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DJ Khaled is a record producer, musical artist, and disc jockey, who rose to fame for his collaborations with top-tier artists such as Justin Bieber. He is a major social media personality and documents many details of his life on his Instagram and Twitter accounts.

To some, it might seem as though DJ Khaled is a relatively new performer on the music scene. But the truth is the artist has been in the music industry for many years and has even gone through multiple stage names before settling on the one that made him a star. In fact, those who stay on top of the music scene know he’s one of the most underrated musical celebrities.

When was DJ Khaled born?

DJ Khaled attends 2019 Roc Nation THE BRUNCH on February 9, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
DJ Khaled | Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Roc Nation

DJ Khaled was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1975. At birth, he was given the name Khaled Mohamed Khaled. Raised in a devout Muslim household, Khaled listened to music a lot as a child, developing an early fascination with several musical genres, including rap and soul.

As a young man, Khaled first broke into the music industry as a producer, working at a New Orleans record store. In his home state of Louisiana, Khaled met and became friends with several up and coming artists, including Birdman and Lil Wayne.

Eventually, Khaled turned to disc jockeying as a way to supplement his income and further his career in the music business. He became known for his habit of mixing reggae with dancehall and hip-hop, and in the late nineties, he made the decision to move to Florida.

It was in Miami that Khaled really became popular, and in 2003, he started hosting his very own radio show, called The Takeover.

What were DJ Khaled’s past stage names?

Fans today know the artist simply as DJ Khaled. Still, before his ascent to the top of the charts, Khaled went through several stage names.

According to The Things, Khaled rotated through a variety of DJ names at the beginning of his career, including Big Dog Pitbull, Mr. Miami, The Don Dada, Terror Squadian, Beat Novacane, and Arab Attack. The report states that after the 2011 terrorist attacks in New York, Khaled made the wise decision to drop the name he had been going by, Arab Attack, in an effort to avoid any controversy that the name could incite.

By that time, he had already released several albums and worked with artists such as Rick Ross, Nas, Birdman, T-Pain, and Chris Brown. He has also released multiple singles on his own in recent years, including “I’m the One” and “Popstar.” 

What is DJ Khaled best known for?

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How Many Kids Does DJ Khaled Have?

It was in 2015 that DJ Khaled really hit the big time, although executives in the music industry had been aware of the artist for several years. That was the year that DJ Khaled really began utilizing his social media presence to build his brand, posting a series of inspirational videos and tips for his fans.

DJ Khaled made a habit of being transparent with his followers, and shared many intimate family moments with them, including, most notoriously, live-streaming the birth of his first child on social media.

Although DJ Khaled is known to many pop culture aficionados, he does have his critics. Some people claim that the celebrity disc jockey and record producer is famous for doing nothing, but the truth of the matter is that he is almost constantly working — from building out brand deals to posting on social media.

DJ Khaled is certainly not the most critically-acclaimed artist in the business, but he is one of the busiest, and to many fans, he is one of the most endearing.