Father of Asahd

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Father of Asahd
DJ Khaled - Father of Asahd.png
Studio album by
DJ Khaled
ReleasedMay 17, 2019 (2019-05-17)
Genre
Length54:25
Label
Producer
DJ Khaled chronology
Grateful
(2017) 		Father of Asahd
(2019) 		Khaled Khaled
(2021)
Singles from Father of Asahd
  1. "Top Off"
    Released: March 2, 2018
  2. "No Brainer"
    Released: July 27, 2018
  3. "Higher"
    Released: May 17, 2019
  4. "Just Us"
    Released: May 17, 2019
  5. "You Stay"
    Released: May 17, 2019[2]

Father of Asahd is the eleventh studio album by American hip hop producer DJ Khaled. It was released on May 17, 2019, through We the Best Music and Epic Records.[3] It features the singles "Top Off" and "No Brainer" along with collaborations with Cardi B, 21 Savage and Meek Mill.[4][5] On May 16, DJ Khaled revealed the track listing and features, as well as that the music videos for "Higher", "Just Us", "Celebrate", "Jealous" and "Holy Mountain" would be released throughout the day of May 17, followed by the video for "You Stay" on May 18, and "Wish Wish" and "Weather the Storm" on May 20.[6] DJ Khaled scored his third career Grammy nomination with "Higher" which won the Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 62nd Grammy Awards.[7]

Background[]

In March 2018, DJ Khaled announced the title, upon releasing the lead single, called "Top Off".[8] He named the album after his eldest child, Asahd Tuck Khaled. In March 2019, he announced the release date, while in the meantime, promoting the album extensively on his social media accounts.[9] He also posted a trailer for the album.[3] DJ Khaled has also teased numerous collaborations on his social media, which, along with Future, Jay-Z and Beyoncé on "Top Off", and Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper and Quavo on "No Brainer", include J Balvin, Cardi B, Meek Mill, Post Malone, Travis Scott, Chief Keef, Bryson Tiller, and 2 Chainz.[3] In April 2019, TMZ reported that "Higher" featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend would appear on the album. DJ Khaled, Nipsey Hussle, and John Legend shot the music video before Nipsey's death on March 31, 2019.[10]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic59/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3.5/5 stars[12]
Exclaim7/10[13]
HipHopDX2.2/5[14]
NME4/5 stars[15]
Pitchfork5.4/10[16]
Rolling Stone2/5 stars[17]

Father of Asahd received mixed reviews among critics. On Metacritic which assigns a rating of up to 100, the album received an average of 59, indicating "Mixed or average reviews" based on 7 critics.[18]

Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and also noted in his review on the album by saying "Although instant, maximum commercial impact is no doubt the primary objective, the album does come across as more considered than the average Khaled LP."[12]

Commercial performance[]

Father of Asahd debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 136,000 album-equivalent units, with 34,000 copies as pure album sales in its first week.[19] In the second week, the album remained at number two on the chart, earning an additional 58,000 album-equivalent units.[20] In its third week, the album dropped to number three on the chart, earning 39,000 more units.[21] In its fourth week, the album dropped to number eight on the chart, earning 31,000 more units, bringing its four-week total to 264,000 album-equivalent units.[22] On May 17, 2020, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 1,000,000 units in the United States.[23]

Controversy[]

On June 5, 2019, sources reported DJ Khaled was fuming at his label after Father of Asahd failed to debut at the top of the Billboard 200. He reportedly blamed his label chiefs for not understanding streaming services and bundle deals, in connection with an estimated 100,000 downloads of his album that were sold through a bundle deal with an energy drink that weren't included in his sales by Billboard.[24] Father of Asahd debuted behind American rapper and record producer Tyler, the Creator's fifth studio album, Igor.

On June 6, DJ Khaled posted a now-deleted video on his Instagram page that many believe was aimed at Tyler, the Creator after his album beat out Father of Asahd for the number one spot on the Billboard charts. In the video, Khaled stated, "Here's the thing, I make albums so people can play it. And you actually hear it. You know, driving your car you hear another car playing it. Go to the barber shop, you hear them playing it. You know, turn the radio on, and you hear them playing it. It's playing everywhere - it's called great music. It's called albums that you actually hear the songs. Not no mysterious shit, and you never hear it." Many people took the "mysterious shit" line to be about Tyler, who responded on Twitter when a follower told him, "Wow doin pretty good for some mysterious shit." Tyler told the follower, "yeah i am, IGOR OUT NOW."[25]

On June 10, sources reported DJ Khaled was planning a "monster lawsuit" against Billboard, alleging the organization unfairly disqualified more than 100,000 sales of Father of Asahd from the No. 1 spot.[26]

Track listing[]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[27]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Holy Mountain" (featuring Buju Banton, Sizzla, Mavado and 070 Shake)
4:54
2."Wish Wish" (featuring Cardi B and 21 Savage)
3:22
3."Jealous" (featuring Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Big Sean)
  • DJ Khaled
  • Tay Keith
  • Nova Wav[b]
4:15
4."Just Us" (featuring SZA)
3:41
5."You Stay" (featuring Meek Mill, J Balvin, Lil Baby and Jeremih)
4:35
6."Celebrate" (featuring Travis Scott and Post Malone)
3:26
7."Higher" (featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend)
  • DJ Khaled
  • Streetrunner
  • Tarik Azzouz
2:56
8."Won't Take My Soul" (featuring Nas and CeeLo Green)
4:19
9."Weather the Storm" (featuring Meek Mill and Lil Baby)
  • DJ Khaled
  • Streetrunner
  • Azzouz
2:33
10."Big Boy Talk" (featuring Jeezy and Rick Ross)
2:45
11."Freak n You" (featuring Lil Wayne and Gunna)
  • DJ Khaled
  • Joe Zarrillo
  • Ben Billions[a]
  • DJ 360[a]
3:06
12."Top Off" (featuring Jay-Z, Future and B)
3:50
13."No Brainer" (featuring Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper and Quavo)
4:20
14."Thank You" (featuring Big Sean)
  • DJ Khaled
  • Streetrunner
  • Azzouz
3:06
15."Holy Ground" (featuring Buju Banton)
  • DJ Khaled
  • Ben Billions[b]
  • LVM[b]
3:17
Total length:54:25

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] signifies a miscellaneous producer
  • ^[c] signifies an uncredited additional producer

Sample credits

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[27]

Musicians

  • Maxime Breton – guitar (track 14)
  • Leah Marie – background vocals (track 14)
  • Nicky Burt – background vocals (track 15)
  • Adina Myrie – background vocals (track 15)

Technical

  • Juan "AyoJuan" Peña – recording (all tracks)
  • Oscar Moncada – recording (tracks 1, 15)
  • Vychalle Singh – recording (track 1)
  • Justus Arison – recording (track 1)
  • Mac Akkitson – recording (track 2)
  • Patrizio Pigliapoco – recording (track 3)
  • Hector Castro – recording (track 4)
  • Rich Harris – recording (track 4)
  • David Kim – recording (track 5)
  • Anthony Cruz – recording (tracks 5, 9)
  • Louis Bell – recording (track 6)
  • Joe Zarrillo – recording (track 7)
  • Vincent Mayfield – recording (track 7)
  • Garnett "G" Flynn – recording (track 7)
  • Thomas "Tomcat" Bennett – recording (track 10)
  • Manny Galvez – recording (track 11), engineering assistant (track 3), recording (track 11)
  • Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton – recording (track 12)
  • Jeff Lane – recording (track 13)
  • Brendan Morawaski – recording (track 13)
  • Josh Gudwin – recording (track 13)
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing (all tracks)
  • Chris Galland – mixing (all tracks)
  • Lu Diaz – mixing (track 1)
  • Chris Athens – mastering (all tracks)
  • OP! – engineering (track 5)
  • Chris "TEK" O'Ryan – engineering (track 13)
  • Ashley Jackson – engineering assistant (track 3)
  • Carol Dexter – engineering assistant (track 3)
  • Gregg Rominiecki – engineering assistant (track 3), recording (track 14)
  • Omar Loya – engineering assistant (track 3)
  • Robin Florent – engineering assistant (all tracks)
  • Scott Desmarais – engineering assistant (all tracks)
  • Jeremie Inhaber – engineering assistant (tracks 1–11, 14, 15)
  • Hotae Alexander Jang – vocal engineering (track 7)
  • Khaled Khaled – vocal production (tracks 1–4, 6–11, 14, 15)

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[55] Gold 20,000double-dagger
Canada (Music Canada)[56] Gold 40,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[57] Platinum 1,000,000double-dagger

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ Heller, Corinne (May 17, 2019). "DJ Khaled Drops Father of Asahd Album Featuring Nipsey Hussle, Beyoncé and More". E! News.
  2. ^ "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Saponara, Michael (March 22, 2019). "DJ Khaled Announces 'Father of Asahd' Album Release Date". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  4. ^ Findlay, Mitch (May 8, 2019). "DJ Khaled Unveils Avian Themed, Mitchell & Ness 'Father Of Asahd' Merch". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  5. ^ Lamarre, Carl (May 15, 2019). "DJ Khaled Unveils 'Father of Asahd' Album Cover". Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  6. ^ "#FATHEROFASAHD official music movie itinerary