Early Friday morning, DJ Khaled dropped his album titled “Grateful.” DJ Khaled fans have been patiently anticipating the release of this new project, featuring versatile collaborations with artists, including Nicki Minaj, Drake, Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Chance the Rapper and many more. Atlanta rappers such as 21 Savage, Gucci Mane, Future, Migos, T.I. and Young Thug also make guest contributions. With a 3.5 out of 5 album rating on iTunes in just 14 hours, on Friday, VOX Media Cafe reporters went to Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta to ask young people about their opinions on the album.
“That’s all the mainstream rappers,” said Daylon Gray when told about the long list of popular artists included on the album. Billy McPhaul added that he wouldn’t particularly purchase the entire album on iTunes for $10.99. Instead, McPhaul said he would rather “buy the songs that [he] want[ed].”
Tarinauld and Destiny Brooks, two 13 year olds visiting from New York, weren’t interested until they heard about the variety of mainstream artists on the album. “Oh yeah, I would listen to that,” Destiny Brooks said. “That’s a weird combination of rappers,” Tarinauld said.
When asked about DJ Khaled, Carly Deitsch, a 21-year-old from North Carolina answered, “I like some of his stuff.” Deitsch said she was most excited to hear the collaboration with Beyonce. “Who doesn’t like Beyonce!” she said. Although she was not initially aware the album had dropped overnight, Deitsch said she had already heard one song from the project, “Shining,” featuring Beyonce and Jay Z.
As of Friday afternoon, the album had reached number 19 on the iTunes album charts, and one of the singles from the Grateful” album, “I’m the One” featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne was at number two on the Spotify Global Top 50 and at number four on the streaming music platform’s U.S. Top 50. Another single on the album, “Wild Thoughts” featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller hit number five on The Spotify United States Top 50 and No. 1 on the Spotify United States Viral 50 and Spotify Global Viral 50.
