One of the biggest hip-hop releases of August 2022 was “God Did”, the brand-new album from DJ Khaled.

His iconic voice, matched with his original ad libs and catchphrases, spark interest in his music and is included in almost every song.

The album’s theme is that no-one believed that he could get to where he is now. For example, he says “They didn’t believe in us, Jamaica did,” or “Juice Wrld did.” 

The most popular song on the album is “Staying Alive” featuring Drake and Lil Baby. This song is all over the radio, as well as being constantly advertised on Spotify. The catchy lyrics from Drake are reminiscent of the hit Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive.” 

One of the best songs on the album features lesser-known Nardo Wick, as well as veteran rapper Kodak Black. The mumble rap, almost whispering style of Wick completely contrasts the higher-pitched voice of Black. “It ain’t Safe” also features a beat reminiscent of Lil Durk, with lots of bass and notes of piano in the background.

The second song on the album,“Use This Gospel Remix” features Eminem and Ye. Eminem has his fast-paced rap verse about how there are temptations, sadness, and failures in the world and about how he needs God to help him through life. Ye has the chorus, about how we need to trust God: “In the Father we put our faith.”

“Big Time,” featuring Future and Lil Baby, didn’t impress me. Lil Baby’s verse was underwhelming, and Future’s chorus was not very interesting. “Keep Going” featuring Lil Durk, 21 Savage, and Roddy Rich left me with mixed opinions. I really liked the lyrics that all the rappers had in the song. Unfortunately, I felt like the beat drowned out the words. The beat was really loud, and there were constant changes. Randomly right before 21 Savage’s verse, there were trumpets added into the background which were very distracting. 

“Party,” featuring Quavo and Takeoff from Migos, was very good. Takeoff and Quavo work so well together and make the song sound so natural. The beat fits the lyrics from Quavo and Takeoff incredibly well. It reminds me of a song that athletes would listen to before a big game.

My personal favorite song on the album is “Juice Wrld Did,” which features Juice Wrld. This is pulled from the vault of unreleased Juice Wrld songs that he made prior to his death. This is a great song to show people that he was capable of making more than just sad music. In the chorus, he plays on DJ Khaled’s most famous catchphrase, “Another One.”  

“These Streets Know My Name” has a really good beat. I like the sounds of the artists’ voices as well as the flow that is used in the song. The Jamaican-style song is a really creative addition to the album. 

Overall, this project has done pretty well, and is consistent with his past albums which are very good.