyoncé on her The Formation World Tour. On Twitter, Future hinted that the song with DJ Khaled and Jay Z was going to be a single for the album. On May 28, 2016, DJ Khaled shot and posted a photo for the album cover artwork, featuring him sitting on a throne, and a bunch of flowers surrounding him and a real life lion.

Recording and production
In an interview with DJ Whoo Kid, record producer Southside revealed that he was producing a song for DJ Khaled, Jay Z and Future’s single. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, DJ Khaled spoke about the album and revealing on who the guest appearances stated “I’ve got another record with me, Future, and Jay Z. I want to clarify and make sure everybody knows that I have two verses from Jay Z on this record with me and Future. Amongst other artists, me and Kanye West, we talking right now about making something special. Me and Rick Ross. Ross is definitely on the album. Lil Wayne, Big Sean, Chris Brown, August Alsina, Travis Scott, the list goes on.” He also hinted that he was going to collaborate with artists such as Mariah Carey and Drake on his Snapchat and Instagram. DJ Khaled slated that the album would have no more than 14 songs.

Singles
On June 17, 2016, DJ Khaled released the official lead single from Major Key, called “For Free”. The song features guest vocals from Canadian rapper Drake, with productions by Nineteen85 and Jordan Ullman. The full title of the lead single is “Fuck Me for Free”. The track premiered on Beats 1, during an interview with Zane Lowe and Khaled. On July 4, 2016, the second single, “I Got the Keys” was released, featuring American rappers Future and Jay Z with productions by Southside, Jake One, and G Koop. The music video was released after the 2016 BET Awards. On July 22, 2016, DJ Khaled premiered the third single “Holy Key” featuring Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean and Betty Wright on episode 24 of his primetime radio show We The Best Radio on Beats 1 Radio. “Do You Mind” featuring Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, August Alsina, Jeremih, Future and Rick Ross, was released as the fourth single on July 29, 2016.

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