In a new interview, DJ Khaled has spoken about how he was first able to build up his friendship with Jay-Z to the point they could collaborate.
Fresh off the release of his God Did album and its much talked-about contribution from Hov, DJ Khaled spoke with GQ about his relationship with Jay. “I was blessed to watch him record a lot of Magna Carta. Shout to [Roc Nation SVP] Lenny S. and Jay for always letting me be in the studio with them. Not just getting a chance to see him work—we became brothers and our friendship became stronger and stronger,” Khaled told writer Sama’an Ashrawi. “It took me a long time [to get his verse]. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to do it. It’s just, Jay-Z is busy with so many different things. And at that time he was extra busy.”
Previously, Khaled revealed that he actually moved to a condo in New York City in an effort to work with Jay. “I basically got a condo in NYC for a whole year to stay close by him and let him know how hungry I was for that verse,” he said in 2016.
Eventually he was able to secure Jay for his 2014 track “They Don’t Love You No More,” which appeared on the hitmaker’s 2015 album I Changed a Lot—and has gotten him on every album since. As he told GQ, Khaled proved himself as a passionate fan of hip-hop during their time in the studio together.
“[Jay saw] I was born into this shit and [my love] is pure,” the 46-year-old said. “You have to love it to put together a body of work like [God Did]. I can’t speak for him, but for my situation I can say… [our relationship is] about two winners. We’re both great at what we do.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Khaled also spoke on his relationship with frequent collaborator Drake, who appears twice on God Did. “We had dinner and we’re discussing the video treatment for [the God Did track] ‘Stayin Alive,’” Khaled said. “I played him [an early version of] ‘God Did’…and [Drake] was like, ‘This shit is beautiful. That should be part of your album trailer.’”
After the two had their meal together, which Drizzy called a “family dinner,” Khaled told the OVO rapper the title track was going to be the opener, but then Drake blessed him with “No Secret.”
“That’s my intro,” said Khaled after he was played the brief track.
Check out the full interview with DJ Khaled here.