For whatever reason, I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about DJ Khaled yesterday. I can’t tell if we’re all laughing at him or with him, but it doesn’t really matter because it looks like he’s accomplished his goal: DJ Khaled matters right now. Who cares if he’s become a living, breathing meme? He’s made the key emoji a thing and his message is spreading to the masses, ironically or not.
So, here’s Khaled making yet another appearance when he popped up on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to give correspondent Hasan Minhaj the key to success. He names a bunch of kicks and runs through all his catchphrases and, well, even I can admit it’s funny. Khaled made me laugh after years of irritating me on solid posse cuts with the best rappers Georgia and Florida have to offer.
He renames the Red October Yeezy 2s “The Red Sea,” and the OVO Jordan 10s become “The Hotline Bling,” which I have to admit is a better name than OVO 10s. Of course, he names a pair “Don’t Ever Play Yourself” and another pair “Another One” because DJ Khaled. He wraps up the segment by giving Minhaj some sound advice that blows his mind.
I don’t know why he’s renaming sneakers that already have nicknames or how he’s able to stay in character better than a prime Hulk Hogan or an oblivious, Rick Ross but I’m impressed. He’s made this act into a sensation and he’s milking it for all it’s worth. Khaled is now synonymous with an emoji, and in a world where we use emojis almost more than we use words. That’s about as big as it gets.
