There’s no sense in denying DJ Khaled’s status as a Rap mogul now. He’s got his own label, he’s the President of another, and his reach within the industry is one that only Diddy can match. All he’s missing is his own brand of liquor. Where he’s stood (and stands) as an Executive Producer seems to be the more appropriate question at this point. Primarily based on name recognition, his previous installments of compilation albums have yielded a handful of gold singles, but the rest of projects’ contents fall largely to the wayside. Rest assured Khaled doesn’t disappoint on Kiss The Ring.
As with last years’ We The Best Forever, the beats here are more polished, the guests are a bit more selective and as always the hood is well-represented on “Shout Out To The Streets” and “I Did It For My Dawgz.” However, the albums’ minimal capacity for ingenuity makes for a rough listen, with tracks like “Don’t Pay 4 It” and “Bitches And Bottles (Let’s Get It Started)” testing the listener’s patience. In fact, everything about the latter record screams shameful. Whether it’s Future’s atrocious hook, T.I.’s desperate attempt at sounding current or Lil Wayne avoiding any semblance of rationality within his verse, you realize Khaled is more of a yes man in the studio than actually critiquing his colleagues to aid the quality of his album.
Few and far between are conceptual cuts like “Hip Hop,” a captivating performance that utilizes shades of “I Used To Love H.E.R.” within it. Fittingly, veterans Scarface and Nas deliver rhymes that symbolize their emotion for the Rap game’s past and present form (“And if I cry two tears for her / That would be the most that I can give to her”). This is countered by “They Ready,” a soulful track that finds three of Hip Hop’s youthfully-lauded emcees rightfully celebrating their respective accomplishments. Match these against the album-ending “Outro (They Don’t Want War)” in which DJ Khaled raps, and it’s clear that the disparity of lyricism and execution is either an issue that Khaled is unaware of, or an issue that he refuses to adjust.
Lacking any cohesion, Kiss The Ring is a series of single tracks that hit or miss, and one can only imagine what DJ Khaled’s batting average is at now. Having said that, any credit for the album’s highlights should be given to the artists themselves, unless of course Khaled has been ghostwriting for Kendrick Lamar or Nas lately. Kiss the ring? We’ll pass for the sixth time.
goat
hahaha
i sure hope this album is nice. that hip hop joint for me is the best thing out in the past 5years
I murked your ass during the Finals Sefolosha
Fuck you Wade. Yall ain’t gonna get shit next season.
First album of Khaled that i like
I ALMOST bought this album on the strength of “Hip Hop” alone. Glad I didn’t. This album is shit. Having Nas, Scarface, and DJ Premier on it didn’t help because that track killed everything else on the album.
Same old DJ Khaled. Couple of good joints ( Hip Hop, I Did It For My Dawgz … ). Rest of album is below average. If you listend to his previous work, you’ll know what this sound like. That track Hip-Hop is classic though. One of the best songs in couple of years.
I think DX takes cheap pot-shots at people like Khaled. He is a no-talent ass clown, but if this had Statik Selektah’s name on it, it’d be 4/5, GUARANTEED.
THOSE KENDRICK JOINTS
AND THAT ONE KANYE/ROSS TRACK
HAD ME PUMPED
OTHER THAN THAT KHALED
YOU STUCK TO YOUR USUAL SHITTINESS
YELLING YOUR NAME
TAKING CREDIT
I GUESS YOU’RE CONSISTANT
I LIKE THAT
SORT OF
“All hes missing is his own brand of liquor”
No thanks I don’t want a drink that will taste of the Palestinian sewers.
Thats what i got when i tasted your mum’s pum. Bottle it & sell it before Khaled does!
@FishyPussy
It’s that type of joke that just makes me exhale and slump.
“However, the albums minimal capacity for ingenuity makes for a rough listen, with tracks like Dont Pay 4 It and Bitches And Bottles (Lets Get It Started) testing the listeners patience.”
Couldn’t have put it better myself tbh my patience was running so thin I ended up skipping tracks, that Bitches and Bottles song was horrendous and the hook on that made me want to smash the screen it’s horrible.
Lotta haters down here.
KISS MY RANG BITCHES!!
Would rate it 1, but he gets an extra gold star for the cole/krit/kendrick collab and the nas/face collab.
agree
You can kiss my ass DJ Khaled!
LMAO THAT GOTTA GO DOWN AS THE FUNNIEST COMMENT I READ ABOUT DJ KHALED SO FAR GOOD SHIT
whack album
There were a few good tracks, but still, another bad released from DJ Khaled.
The album is not that bad, DJ Khaled is “overhated”, if some artist drop solo album with exact same beats and lyrics with less features, people woulndn’t be that mad. I’m not his fan, but I like good music by his guests and I admit he works very hard, people just like to hate him for some reason.
When I heard that album for the first time, I didn’t like it much, but I gave it a chance and it’s not really that bad
Shout out to the real – solid energic beginning, average raps, but nice beat
Bitches and Bottles – if you don’t like Future sound you won’t enjoy that song either but I’m glad to hear T.I.P.
I wish you would – one of the best songs from the album, I like auto-tune Kanye, this reminds me of Go Hard from DJ Khaled’s third album which wast the best track on it
Take it to the head – as a song – good/average, maybe replacing Nicki and Weezy with different artist would not be bad idea, – as a potential hit single it’s nowhere to I’m on one, Chris Brown’s hook isn’t bad, but it’s not that catchy
They ready – one of the best songs on that album, very good raps and beat too
I’m so blessed – Khaled shouldn’t place this track between They Ready and Hip Hop, it makes you wanna skip, and track is just average, good verses, but I expected more from T-Pain, Go Hard and I’m so Hood were better
Hip Hop – perfect song, I just love it, Face was pretty emotional on this one, Nas brings very good verse, good instrumental, Premier too
I did it for my dawgs – annoying chorus, average verses (except Jadakiss)
I don’t see em – ordinary Birdman/2 Chainz song, nothing special
Don’t pay 4 it – first I didn’t like this song at all, but the beat sounds really good on the subwoofer, chorus is easy to remember and verses are a little bit funny, I like this song
Suicidal thoughts – worst song of the album, I don’t see any point why it is there, lol
Outro – lol, finally Khaled on the mic at the end of the album, it’s hilarious but I’m glad Khaled only raps on one song, I wouldn’t be able listnening to his raps through the whole album
the result – 3/5 album, I gave it four stars just because many haters gave him 1 without even listening to it just because it’s Khaled
‘He works hard”?? wat r u smokin!!! gatherin pipo collecting beats produced by other pipo, all raps by other pipo,all he does is scream he is the best!!!! bets at doin wat exactly??? u dont produce beats, u dnt rhyme, u dnt write!!! wat do u do to deserve mo than 1 star rating.
eat a dick just spoke the truth. it’s a shame that a classic cut like hiphop has khaled’s name on it.
This is not that bad of a release from KHaled, yet I agree, no credit should be given to him! It has it’s downturns, but it’s mostly up! I hate Khaled…man I do, bu this was actually better than Ross and 2Chainz albums to me.
I usually make my own versions of his albums and edit him completely out of all the tracks but i didnt even bother with this just deleted the entire album and it looks like most people agree its wack cause no one is buying it
The main problem with this guy is he is so annoying and people just don’t like him he is like another version of the rapper rick ross they both know what they are doing and playing their roles the best they can but i believe if he wasn’t so in your face all the time and so annoying he would be more successful you dont have to talk and scream on every track you dont have to get on stage with artists and make a fool of yourself you dont have to do the things you do but he does because he wnats to be a artist and loves the fame and seeing his face everywhere and hearing his voice
I wish you would, Hip Hop, and They ready are the only good tracks.
Khaled could care less about an album review. He’s making crazy money.
how all of these albums flop hard i mean real hard
Okay, the reviewer writes “rest assured Khaled doesnt disappoint on Kiss The Ring”, yet it gets a bad review scoring wise. Am i missing something??
I think they were using sarcasm from the previous line ” his previous installments of compilation albums have yielded a handful of gold singles, but the rest of projects contents fall largely to the wayside”.
So he puts out albums with a few good songs, but mostly wack shit and this album doesn’t stray from that formula.
“and people just don’t like him”
Then how does he keep putting albums out if nobody likes him? Obviously there’s a fanbase for this dude. Every album generates at least 1 platinum single.
My Name says it all. He/She is an idiot and does not understand the hip-hop community..”However, the albums minimal capacity for ingenuity makes for a rough listen, with tracks like Dont Pay 4 It and Bitches And Bottles (Lets Get It Started) testing the listeners patience.” DJ Khaled knows their is a BROAD audience out there, which is why he has Mavado on his team now. Kirko Bangz may not be that popular with certain ppl but he has an audience out there. This reviewer should not be allowed to review another album or this site is in trouble when it comes to reviews.
It’s an opinion, chill. The reviewer has a right to one, just as you do and honestly anyone who doesn’t create music themselves shouldn’t be commenting on it.
If you dont like it don’t read it.. in fact why don’t you do the world a favour and go an drink some lighter fluid & swallow a match.
The ART of writing a review is:
– not to give your own opinion
– you have to be honest
i dont like Khaled but this album deserves 3 stars!!!!
Didn’t get that – “Khaled doesn’t disappoint” – yet a bad review???? lol
My own personal review
shout out to the real – nice beat, annoying chorus, meek and ace good, plies VERY ANNOYING 7/10
let’s get it started – very generic beat, good hook, nice to see both T.I.P. and Wayne (although Wayne needs to make sense) 7/10
i wish you would – lovin’ this, sounding like somewhere between 808s and heartbreak and go hard 10/10. Kanye amazing
take it to the head – for radio, good (why is this after i wish you would is anyone’s guess), breezy good, rozay good, nicki wack, wayne mega wack! 6/10
they ready – nice, good beat, great raps, sweet highlight, especially j.cole and kendrick. 9/10
i’m so blessed – who put this between they ready + hip-hop??? t-pain wack as fuck, ace hood getting annoying. 4/10 (purely for sean and wiz)
hip-hop – good, great verses and everything. 10/10
i did it for my dawgz – placement on this cd is awful! hook is irritating. good verses from rozay and jadakiss. 6/10
i don’t see em – beat horrible. ace hood getting even more annoying. why not ditch birdman instead of bun b 4 this cd? 2 chainz reasonable, birdman wack as ever 2/10
don’t pay for it – beat and chorus irritating. verses good 5/10
suicidal thoughts – feeling the beat, just not with mavado. if that had been drizzy, mary or even autotuned nicki/kanye it would’ve been this album’s i’m on one, but with mavado it gets really annoying. 3/10
they don’t want war – really hating ace hood now. who told khaled he could rap? 1/10
song placement awful. features questionable – on one hand, kanye, rozay, chris brown, jadakiss, j.cole, kendrick, scarface, nas – on another, birdman, 2 chainz, nicki minaj, kirko bangz, french montana, etc. AND TOO MUCH ACE HOOD!!!!
I’m with you
underrated. thinks its better than i though and “hip hop” may be the song of the year
You suckin my bizzalls is song of the year, clown.
The album was straight. Yeah there was some misses but the only thing bad about bitches & bottles was future’s hook. That was waynes best verse this year and I’m not even a wayne fan anymore. Hip hop is classic.
I thought kiss the ring was dope..came with alot of clean beats and alot of diverse raps. DJ khaled was on the album to much talking I really liked that
You must be deaf.
whack
“My own personal review”
Did you buy or bootleg?
what does him bootlegging it have to do with his opinion on the music? If he bootlegged it he saved himself $12-15 so fuck off.
Khaled’s album is cheeks with smears
mediocre album, but let’s be honest: This is a compilation album, not a studio album. People can’t be comparing this guy’s album to any underground artist’s album or illmatic or life is good or any of those albums. This is not a studio album, but an album full to collabs. Just like Clue’s Professional Albums, this is what is expected. Some good songs and some not so good songs
Hip Hop’s currently falling down the stairs/ Your rent’s due mothafucker – Royce
If 2 Chainz was tha guess feature on err trak, it woulda been 5 starz nigga TRUUUUUU
There was some great tracks on this album but as a whole it wasnt all that…………….
My Success Will Be My Revenge I SWEAR
CHECK OUT THE NEW SINGLE “SUCCESS IS THE BEST REVENGE”
http://soundcloud.com/jerz-da-reaper/success-is-the-best-revenge
40k the first week book it !!!!
if you can make a play list then you are dj khaled
What about a Slaughterhouse review?????
Every site has it but NOT HIPHOPDX!
DX is so lazy!!!!
That’s the face Khaled made when he found out he only sold 40 thousand copies…
am gonna kiss ur ring
this aint hiphop and what does dj kaled really do he doesnt rap he doesnt produce he doesnt write he just fronts and peeople buy it makes money off other people for lack of tallent we want MCs no more rnb rap and bullshit
FATBOY IS A JOKE DOWN HERE IN MIAMI HE AINT FROM THE HOOD AND NEVER GOES HE WAS RAISED IN ORLANDO FUNNY YOU NEVER HEAR HIM MENTION ORLANDO HIS JUST A GLORIFIED HYPEMAN
Ham
Ham. It was good, but some of the songs suck
some good tracks, some average tracks
better than i was expecting and im not really a dj khaled fan
Co-sign (2 Great tracks, 3 average tracks & rest is garbage).
Better than i was expecting (We The Best Forever) and I’m not Khaled fan! 2.5-3/5, so i give 3 stars.
I give 3 stars.
j cole and the nas tracks were the only good ones………………
1. Bad Meets Evil & Nas (Produced by Dr. Dre, co. Mel-Man)
2. Skyzoo, Ghostface Killah, Masta Ace & Rakim (Produced by Lord Finesse)
3. Fashawn, Blu & Aloe Blacc (Produced by Exile)
4. Black Hippy & Slaughterhouse (Produced by Focus…)
5. Reks, Killer Mike, Saigon & Jon Connor (Produced by DJ Premier)
6. T.I., B.o.B & Big Boi (Produced by Mike Dean)
7. Big K.R.I.T., Yelawolf & CyHi the Prynce (Produced by Big K.R.I.T.)
8. Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco, Common & Mos Def (Produced by Hi-Tek)
9. Black Thought & John Legend (Produced by ?uestlove, co. Jeremy Grenhart, co. Dice Raw)
10. Black Milk, Danny Brown, eLZhi & Dwele (Produced by Black Milk)
11. Pharoahe Monch, Wale & Jill Scott (Produced by Pete Rock)
12. J. Cole, Jay Electronica & Santigold (Produced by J. Cole)
13. Pusha T, Pharrell & Raekwon (Produced by The Neptunes)
14. Drake & Phonte (Produced by 9th Wonder)
15. Jay-Z, Kanye West & Marsha Ambrosius (Produced by Kanye West)
no
yeah, obviously none of these current artists will be bringing their A game to the table for this guys compilation CD. this is probably as good as a dj Khaled album could be.