Jay-Z, Diddy and Fat Joe were among the stars who turned out for DJ Khaled‘s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Dedication Ceremony in Hollywood, California yesterday (April 11).
Khaled was introduced by Fat Joe, with whom he has collaborated on singles such as ‘Holla At Me’, ‘Pride N Joy’, ‘I’m So Hood’, ‘All I Do Is Win’ and more.
“When I met him, he made me move out of New York to Miami,” Joe said, recalling memories of their first meeting. “When I think of Khaled, I think of love. That’s the only reason why you see the heavyweights here like you see them.”
The ceremony, which was held on the 6200 block of Hollywood Boulevard, saw several of Khaled’s friends, collaborators, supporters and family in attendance. Among them were Teyana Taylor, Jeezy and N.O.R.E.
Khaled’s wife, Nicole Tuck, and their two sons, Asahd and Aalam, were also in attendance. “In hip-hop, for a long time, we haven’t really embraced fatherhood.” said Joe. “Nobody has done it like Khaled. And music-wise, there’s nobody with a greater ear.”
Diddy followed up with a speech: “I remember that day when you told me, ‘They don’t believe me, Puff.’ I was like ‘Khaled, what are you talking about? You’re doing great… ‘But they don’t believe me.’ I remember from that day, you worked all the way up.
“You’re a pioneer; you’re an icon and a brilliant businessman. But most importantly, you’re a great friend to all of us here… Your energy and your work ethic is unmatched, we celebrate you for everything.”
Taking to Instagram to share a video of the moment of Khaled’s star reveal, Diddy wrote: “Congratulations to my brother @DJKhaled on receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today!!LOVE! LOVE!! LOVE.”
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In an emotional acceptance speech, Khaled gave himself a shoutout, saying: “There’s only one Khaled, that’s all I gotta say,” ending with his personal mantra: “We the best. It’s not just me, it’s we.”
A DJ, record producer and rapper, Khaled – full name Khaled Mohammed Khaled – began his career as a radio DJ for 99 Jamz in the ’90s. He released his debut solo album, ‘Listennn… The Album’ in 2006, following it up with a subsequent 11 studio album – most recently ‘Grateful’ (2017), ‘Father of Asahd’ (2019) and ‘Khaled Khaled’ (2021).
In a review of ‘Khaled Khaled’ album, NME noted the volume of collaborators who featured alongside Khaled on the release, including Drake, Cardi B, Justin Bieber and more. “If you swapped numbers with Khaled at an after-party and aren’t on this album, you should feel offended,” wrote reviewer Luke Morgan Britton.
Some of Khaled’s more recent collaborative releases include ‘Popstar’ and ‘Greece’ with Drake (with more on the way), ‘Let It Go’ with Bieber and 21 Savage, ‘Sorry Not Sorry’ with Jay-Z and Nas.
There was also Khaled’s recent live collaboration during an NBA All-Star performance, where the producer brought out Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, Migos, Mary J. Blige, Ludacris and Gunna for an eight-minute segment dubbed ‘DJ Khaled & Friends’.