MarketMajor Key (album)
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Major Key (album)

Major Key is the ninth studio album by American disc jockey and record producer DJ Khaled. It was released on July 29, 2016, by We the Best Music Group and Epic Records. The album features guest appearances from Jay-Z, Future, Drake, Nas, Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, Betty Wright, J. Cole, Bryson Tiller, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, August Alsina, Jeremih, Rick Ross, Kodak Black, Jeezy, French Montana, YG, Yo Gotti, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Jadakiss, Fabolous, Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes, Kent Jones, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Meghan Trainor, Wiz Khalifa, Wale, and Mavado.

Background
In late 2015, Khaled became popular on Snapchat, sharing his advice that he calls his "keys to success", utilizing the 'key' emoji as a symbol of his knowledge. ==Release and promotion==
Release and promotion
On April 12, 2016, DJ Khaled announced that he has signed a record deal to Epic Records. He also made the announcement that the title to the album would be called Major Key. On April 18, DJ Khaled joined Beyoncé on her The Formation World Tour. On Twitter, Future hinted that the song with DJ Khaled and Jay-Z was going to be a single for the album. On May 28, 2016, DJ Khaled shot and posted a photo for the album cover artwork, featuring him sitting on a throne, and a bunch of flowers surrounding him and a live lion. ==Recording and production==
Recording and production
In an interview with DJ Whoo Kid, record producer Southside revealed that he was producing a song for DJ Khaled, Jay-Z and Future's single. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, DJ Khaled spoke about the album and revealing on who the guest appearances stated "I've got another record with me, Future, and Jay Z. I want to clarify and make sure everybody knows that I have two verses from Jay Z on this record with me and Future. Amongst other artists, me and Kanye West, we talking right now about making something special. Me and Rick Ross. Ross is definitely on the album. Lil Wayne, Big Sean, Chris Brown, August Alsina, Travis Scott, the list goes on." He also hinted that he was going to collaborate with artists such as Mariah Carey and Drake on his Snapchat and Instagram. ==Singles==
Singles
The official lead single from Major Key, "For Free", was released on June 3, 2016. The song features a guest appearance from Canadian rapper Drake, with production by Nineteen85 and Jordan Ullman, co produced by Frankie Cutlass. The track premiered on Beats 1, during an interview with Zane Lowe and Khaled. The official second single from Major Key, "I Got the Keys", was released on June 4, 2016. The song features guest appearances from American rappers Future and Jay-Z, with production by Southside, Jake One and G Koop. The music video was released after the 2016 BET Awards. On July 22, 2016, DJ Khaled would premiered his third single from the album, "Holy Key" featuring Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean and Betty Wright, during episode 24 of his primetime radio show We The Best Radio on Beats 1 radio. "Do You Mind" featuring Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, August Alsina, Jeremih, Future and Rick Ross, was released as the fourth single on July 28, 2016. ==Critical reception==
Critical reception
Major Key received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 67, based on 11 reviews. Nathaniel Schwass of PopMatters said, "While Major Key proves that DJ Khaled is not simply a meme, Khaled swings too hard and misses too often with each attempt at a radio hit." Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone said, "As with every Khaled LP, the end result is a blast in small doses but a little bludgeoning taken as a whole." Matthew Ramirez of Spin said, "The problem with the fantasy of a major Khaled Album though, is that, like a summer blockbuster, Major Key is too front-loaded." Accolades ==Commercial performance==
Commercial performance
In its home country of the United States, Major Key debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 for the week ending August 20, 2016, with 96,000 equivalent album units, marking Khaled's first number one album. While it was the best-selling album of the week, selling 59,000 copies in its first week. The album sales launch is DJ Khaled's second-biggest first week in his career, behind We the Best (2007). On September 27, 2019, Major Key was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). ==Track listing==
Track listing
Track notes • signifies a co-producer • "Jermaine's Interlude" contains additional vocals from EarthGang and JID Sample credits • "For Free" contains interpolations of "Fuck Me For Free", performed by Akinyele; reused lyrics from "Blow the Whistle", performed by Too Short; and resung lyrics from "For Free? (Interlude)", performed by Kendrick Lamar. • "Nas Album Done" contains a sample of "Fu-Gee-La", performed by Fugees. • "Holy Key" contains a sample of "So Tired", performed by The Chambers Brothers. • "Jermaine's Interlude" contains a sample of "It's Possible", composed by Piero Piccioni. • "Do You Mind" contains samples of "Lovers & Friends", performed by Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring Usher and Ludacris; and "Money Ain't a Thang", performed by Jermaine Dupri featuring Jay-Z. • "Work for It" contains a sample of "Pop Style", performed by Drake featuring The Throne. ==Personnel==
Personnel
ArtistsDJ Khaled – primary artist (all tracks) • Future – featured artist (tracks 1, 6, 7, 9) • Big Sean – featured artist (tracks 4, 10) • Rick Ross – featured artist (tracks 7, 9) • Jay-Z – featured artist (track 1) • Drake – featured artist (track 2) • Nas – featured artist (track 3) • Kendrick Lamar – featured artist (track 4) • Betty Wright – featured artist (track 4) • J. Cole – featured artist (track 5) • Bryson Tiller – featured artist (track 6) • Nicki Minaj – featured artist (track 7) • Chris Brown – featured artist (track 7) • August Alsina – featured artist (track 7) • Jeremih – featured artist (track 7) • Kodak Black – featured artist (track 8) • Jeezy – featured artist (track 8) • French Montana – featured artist (track 8) • YG – featured artist (track 9) • Yo Gotti – featured artist (track 9) • Gucci Mane – featured artist (track 10) • 2 Chainz – featured artist (track 10) • Jadakiss – featured artist (track 11) • Fabolous – featured artist (track 11) • Fat Joe – featured artist (track 11) • Busta Rhymes – featured artist (track 11) • Kent Jones – featured artist (track 11) • Travis Scott – featured artist (track 12) • Lil Wayne – featured artist (track 12) • Meghan Trainor – featured artist (track 13) • Wiz Khalifa – featured artist (track 13) • Wale – featured artist (track 13) • Mavado – featured artist (track 14) • EarthGang – background artist (track 5) • JID – background artist (track 5) Technical personnelNoah "40" Shebib – recording (track 2) • Peter "Zlender" Vickers – assistant mixer (track 1) Record producers • DJ Khaled – production (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13) • Cool & Dre – production (tracks 3, 4, 9, 11) • Qolorsound – production (tracks 9, 11) • Metro Boomin – production (track 10) • Frank Dukes – production (track 10) • Southside – production (track 1) • Jake One – production (track 1) • Key Wane – production (track 12) • Travis Scott – production (track 12) • TBHits – production (track 13) • DJ Nasty & LVM – production (track 7) • Lee on the Beats – production (track 7) • The Beat Bully – production (track 6) • Nineteen85 – production (track 2) • Jordan Ullman – production (track 2) • Meghan Trainor – production (track 13) • 808-Ray – production (track 3) • G Koop – production (track 1) • Edsclusive – production (track 4) • Hollywood JB – production (track 5) • Ben Billions – production (track 8) • Travis Sayles – production (track 13) • Dyryk – production (track 8) • Michael Foster – production (track 13) • Mineral Boss Productions – production (track 14) • Frankie Cutlass – production (track 2) ==Charts==
Charts
Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==
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