Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - DJ Khaled

Episode Date: September 20, 2020

DJ Khaled has made a name for himself in the music industry with his infectious beats and famous collaborators, but he’s also known for his relentless hustle, positivity, and self-confidence. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the radio DJ turned hip hop mogul to talk about his rise to the heights of music, his latest album, and what life has been like in quarantine with his wife and two young sons. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. Got another good brand new one for you today with Grammy winner DJ Khalid. Now, you know the name, you know the music, you've seen him in the commercials, he's everywhere in all the best ways. He's collaborated with Drake, J. Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Justin Bieber. His thing is bringing people together. He started as a an actual radio DJ. Actually, it goes back farther than that when he grew up in Orlando, Florida, the son of Palestinian immigrant parents. He got turntables for his birthday, started putting beats together and music together in his room. His parents didn't love the music, so they moved him out

to the garage. And that was kind of his lab where he learned how to make music. Got a gig as a DJ in Miami and was so popular and so good that artists wanted to work with him and have him start making records. And so he moved on from being a DJ on a radio show to creating this empire where he puts out albums, including a new one that's coming out this fall called Khalid Khalid. And he basically just gathers the best and most famous people in music and does songs with them. So that's his deal. And a lot of people might say, so what does he do exactly? It wasn't mean to be a producer. What does it mean to be DJ Khalid? We get into all of that. I want to set the scene for you a little bit here because I think it's important. So Callet is at home in

Miami in his office. He got a haircut just before he sat down with us. He was shaped up very nicely. The hair, the beard, everything. And the shirt, how to describe it? It's a Versace, as he'll tell you in the interview, naturally. It's multi-colored, and then with some pattern in it, there's some red, there's some yellow, it's loud and beautiful, and I think it's a lot like him. Buckle up, there's a lot of energy coming at you. We the best, as you know, is his catchphrase. Another one, not lacking for self-confidence. And, man, it'll come across even in a podcast, how excited he is about life, how enthusiastic he is about the future. I should point out this year, he won a Grammy. He had a new son. He's got two little

boys and his wife at home with him. So he had, before this pandemic set in, he was having an amazing year already, and now he's been home for the last several months working on this new album. So I really think you're going to enjoy. Even if you don't know the music that well, you don't know much about him, you're about to learn about him. And his enthusiasm, his energy is infectious. And you got to watch the interview on Sunday today. Go online today.com slash Sunday. Just if for nothing else to see the shirt.

It's really something. So I'll stop talking so he can start talking. Here now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast is DJ Khalid. Colla, great to see you. Thanks for doing this. Oh, man. Thank you so much for having me, man. How are you doing through this pandemic, this pandemic, this thing out there? We're hanging in. We were just talking about it. If there's a silver lining, it's a time with kids. Mine are older, but you've got these two babies, including a brand new baby son that you were blessed with in January.

What's it been like to be home with them? I mean, it's been incredible. You know, the family time is always all the time. But through what's going on right now, it's even more time. And I love it having, you know, every second of the day, morning and night with my queen and my two kids has been unbelievable. It's inspiring for me. And I love it so much, you know what I'm saying? I tell my two boys and my queen, like, this is incredible.

You'm saying, if it's hanging out in the backyard or even when they come in the studio and work on my album with me, you know what I'm saying? even when I'm in my office right now, like, you know, my son will be right there watching cartoons or, you know, the alarm is learning to crawl. It's just a beautiful environment. It's great energy. Do you think it's going to be hard?

I've talked to some people who said, look, I want to get back out on the road. I want to play to my crowds. I want to see my friends. I want to live that life I had. But in some ways, we've had all this time with our families. It's going to be hard to start getting back on those planes again and being on the road, isn't it? Yeah, it's definitely going to be.

hard, but you know what? You know, I've always been somebody that loves to bring my family everywhere I go. But, you know, as far as school, my queen is super serious about him not missing that one day.

And through this time, we actually built his own school in the house. Oh, wow. We built a classroom to make it just look like the school and everything. That's the amazing things that my queen did. But, you know, it will be hard.

because, you know, Daddy used to fly out for two, three days or a week and come back. Now it's like, I told my son the other day I'm just going outside. He thought I met, like, leaving. And he was like saying, no, don't go nowhere. And I was like, man, it's just, it's going to be hard because we really had that bond of attachment. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. Well, like you said, though, you are still working.

I mean, you've got this new album coming out, college college, which people can't hear. We've already heard some of the singles off it. We're doing a lot of work with Drake. We've seen the incredible pop star video with Justin Bieber. So what's it been like to make music under these strange and different circumstances? I mean, it's been challenging, but I work the best when it's challenging. You know what I'm saying? I've always worked the best.

And challenging can be in different ways. We always wanted to be in a safe way. And being home is being safe. And working in my studio in my house is being safe. But with today's technology, you know, I can FaceTime somebody, Zoom somebody. And it's going back and forth with ideas. And, you know, I've had more time to create, you know, music and, you know, just being in a certain zone. And really just taking my time with it.

But at the same time is, you know, I think the ones that are super creative through a time like this is going to have great results moving forward. because I always said to my team, you know, those that's going to be lazy and not do nothing and not work through times like this is going to be stuck in the pandemic when the pandemic is over. You know, I also told my team the other day, do we tell our kids that we want easy

or do we tell our kids we won big and we fought for this? You know what I'm saying? And that's the zone I'm in when I'm in that studio, like, oh, It's not the same. The stadiums are not open. The arena's not open.

The club is not open. You know, so you can't feel certain energies that were used to when you drop music. But, you know, believe it or not, the people want that music because on my project, I want to bring the light through these hard times and these dark times. And I'm telling my fans, we have to find the light through these times. And I want to help be the light. You know what I'm saying? So, you know, when we dropped that pop star video, I felt like that was the light.

It made people smile. It was exciting. It's a big hit. It's a number one record. It's an anthem. And it was unexpected to have Justin Bieber to star in it. And then it's, you know, Caveter and Drake have Beaver be Drake.

You know what I mean? So these are the things that we got to do. We got to be greater. We got to do things bigger and come out this pandemic smarter and wiser. In a lot of ways, something like that pops even bigger right now because we have so much darkness. If you provide that light, it comes through. So how did that idea come to you

to put Justin Bieber in the video? Well, actually, when me and Drake was talking about video treatments, you know, this is before the pandemic came, and this is one of the ideas that he came up with. Drake was like, yo, you know, we can shoot our parts, Kavit, but I think we should get like a pop star, even though we are pop stars. Yeah.

But another pop star, B. Drake. and J.B. is the biggest pop star ever. And it worked out perfect because I really couldn't get into Canada to film the video. Right. You know what I'm saying? And Drake came up with this idea before the pandemic. But it ended up God works in great ways. Like, I couldn't really go shoot the video.

I was trying to get to Canada. You know, the borders are closed. So me and Drake were on the phone and he's like, yo, the idea we, you know, the idea. the idea that we were talking about that he came up with actually connects perfect, but at the same time is genius. Yeah. And that's our brother. You see what I'm saying?

Like teamwork, make it dream work. You know, that's our brother. You know, Beaver's our brother. And for him to do that favor for me and do that favor for Drake is we're so grateful for that. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. It's inspired. It's good.

Like you said, it jumps out. And the YouTube views show it already, as new as it is. It's out of here, man. I'm excited about this album. So is there, will we hear, Kyle in the new album reflections on what's going on right now, this thing we all share,

that we're sort of staying at home and we're talking to ourselves and reassessing our lives? Is this going to be reflective of this time? Well, you know, right now I'm in the recording process right now and like we were talking about Pop Star and Greece, so there's two singles that's out now.

We are making records, you know, touching up on some time. and people telling their stories through their rhymes and their voices. But it goes back to the light. You know what I'm telling everybody I'm working with, I want to bring great energy and I want to bring uplift people, motivate people, but also I'm not known for anthems. You know what I'm saying?

So I want to make anthems that people are going to listen to forever, not just at this time and at this moment. I'm talking about I want my records to play forever. So when you make great records, it's always going to touch somebody so in a special way. Not just now. I want my records to play forever. And if you think about some of my catalog,

like all I do is win, that's a record that brought the light. You know what I'm saying? Then you think about all the hit records I made with Drake for free or I'm on one or even the records I made with Bieber on my last project, I'm the one. You know, there's so many records I've made with Beyonce called Shining with Jay-Z.

Like, you know, I'm talking about the light. You know what I'm saying? Just anthems that uplift people. What we'll be talking about the hard times? Of course, we're going to be telling stories. Certain artists have that pain they want to give out in some of these records. So, you know, right now we're creating. Speaking about that being an anthem, my kids' fantasy football team is called All I Do Is Win.

So you've got some that stuck around for a very long time. So when you get this collection of collaborations, which you're so well known for, is that an easy phone call every time if you have to call Drake or you want to call Justin Bieber? They trust you. They know what you've done. They know what you can do.

How do you sort of, when you approach an album, how do you curate who do you want on each track or who do you want on this album? Well, you know, first of all, I love working with people that I'm a fan of, musically and the blessing is a lot of people that I'm a fan of are also my friends, meaning I have great relationships. And some of the artists, I've been doing this for over a decade.

You know what I'm saying? More than a decade. And my track record, people know that Calvert is going to hit a home run and he's great at what he does. So when I get in the studio with somebody, they know it's coming. from a good place, a good heart, and know that I'm going to go all out. So if I call Drake, Drake knows I'm going to do my part and I'm going to make sure we do it big.

You know, if I call Bieber, same thing. If I call Ross, if I call little Wayne, you know, if I call Future, if I call little baby, if I call my brother Jay-Z, you know what I'm saying? If I call Rihanna, you know, is it easy? No. It's actually the hardest thing ever. And I'm being honest with you. Not because people don't want to do it.

It's about making the right record. And, you know, I want to deliver and bring in the right record and make sure it connects with what we're trying to do. And also I want to make sure it has that call and feel that's an anthomatic, you know. And some people have busy schedules and sometimes you have to stay on them. And for instance, like Drake, you know, the record on the video, you hear me in the beginning, the intro, that's all real video footage of me sending to his phone. Oh, that's real. Okay.

Just real footage. Okay. It's not like acting. Right. That's really me telling him like, yo, let's get this record out. I was shooting this video. Yo, you told me Monday, I guess Monday means Tuesday. You know, you know, yo, how you doing today?

I'm in the ocean. I'm praying. I'm meditating for this song, you know, because I'm always. always going to be me. I'm Cali, Callie, Callet. And I advise the young world out there, one of the biggest keys I'm going to let you know is to be yourself. And not only do I make great music, I bring gray energy. You're saying, I'm a student of a Quincy Jones, a Barry Gordy, a Dr. Dre, a puff daddy, a Jay-Z. You know what I'm saying? I'm a student, you know? I tell people all the time and I say it with me being humble,

but also with confidence. I'm one of the greatest. You know what I'm saying? But I have so much love and respect for the ones that came before me because they're the greatest. I'm just saying I'm one of them. You see what I'm saying?

And that's just being me. And that's the attitude I have when I'm in that studio. When I'm in that studio, this album, Coward Coward is my birth name. My first and last name is saying, Callid, Callid. My family loved the name so much. They name me twice.

Another one. We do best. You know what I mean? Like, you know what I mean? Like, I'm not stopping. Look at this, man. Look at this. I'm coming off of Grammy. Like, I'm inspired.

I got two beautiful boys. I got, I work my whole life to do what I'm doing. I work my whole life. I come from, you know, where a garage. with turntables mic and keyboard and drum machine and a bunch of records and posters of my favorite artists around me, cutting and scratching on the turntables,

talking about what I'm gonna do, what I'm doing now. I talked all this into existence. I worked hard for this. I worked hard for this and I'm not stopping. I told somebody the other day, when times is hard, go hard. When times it's great, go even harder. You know what I mean?

if you work this hard to get to a certain level, when you get to that level, you've got to go even harder. So I'm about to take this whole We the Best Empire brand to the next level, and this album, Callag, Call it on the music side of We the Best is going to be powerful. I want to ask you. I'm passionate.

I love it. Are you kidding? I love it. I'm coming off a Grammy win. I'm coming off. My son was born. Alam was born. The same.

day he was born, I jumped on a jet straight to Toronto, was in the studio with Drake. After that, from the studio with Drake, jumped back on the jet, won a Grammy the same week. Then perform at the Grammy's two. Bless up Knit. You know what I mean? The marathon continues. We did that for nipping hip-hop. And like, then came back.

DJed at the Super Bowl. then went at the all stock and this was all in a week two weeks span all back to back while my son was born working with drake it was you you see that the energy already for this album came out and then the pandemic came and then when the pandemic came oh that's the rich oh that's the that's the wall of the roadblock no not over here we're looking at that wall and saying, boom, we're breaking that wall down. But the only thing is that we're going to be masked up. We're going to stay home and work out the house and stay prayed up and stay safe,

but we're going to be greater. Now, I'm sorry, I'm so passionate. Please, no. Because I don't even like doing too many in it because I'm just going to let it all go. That's why we love talking to you because you do let it go. And you held that Grammy in your hand. And I can see the pride in your face with that. what did that mean to you to have your name called,

especially given the song Nipsey and everything else. What did that mean to you on that night? I mean so much because, you know, blessed up my brother Nipsey Hustle and shout out to John Legend. I told Nick when was recording that song, I told me what's going to win a Grammy. I told him it's going to be my first Grammy and we're going to win a Grammy. I told John Legend that too,

and I said it just like I'm telling you with no, not even my eye blinking with pure confidence with the face of life, we're going to get this. And I even said we're going to perform it, too. You know, and it's to be able to win it. It's for net, man. You know what I'm saying? Honor to work with a king like that.

Honor to work with a king like John Legend, you know, to make a beautiful song called Higher. And, you know, through these times right now, we're going to put our head high, and we're going to keep going higher. It goes back to what I was saying is the anthem. This record will be put. forever and we did it for nip and we did it for hip hop and we won a grammy you know what I'm saying

we're Grammy winners no one can take that away from us you know what I hear you so what does it mean for you that's the it's extra special because of the people you made it with you did it for nipsy what does it mean to you DJ Call it to have Grammy winner in front of your name you've already done all this stuff. But now you add that to the resume. What does it mean to you? Man, it feels it means a lot to me, but it means that my kids can say my daddy is a Grammy winner. Yeah. That's what I wanted the Grammy for. You know, when they grow up, they can say my daddy is a Grammy winner. And if my kids want to make music, they're going to be a Grammy winner. And be honest, this is also Asa's Grammy because he executive produced my album.

I know that. I saw that. So he's got a Grammy already. He's got a Grammy already. I mean, listen, I'm trying to tell you, you see where I'm at with this. Yeah. Like, you know what I'm saying? I'm focused. You know what I mean? Like, and this album Calla Callie, um, just the title for me is powerful. You know what I mean? And we're going to, um, we're going to, um, we're going to excite the fans. and give the fans great music,

but we also don't give them a great presentation. We're also gonna give them a great experience. You know, that's what Cala like to do, and we the best, we like to not only give them great music, but give them a great experience and great presentation, because we don't forget about these things. You know, I came up, I remember some of the great marketing things that Pub Daddy did in his early in his career.

I remember some of the great marketing things that Jay-Z did early in his career. Man, let's be great. And that's what I promote every day. Be great, but be grateful. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. That's the way to be. And it's working for you.

So what I'm seeing right now in the few minutes we've talked is what's made you successful, right? This force of will, this passion, talent, of course. but there's something else there that's gotten you where you are. Where does that come from? Is that your parents? Is that growing up in New Orleans? It's the early years in Miami.

What is that? Where does that hustle come from? You know, my mother and father, the hustle definitely come from my mother and father. But God, you know, God, you know, my mother and father, soon as I was born, you know, I was introduced to God when I was in my mommy's belly. you know what I came out my mom and dad made sure I knew that God is the greatest and then my mother and father man they worked seven days a week and I seen them work seven days a week and raised us um they worked seven days a week like seven days a week not Sunday off not Monday all no seven days a week and they

did such a great job raising us um But at the same time, I got to see that work, that hustle, you know, that respect and that love and, you know, just real family vibes and praising God. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So, like, I give it to my family and God, you know what I'm saying? That's how I got this energy and it's how I got my talents and it's how I got my hustle. You know what I mean? Now I'm a father.

So it's like it's not about me. It's about my kids. so my ambition and my energy is even more powerful. You know what I mean? Like, I'm blowing. I don't know if you see it, but I'm blowing. I'm blowing. You know what I'm saying?

You know what I'm saying? I see it. I see it. So I'm so interested in when everything turned for you because you came up in New Orleans. You loved hip-hop. You loved everything that was coming out there. I was born in New Orleans.

Right. I was raised in Florida. Right. But you had those New Orleans influence. It's just what I mean. Oh, yeah, for sure. Man and all those guys. Yeah, for sure, for sure.

You know, I'm from the South. Yeah. And to be able to, you know, the New Orleans vibe and Miami vibes and the whole Florida vibes, you know, it's such a beautiful thing because we're from the South. And in my career,

I got to see some of the biggest artists in the game and executives from their start and you brought up Birdman and Little Wayne I used to work

at the record store a place called Odyssey Records and that's where Wayne used to come through and Birdman used to drop off his tapes and CDs

off his trunk before he had his deal you know I've been blessed to be around a lot of grates in my career and still blessed to be around them

to this day And like I said earlier in this interview that I'm a student. You know what I'm saying? I've been raised by the greats. You know what I'm saying? And that's why I'm telling you I'm one of the greatest. You see what I'm saying? But again, I got too much love for the ones before me.

You know what I'm saying? Like we got, listen, I wake up in the morning. I pray to God. I kiss my family. And I look in that mirror after I take a shower and say, we the best. And God is great. I'm telling you the truth.

You know what I'm saying? You say it out loud? All the time. My kids scream we the best. Because we are. And I'm not just saying just us, I'm including you, including all the listeners

and the viewers, we the best. If you don't wake up in the morning and say God is great and say we're the best, then what you doing? You know what I'm saying? This character.

Cala album is, it's going to be incredible. When did you, if you look back in your career, when did this thing completely jump off for you? When you were DJing in South Florida? When did it, when did everything change when you took all this passion and this willpower that you have and you turned it into something big for yourself? When was that jump? You know, I started, you know, you know, like I say, in the garage, DJing, making beats. blessed to do underground pirate radio

I've done college radio and then I end up doing big you know big radio when I did a radio show with Uncle Luke on 99 jams shot Luke for letting me be a DJ on a show and a co-host as well as I was doing

my pirate radio show and at the same time in the studio making music and from there from that show I end up having my own show for like 15 years. I forgot how many years, but it was like that meant that much.

And so, you know, radio and my passion of making music and rocking all the clubs, you know, people will come and hear DJ Callet if it was on the radio or on the club, you know. And then some people got to see DJ Callet in the studio because, you know, that's behind the scene work, meaning as with artists and stuff like that. early in my beginning days, I was that passionate that I am now.

You know, I was making albums before I even had a deal or even having a clue how to put an album out. I was already making them. You know what I'm saying? And what happened was I used to make music for other artists, but I was like, man, I want to do so much more. And that's why I started making my albums because I had so much other great ideas.

And I didn't want to single myself by just shopping one beat to one artist when I can make my project and put all the artists on my project and with my vision and their vision that we collaborate together. You know, and then my radio skills, you know, I knew how a hit sound. I know what people like. I know where your record starts. I know the way record ends. I know how to make the people move in the club.

I took all my talents from there in the studio. You know what I'm saying? Man, like, but just living a dream, man. Like, you know, saying I'm going to be a music executive, saying I'm going to be a DJ, say I'm going to be a producer. You know, I also, you know, work for seven years, about five to seven years at Def Jam as president of Def Jam South as a music executive.

Also, A&R some of the classic albums that's out in the last two decades. You know what I'm saying? Like there's so much stuff that Calvert does. You know, now we're doing TV and film. You know what I'm an author. I have a New York Times bestseller. You know, we're in the talk to make it another book. You know, it's so much what Cablet, Calvert does.

And then Calder, Calder is a father, which I'm most proud of. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. You know, I'm an entrepreneur. I own businesses. I do a lot. You know what I'm saying? Like it's so much that people might know and some don't.

But I am Cala Callie and that album coming. Well, I think it's a credit to you that people don't know what box to put you in, right? Because you have so many. If I talk to somebody, they say, okay, yeah, DJ Cal and I like him, I like his songs. I like him in the Guy Coe commercial. I like the book, whatever it is. Right. So they can't say he's a producer, he's a DJ.

He's something else. So how do you find yourself? Not to cut you all because earlier in my days when I was a young teenager, I had people actually come up to me, try to tell me, stick to one thing. And I looked at it, I'm like, yo, I don't want to do this one thing. You know, I also helped direct some of my last time. I directed most of the videos with other directs.

I do so much. I don't know. It's so much I want to do. I just do it. I'm self-made. I don't wait on nobody to get permission to do something. I put my energy. If I want to say, I'm going to do it. If I'm going to open a restaurant, it's going to be the best restaurant.

If I want to have a sneaker, it's going to be the best sneaker. If it's going to be a music, it's going to be the best music. You know what I'm saying? If I'm going to be in a movie, I'm going to play a beautiful part. Like, I'm going all out. There's nothing that I'm not going to, all right. Let's see. Right now, but I'm in the podcast business now.

You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, I don't even like using the word podcast, even though nothing but love to the podcast is out there. Pure love. But this is more of an audio movie. You know, this is more of a conversation. This is more of relationships and having in-depth convos with Callie, Cali.

You know what I'm saying? Look at the vibe we have in right. now. You know what I'm saying? So imagine you on my podcast. It's on and popping. You know what saying? Like it's just, it's just, I'm telling you. So imagine, and it's not out yet, but it's coming. And it's going to be big. It's coming soon to Amazon. And I think we're, I think we're allowed to talk about it. Yeah, go ahead. So what's the concept? There we go. So it's first big hit. So you're going to be talking to your friends, some of these people we've already mentioned, some of the biggest and all of music or entertainment about their first big hit.

So what's the genesis of the idea? How do you see it playing out? Like the first one, if you say like the first big hit, imagine me interviewing Little Wayne, you know, or interviewing your favorite artists and asking them what was their first one, what was their first hit? Once you get that answer, you know, why?

What was going on at that time? you know, where were you in your career at that time? Did you know what type of water was you drinking that day? You know what I'm saying? Because if it's that first one and that first big hit, that's life-changing. So there's so many things that we're going to talk about in that life-changing process. You know what I'm saying? Where were you when you first heard on the radio?

Oh, somebody said it wasn't a hit and it was a hit? Oh, somebody said, don't put it out. And it was your biggest hit ever? Like, stories that you'll never know until you hear it from that artist telling you what it is. And so far I've been already, you know, putting some shows in the can. And it's beautiful.

It's like a personal conversation. And it's so beautiful because a lot of these people with my friends. So, you know, I, I know some of these stories. I've been part of some of these stories. The other day, I interviewed Fat Joe, and that's my family.

That's my brother. So it was like, you know, he's telling me about his first hit. I was there in the studio with you. You just have said. So the conversation was unbelievable. It's going to be big, you know? So it raises the question then, Colin.

What was your moment? What did you hear on the radio? What was the moment you went? Whoa, I think I made, I might have made it just now. The moment that I, I knew that I made it and I broke the chain to get in the game. Like, you know, I got circle and you always, you know, how can you get in there?

Like, you know, and then, you know, obviously my first record ever put out, but I'll never forget the song we taken over. You know, I had, and me and Ross was driving in the video. We was driving backwards. We reenacted Puck Daddy and Biggie scene and we're driving backwards in a convertible in the highway, the Miami Bridge, Miami Beach Bridge, and we drive backwards

and we get in shake. You know, it's a video, a movie type of video. And while we was doing it, I was telling myself, we made it. I remember telling myself that I said, oh, man, they let me in. more like we let ourselves in because we so great, but I knew that we're going to be here forever

because me personally, I don't think nobody can work harder than me. I'm not stopping. So in the beginning of my career, I was like, oh, my God. Not only do I got a hit out there, but I'm shooting this, I got this feeling, and I said, I'm not stopping. So if I'm not stopping, it's on. That's how I felt.

And I remember telling myself that and I haven't stopped. I get more excited, you know? There's one part of people's lives that you have to come from nothing to something and take that something to something else. And, you know, climbing that mountain, you know, people think there's a mountain top. No, it don't end. You got to keep climbing and you got to keep going. You know what I'm saying?

How you get, the more you can see, the more you can see, let's go. Let's go. Let's go. See, I'm about, you feel me? I feel like you should go cut a record right now, this energy, something pouring out of you. Well, that's what I've been doing. I've been like, like, you know, right after this, I'm going back in the studio. You are.

And then after that, I got to go record a podcast. But all that energy, you know what I'm saying, back into the studio. And not just a studio. Like, just everything I'm doing from, you know, I got some products that I'm working on. I can't wait to present to y'all. You know, there's a lot of things. Listen, tell Jeff Bezo, here I come. Like, he's the richest, right?

Yeah. And, you know, when I say riches, riches to me is life. Riches to me is life. But, you know, as far as, you know, the bag, I'm going to be that. two. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm gonna get the, you know, my nickname is Billy, short for billionaire. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You know, listen, I'm not stopping. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I have no doubt. I have no doubt that you're not stopping. So you obviously, you have incredible confidence in yourself. Has there ever been a moment on this run of, let's call it, the last 20 years or so,

where you said, maybe this isn't going to happen the way I dreamed it. Maybe this isn't going to be what I thought it was, and I got to be happy with this. Or have you always said, you can't put anything in my way I'm getting where I thought I was going to be? I never gave up on myself. I never gave up on myself,

no matter how hard the times were. And trust me, the times was hard. I promise you, they're so hard to the point where, you know, now everybody can get up some of these times. But, you know, we got to get up. But I always bet it on myself And I'm always I always will And I never gave up

And I never gave up on myself And now that I'm a father If you think it was on then Oh, it's really on now Because it's for my kids It's for my queen You know what I mean? So I'm not stopping

For my job is to be great my kids are watching. You know what I'm saying? I know the feeling, yeah. Exactly. I know your father. You know what it is. I know it.

You know what I'm saying? I know it. Well, I'm going to let you get back to work, but before I do, I got to ask you about the shirt, because, man. Today, today, this is Gianni, Versace, you know what I'm saying?

Like, you know, we in Miami. You know what I mean? I want to, you know, I love, I love colors. I love tropical vibes. I love wearing resacea. I love wearing Dolce Gabbana. You know, I love just anything that somebody has life, you know.

I just feel like it's just, you know, I always been the kid, you know, watching the movies, like somebody wearing a tropical shirt. I'm like, can't wait to have them with a big collar and a cigar and a hat. You know what I'm saying? You know, I'm just living that. I'm just, listen, we live. You know what I'm saying? And you got it.

Yeah. That's it. Hey guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from DJ Khalid right after the break. Welcome back to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Now more of my conversation with DJ Khaled. So, Collie, is there anything else about the album you can let us know? We've heard the singles.

We love them. Any other collaborations you can sort of advertise now? You know, I'm working with, you know, a lot of people always try to get me to say who's done the album before it comes out. I'm working with all y'all's favorite artists. Okay. You know what I'm saying? That's what Calid does. And, you know, I'm trying my hardest to make, I want the track listen to be 12 records, but it possibly could be 14. because, but I really want to make 12

because it's my 12th album, but I know me I might end up making like 14. But who knows? And the only reason why I'm telling you that is because each one of them is going to be big. Not like real big. Each one of them are going to be big, you know? And I've been home writing treatments, video treatments.

to get what other directors and share my ideas and hopefully they can take it to the next level, you know. And it's going to be big, man. Just be ready for it. We trust you. It always is. We know it will be. And we were talking about quarantine at the beginning of this.

Your book, of course, called The Keys. Do you have any keys to the quarantine for people? How you've made it through it and how other people can? You know, stay prayed up. Stay prayed up. Stay home. So you're safe. And I tell people all the time, wear your mask.

If you have to go do something, try not to leave the house, you know, try to find ways to work out the house. It's only going to make you stronger because it's a challenge. But, you know, if you love your loved ones, your kids, your family, and you love your friends and you love the world, you know, mask up, period. You know what I'm saying? Let's not take no chances. Let's let the world heal. And we have to protect ourselves. So I think right now for me, the key should be telling people wear that mask.

You know, let's not play, let's not play no games with it. If you're going to the gas station or you're going to go pick some food up for the house, wear that mask, you know. Let's just, let's be honest with ourselves. Let's protect ourselves so we can protect the world. And more importantly, protect our kids. Good for you. That's a good message to end on.

Collin, congratulations on the album and everything you got going and stay positive. It's just fun to listen to you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Very grateful and love to the whole world out there. I love all my fans out there. And let's keep winning, man. God is great. I mean, how great is that guy? My big thanks to Khalid for taking the time at home and given us that energy, that love and reminding us that we all are the best. His new album, Collid, Collid, is out later this fall. My big thanks to all of you, as always, for tuning in again this week. we've got plenty of our brand new virtual interviews coming up for you.

So check back, click subscribe so you never miss an episode. In the meantime, you can hear our big library of conversations with all of my guests over the last couple of years. And, of course, don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC, particularly this weekend, to see College shirt. I'm Willie Geist. My thanks again for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. We'll see you next week.