Grateful (DJ Khaled album)


Grateful is the tenth studio album by American disc jockey and record producer DJ Khaled. It was released as a double album on June 23, 2017, by We [the Best Music Group] and Epic Records. The album features guest appearances from Sizzla, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Drake, Rihanna, Bryson Tiller, Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne, Travis Scott, Rick Ross, Big Sean, Nas, Betty Wright, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, Jeremih, Future, PartyNextDoor, Kodak Black, Pusha T, Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Raekwon, Gucci Mane, Yo Gotti, 21 Savage, T.I., Young Thug, 2 Chainz, Belly, and Mavado.

Background

The cover art was released alongside the album's third single on June 5, 2017, and featured Khaled's son Asahd, who was born in October 2016. Asahd was also revealed to be acting as the album's executive producer, with his father taking to talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March 2017 to explain the reasoning and process behind his son's position on the album, stating:
He is credited as executive producer, and his attorney has his points and royalties, everything. Listening to the songs, going over the business part of it, if the vocals are right, if the beats are right, if the energy's right. When he , those are smash hit records, when he , that's the real serious records but hits with substance. It's a vibe, you know what I mean? Believe it or not, the poops and the throw-ups are super blessings. Those are actually the real good ones. He actually threw up on me while I was mixing and working on "Shining", and when he threw up on me, that a blessing.

Recording and production

The album also saw production from an array of producers, including several in-house producers from Khaled's We the Best Music Group record label. Cool & Dre and Nasty Beatmakers co-produced two of the album's singles, which were heavily influenced by the musical styles present in Miami. The former also contributed toward three additional songs on the album, teaming up with 808-Ray for each effort. Other in-house producers Danja and Lee on the Beats additionally provided production, with Khaled enlisting the duo on several occasions prior for his previous albums. Khaled later worked with Scottish producer and disc jockey Calvin Harris, who also received a co-artist credit for "Don't Quit". The album was also comprised by several other record producers such as Nic Nac, Ben Billions, DannyBoyStyles, The Beat Bully, Schife, StreetRunner and Tarik Azzouz, among others.

Singles

The album's lead single, "Shining", was released on February 12, 2017. It features guest vocals from American singer Beyoncé, and American rapper Jay-Z, with production by Khaled himself, and Danja; as well as it was also co-written by Canadian singer PartyNextDoor. It premiered following the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, peaking at number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"I'm the One" was released as the album's second single on April 28, 2017. The song features guest appearances from Canadian singer Justin Bieber, alongside American rappers Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne. It also saw production from Khaled himself, as well as being co-produced by Nic Nac. "I'm the One" debuted at number one, becoming Khaled's first number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100; as well as also topping the charts in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
"Wild Thoughts" was released as the album's third single on June 16, 2017. The song features guest appearances from Barbadian singer Rihanna, and American singer Bryson Tiller, with production by Khaled himself, and Nasty Beatmakers as well as it was also co-written by Canadian singer PartyNextDoor. Khaled has previously collaborated with Tiller on Major Key, however, the single marks his first collaboration with Rihanna. Khaled described his attempts to court Rihanna for a feature appearance on an album for several years in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, stating "seven, eight years I've been trying to do this. I always put the kites out there that I wanted to work with her I was always getting the right record ready see if something comes back that's possible." The single housed elements of Latin pop and contemporary R&B, debuting at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number two.

Promotional singles

The promotional single from the album, "To the Max", was released on June 5, 2017. The single features guest appearances from Canadian rapper Drake, with production by Khaled himself and JayO. The song marked the fifth collaboration between the pair, and contained sampling from an array of musical genres, including bassline and alternative rock. "To the Max" peaked at number 53 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, Grateful received an average score of 61, based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.

Commercial performance

Grateful is Khaled's highest career first week sales to date. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with 149,000 album-equivalent units, of which 50,000 were pure album sales. It is DJ Khaled's second number-one album on the chart. On July 14, 2017, Grateful was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units in the United States. On August 23, 2017, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 1,000,000 domestic units. January 23, 2022, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 2,000,000 domestic units, making it DJ Khaled's best-selling album.

Track listing

Credits adapted from Tidal.
Notes
  • signifies a co-producer
  • signifies an additional producer
  • signifies a vocal producer
  • "Wild Thoughts" features background vocals from PartyNextDoor
  • "I Love You So Much" features background vocals from Lisa Mishra, Jabari Rayford, Teddy Jackson, Jamila Woods, Dariu and Carter Lang
  • "To the Max" was not included on streaming versions of the album internationally; thus the track listing was cut down to 22 songs
Sample credits

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Grateful.
※ is the track list of the album from CD.

Artists/Vocals

Instrumentation

  • Eddie Montilla – keys

Technical

  • Juan "Wize" Pena – recording
  • Lu Diaz – mixing –12, 14–21)
  • Ben "Billions" Diehl – recording
  • Todd Robinson – recording
  • Kuk Harrell – recording
  • Michael "Black Mic" Williams – recording
  • David "Prep" Hughes – recording, 13)
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing –5, 13)
  • Chris Galland – mixing assistance –5, 13)
  • Jeff Lane – recording, 10)
  • Manny Galvez – recording
  • Jeff Edwards – recording
  • Thomas "Tomcat" Bennett – recording, 13, 17, 20)
  • Gregg Rominiecki – recording
  • Ray Alamo – assistant engineer –7, 9–12, 14–20)
  • Derrick Jenner – assistant engineer –7, 9–12, 15–20)
  • Mark "Exit" Goodchild – recording
  • Blake Harden – recording, 11, 13)
  • Victor Pereyra – assistant engineer
  • Terrence Rolle – assistant engineer, 15, 19)
  • Joe Zarrillo – recording
  • Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine – recording, 12)
  • Jamal Berry – assistant engineer
  • Nick Valentin – assistant engineer
  • Ann Mincieli – engineering & recording for Alicia Keys
  • Ashwin Towke – assistant engineer
  • Mason Bonner – assistant engineer
  • Noe Ramirez – assistant engineer
  • Eric Manco – recording –13, 18–20)
  • Iain Findlay – assistant engineer
  • Alexander "Smitty Beats" Smith – recording
  • Salvador Majail – assistant engineer
  • Derek Garcia – recording
  • Shin Kamiyama – recording
  • Antho-ny Falzone – assistant engineer
  • Jermaine Reid – recording
  • Kamal Evans – mixing

Production

Artwork

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
US Billboard 200160