DJ Khaled, once in background, scores another No. 1 album

 

NEW YORK: DJ Khaled – long a prominent behind-the-scenes force in hip-hop – has achieved a second number-one album on weekly US Billboard 200 chart with his latest star-studded work that includes some of pop and R&B's biggest names.

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Grateful features cameos from a who's who of top names in music, including Rihanna, Drake, Chance the Rapper, and Beyonce and her husband Jay-Z – who released his own new album Friday.

Much of Grateful is full of braggadocio verses, with DJ Khaled and other major names boasting of their success and songs such as "Shining" with Beyonce and Jay-Z and "I'm the One" with Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne, and Quavo.

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According to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, it sold 149,000 album units.

However, "Shining" took on a new meaning as Beyonce sings of "all of this winning", despite her controversial failure to win the latest Grammy for Album of the Year.

The 41-year-old Miami rapper has been a producer to stars but achieved his first number-one album on his own a year ago with Major Key, with his profile growing thanks to his avid use on Snapchat, the social media platform that specialises in temporary videos.

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Khaled's latest triumph comes after an embarrassment in June as he played a major festival – Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas – where his set was marred by sound problems.

Born Khaled Mohamed Khaled to Palestinian immigrant parents, DJ Khaled is one of the most prominent Muslims in Western music although he rarely discusses his faith in his music.

Other entries

Among other highlights on the Billboard chart released late Sunday, late pop icon Prince's classic Purple Rain re-entered at number four after his label put out a remastered version to mark what would have been his 59th birthday.

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Other new entries in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart this week include alt-rock group Imagine Dragons' new album Evolve at No. 2 and rockers 311 at No. 6 with Mosaic.

Last week's chart-topper, Lorde's Melodrama, dropped to No. 13 this week.