DJ Khaled is one of the most boisterous and flamboyant men in the music business today. His stamp is all over the face of hip hop – and so is his name, which he likes to yell at the beginnings of tracks. But like many in hip hop (and in music in general), DJ Khaled had some humble beginnings. Find out more in the first half of this list below.
Number Fifteen: He is a Restaurant Owner. He may call himself the new mogul in music today, but he is a mogul in another way, too. He owns Finga Licking, a restaurant in Florida that is known for its chicken wings and its red velvet cake.
Number Fourteen: He Proposed to Nikki Minaj. And he did it through a video. On the internet. Oh, and the ring he proposed with cost him $500,000. That’s an expensive rejection.
Number Thirteen: He Once Got Lost At Sea. And he was alone. But he kept calm. In fact, he recorded the entire experience of being lost at sea on Snapchat. There’s plenty of online evidence of this if you’re so inclined.
Number Twelve: He Has the Same First and Last Name. His full birth name is Khaled Mohamed Khaled. It is not unusual for Muslim names to work this way, but it still somehow makes the persona of DJ Khaled seem even more excessive.
Number Eleven: He’s Palestinian-American. His parents moved from Palestine to the United States to provide a better life for their children. They seem to have succeeded.
Number Ten: Before He Became the DJ Khaled We Know and Love, He Was Just a Radio DJ. DJ Khaled’s entry into the music business was through a job as a radio DJ for a South Florida radio station. The radio station was called 99 Jams, and he met many future stars in his time at the station.
Number Nine: He Was in the Room When Birdman and Lil Wayne Met. If you’re a fan of hip hop, you know this was a pivotal meeting in the history of the music. And Khaled was there to witness it, as it happened at the radio station he worked at. There will be more DJ Khaled facts coming at you soon, so check back here for the second half.