DJ Khaled We The Best CD

DJ Khaled comes from the DJ Clue school of disc-jockeying. He isn't known for his production skills and is far from a master turntablist. What he does have, though, is connects--mad connects. And as his second full-length release, WE THE BEST, shows, DJ Khaled's connections extend far beyond Miami city limits, as Lil Wayne, Fat Joe, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Jadakiss, Beanie Siegel, Juelz Santana, and Young Jeezy are just the tip of the iceberg. With production from Cool & Dre, Beat Novocaine, and the Runners, among others, WE THE BEST bangs with 12 tracks of neck-snapping, Dirty South slop. Fellow Miami representatives Rick Ross and Trick Daddy are also prominently featured.

Arriving a year -- almost to the day -- after his superior Listennn: The Album, DJ Khaled's sophomore effort, We the Best, is a mixed bag. On the plus side there are the singles and highlights, all of them infectious, grand, and inspired. Leadoff single "We Takin' Over" is a star-studded, Akon-anchored anthem with swagger to burn, while "Brown Paper Bag" twists a grand sample of Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You" into a soulful tale of fast money. On the latter, Jeezy, Weezy (Lil Wayne), and Rick Ross add up to that rumored all-star edition of Boyz N da Hood that never happened, and if that isn't enough to draw the hip-hop regulars in, hearing the Game, Jadakiss, and Trick Daddy all on the same track, "I'm from the Ghetto," certainly will. Last of the must-haves is "B**** I'm from Dade County" with Khaled, Trick Daddy, and production team the Diaz Brothers in fine pro-Florida form. Besides the Diaz Brothers, Cool & Dre, the Runners, Danja, and Caine Beats produce tracks while Khaled only helms two: the "Intro" (which barely counts) and "Before the Solution," with Beanie Siegel once again covering his iffy relationships with Jay-Z and Dame Dash. Beanie has covered this drama much better elsewhere, up to and including his guest shot on Listennn, but the other tracks that miss aren't as disappointing; they're just fair. Khaled doesn't help much by doing his usual "Listennnnnn!" and "I represent the ghetto!" shouts over songs he has little or no connection with, and while the man has said this effort isn't about his production skills but rather music he loves, it seems like all the more reason to stay out of the way. Maybe it's an effort to ease the geographical jumps -- from Florida to the Cleveland-repping Bone Thugs and on to "New York" -- or a way to keep the momentum rolling on this up-and-down effort. Instead, it just points out these shortcomings when they could have been less noticeable. Much more frustrating than a failure, We the Best earns a slight thumbs up if you think of it as a disjointed soundtrack or four-hit mixtape. [We the Best was also made available in a clean version, with all explicit material removed.] ~ David Jeffries

Amp - Amended Produc

Audio Mixer: Luis Diaz.

Recording information: Circle House Studios, Miami, FL; Jerusalem, Miami, FL; The Hit Factory, Miami, FL; The Panic Room.

Unknown Contributor Role: Gio Melchiorre.

Personnel: DJ Khaled (rap vocals); Eddie Montilla (piano, keyboards); Thomas "T" Hatcher (bass guitar); Leroy Barbie Romans (keyboards).

Additional personnel: Flo Rida, Dré , Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Jadakiss, K Foxx, Akon, Lil Wayne, Paul Wall , Pooh Bear, Rick Ross , T.I., The Game, Trick Daddy, Trina, Young Jeezy, Beanie Sigel, Birdman , Juelz Santana, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, T-Pain, Plies, Brisco, Bun B, C-Ride (rap vocals).

Spin (p.96) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "'We Takin Over' is a Danja-produced hit....'Brown Paper Bag' is even better..."
XXL (Magazine) (p.129) - "[DJ Khaled's] lyrically inclined friends feast on a new batch of synth-funk and soulful grooves."