Maslab
Artist: DJ Khaled
Album: We The Best Forever
Label: We The Best/Terror Squad/Cash Money/Universal Motown
Release Date: July 19, 2011
It is clear that DJ Khaled thinks very highly of himself. He has earned the reputation as perhaps the biggest narcissist the game has ever seen by blurting out his name at the top of his lungs followed by the words “We The Best” on virtually every track he has ever appeared on. However, considering the fact that DJ Khaled does just a tad more rapping and producing than pigs do flying, it is clear why he thinks just as highly of his associates whose skills validate his cockiness. If there is one thing that Khaled does do remarkably well (other than letting you know he’s the best) it’s assembling an all-star lineup of musicians that combine their talents to create a hit record, and just like his five previous albums, that is exactly what he does on his latest project, We The Best Forever. Khaled enlists his usual crew along with some new faces to provide the star studded yet painfully repetitive sound that is We The Best Forever, which if you listen to in its entirety…well you may as well have just been listening to the radio.
We The Best Forever opens with what is arguably the best song on the album, “I’m On One”. “I’m On One” begins with Drake making outstandingly smooth transitions between spitting and singing as he lays down a verse in addition to the chorus. The song goes on to include a solid verse from Drake’s good buddy Lil Wayne, but it is Rick Ross who steals the show. On an album full of glamour and glitz Ross shows why he is The Boss as he spits prominent bars like “Baby I could take you there / Call Mark Jacobs to personally make a pair”.
The next track on We The Best Forever is “Welcome To My Hood” which sounds exactly like Khaled’s 2007 hit single “I’m So Hood”. This displays Khaled’s consistent habit of trying to recreate old songs, which speaks to his lack of growth as an artist. “Welcome To My Hood” features T-Pain, Ross, Lil Wayne and Plies, all of whom except for Wayne were featured on “I’m So Hood”. So if you liked “I’m So Hood” chances are you are going to enjoy “Welcome To My Hood”, and you’re definitely bound to like the remix which is the last track on the album and features a surplus of rappers including Ludacris, Waka Flocka, Busta Rhymes, and The Game just to name a few.
On the other hand, there are many songs on We The Best Forever that are more along the lines of bubble gum pop than mainstream rap. The songs “Legendary” and “My Life” come to mind, but nothing is worse than the YMCMB cut “A Million Lights”. “A Million Lights” consists of all of the Young Money rookies (Tyga, Cory Gunz, Jae Millz & Mack Maine) spitting sub par bars connected by a very boring Kevin Rudolf hook, all of which makes it a very forgettable track. However, “A Million Lights” isn’t the only track that features an abundance of up and coming MC’s as Khaled recruits Vado and XXL freshman alums Ace Hood, Big Sean, Wale and Meek Mill to drop bars on the track “Future”. Unlike “A Million Lights”, everyone on “Future” holds their own lyrically, and there is no lackluster hook to interrupt the flow of the song. It is nice to see Khaled link up with these young MC’s, because if he really wants to be the best forever, then these are the dudes he’s going to have to continue to work with.
Another track that is worth listening to is the gully Ace Hood and Waka Flocka BANGER “I’m Thuggin”. “I’m Thuggin” is such a tough song due to Waka’s epically hard chorus that is bound to get you amped when he spits “Always kick my dough and shawty last night / I’ll be dammed if I don’t go out with a fight / My girlfriend says she needs some new shoes and bag / I told her shut the fuck up and get off your ass”.
DJ Khaled projects are like the pro bowl. You have the biggest stars together in one place, but when they hit the field, nobody really tries their best and the actual game doesn’t turn out to be anything special. Like the pro bowl, you know what to expect from a DJ Khaled album, and We The Best Forever is no exception. The majority of the songs on We The Best Forever can easily be mixed up with something else in DJ Khaled’s discography making the album no better than anything he has previously released. Despite the fact that We The Best Forever has some of the biggest names in the game and a handful of solid tracks, you really shouldn’t waste your money on this album (unless you’re really into top 40 rap). Like I said earlier, you could probably turn on Hot 97 and hear the majority of the album for free, so why waste your ten bucks?
Let’s face it – judging an album on a scale of 1 to 5 mics just won’t cut it — that’s more of a magazine thing. After constant office arguments regarding album ratings, we’ve decided to revise our album review process and fairly judge an artist’s work across multiple avenues. At iHipHop.com, we believe every album deserves an impartial review, taking into account both music and cultural relevance.
Purchase We The Best Forever on iTunes
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DJ Khaled may be repeatin his direction but he knows his lane and helpin others is good!! I dnt like the “we the best” slogan all the time but dats reppin his shit….everybody done it or do it…”it's da roc”, “ruff ryderrrsss”, “ymcmb”, “snoop d-o-doubgle-g”