DJ Khaled - Grateful

The Guardian 60

(Black Butter Intl)

According to producer and Snapchat obsessive DJ Khaled, Grateful was executive produced by his eight-month-old son, Asahd. To be fair, he’s done quite a good job; the album features a ludicrous roll call of guests – Nicki Minaj, Drake, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Rihanna – across a Spotify playlist-worthy 23 tracks. Highlights include summer anthem Wild Thoughts (Rihanna luxuriating over Santana’s Maria Maria), Beyoncé and Jay Z’s breezy and boastful Shining, and the low-slung Calvin Harris collaboration Don’t Quit. Sadly, nearly every song is made worse by Khaled’s inane shout outs of “another one” or “we the best music”, making you yearn for a Khaled-free version.

Pitchfork 52

The Snapchat icon’s 10th album is ostensibly an ode to the joys of fatherhood, but its A-list features and slick surfaces are the polar opposite of warm and fuzzy.