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DJ Khaled’s Father of Asahd is officially here — 15 tracks spanning trap, R&B-inspired pop-rap, and an OutKast interpolation, and featuring a typically superstar roster of Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Future, Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, Quavo, Cardi B, Meek Mill, Post Malone, Travis Scott, and somehow even more. We already know some of the songs here, like “Top Off” and “No Brainer,” but luckily there’s an entire cache of new tunes to dig into. One of them is the celebratory ode “Higher” that’s taken on a new meaning since its recording.
“Higher” finds Khaled paired up with John Legend and the late Nipsey Hussle — and the song’s video, which dropped at midnight on Friday (May 17), features Nipsey, Legend, and Khaled palling around in L.A.’s Inglewood neighborhood, not far from where Nipsey grew up. It’s also, as the title card tells, a loving tribute to Nipsey himself and his life.
Centered around a sky-high chorus hook and piano work from Legend, “Higher” allows Nipsey space to tell an origin story of sorts: “Pops turned 60, he proud what we done / In one generation, he came from Africa young / He said he met my moms at the Century Club / Los Angeles love kinda of like Hussle and Boog,” he raps. The video, directed by Eif Rivera, finds all three stars in their finest, contrasted against the biggest, bluest sky. It might even make you misty eyed.
The crew shot the video just days before Nipsey’s murder in late March. “He was so gifted, so proud of his home, so invested in his community,” Legend tweeted shortly after Nip’s death.
And the hits keep coming. Friday all day, Khaled continued to drop new videos for his album’s tracks.
“Just Us” ft. SZA
Friday morning, Khaled also dropped the highly stylized, 300-reminiscent video for “Just Us,” his collaboration with SZA that works in a bit of OutKast’s “Ms. Jackson” into its musical DNA. It was directed by blockbuster music-video maven Joseph Kahn (not Zack Snyder, somehow).
“Celebrate” ft. Travis Scott and Post Malone
“Celebrate” is one of the most unabashedly positive tracks on the album, and its accompanying visual centers in on that final moment of luxury and self-gratification before things go very, very bad. Likewise directed by Kahn, it features co-stars Post and Travis rendered in glossy, Watchmen-like superhuman high definition — the exact kind of supernova event a team-up like this demand.
“Jealous” ft. Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, and Big Sean
This motivational clip was helmed by Rivera and Khaled himself and sees the DJ gain some sagely advice from past collaborator Jennifer Lopez in the video’s opening minutes. The rest of its runtime is devoted to, well, jealousy, in all its forms. You’ll see.
“Holy Mountain” ft. Buju Banton, Sizzla, Mavado, 070 Shake
“One spliff a day keeps the evil away” in this vibrant video for the album’s opening track. In it, Khaled and his crew take to the Jamaican streets to celebrate their success and their blessings. Dancehall stalwarts Sizzla and Mavado join the festivities, as does the elusive Buju Banton. But the real scene-stealer is G.O.O.D. Music’s 070 Shake, who lights up a joint and wets her hair in a pond while defiantly proclaiming, “Said I wouldn’t make it, I was being tested.”
Father of Asahd is out now, along with these new videos. Check ’em all out above.
Hip-Hop
Music
DJ Khaled