DJ Khaled’s love of ridiculously recognizable samples rears its head once again on his latest single, “Just Us,” from his new album, Father Of Asahd, which features SZA and the angry mutterings of thousands of miffed rap heads who can’t believe Khaled would lift the beat from Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson” more or less wholesale for his new song. For what it’s worth, “Ms. Jackson” was a massive hit in its time, so it stands to reason that replaying the beat with one of today’s hottest stars might result in similar success — if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
The video for “Just Us” also appears to be inspired by a huge blockbuster, this time from the realm of film. Shades of Zack Snyder’s adaptation of 300 permeate the clip, which features a swords-and-sandals battle on the deck of a Greek trireme wherein SZA portrays a battle-ready warrior woman who slices and dices her way through hordes of enemy soldiers. It may not quite fit the more romantic theme of the song itself, but it could definitely work as a proof of concept for a potential SZA-starring reboot of Xena: Warrior Princess. It would be a smash, too.
Father Of Asahd is out now via We The Best / Epic Records. Get it here.
