DJ Khaled shares how it felt to work with rapper Nipsey Hussle 2 days before his death
Music mogul and mega-producer DJ Khaled joined "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday to discuss what it was like filming a music video with Nipsey Hussle just two days before the rapper was fatally shot in California.
"I call him a prophet, for sure," Khaled said, adding that he and Nipsey spent time discussing their families and children before they made the song "Higher."
"He told me where he was from and what his name meant," Khaled added. "This is all before we made the song. We were talking about entrepreneurship and us as leaders... beautiful stuff. While we were walking to the studio, I was like, 'one day, man, you should put that in a song,' because it was really special."
Khaled, whose new album "Father of Asahd" features collaborations with artists like Jay-Z, Cardi B and Beyoncé, is well-known for his optimism and positivity. He credits his demeanor to his religion and upbringing.
"Obviously, you know, I'm God's child," he said. "God is the greatest. And my parents always treated me with love and showed me love. They also showed me how to work hard and they also showed me that, you know, to succeed, you know, you must believe, and when you believe, you succeed."
"They encouraged you in music even when others didn't," said "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King.
"When I played my turntables in my room loud, they accepted it," he said, adding "I've actually seen people tell my parents, 'yo, why are you letting your son do this,' and they're like 'what do you mean? We want [our] son to be happy, and we love what he's doing, it's beautiful.' And look at me now."
Khaled wants to give his toddler the same support. His son's already been listed as an executive producer on two of Khaled's albums.
"As a parent, you're supposed to set up your son, your daughter and give them security," Khaled said. "You have to raise them with love, but as my duty, I need to set up his future [...] The minute he came out — the minute — it's on. My responsibility to make sure he's good. If I open a hot dog stand tomorrow, it's his."
Khaled also said that his son surprised him one morning by saying his famous slogan.
"My album came out Friday, May 17. On everything I love, my son — my queen woke me up around 8 in the morning and brought my son to my bed and he kept hitting me and hitting me, 'we the best, we the best.' That's the first time he ever said it. That's God," Khaled said. "I cried. This is my real life."
He added that his son also helps him pick songs for the album.
"When he smiles and starts doing stuff like this, I know it's one of those big smashes that the world is going to embrace," Khaled said, waving his arm. "Then there are some deep songs where he has the serious face. He just knows the certain tones and stuff like that."
And while Khaled's now an internationally-known DJ, he took time to reflect on his big break: when he was invited to open on Beyoncé's tour.
"When they asked me to be on the tour, I couldn't believe it," he said, adding "I thought they were joking with me. It was serious."
"And people got to see you," King said.
"She let me do what I do," Khaled responded.
"How do you describe what you do?" King asked.
"What I do is bring people together and I make people happy and I make people feel a certain spirit of joy and I make people, how can I say [...] music is one thing, but the way I present the music," Khaled said, "the way I perform, the way I DJ, the way I bring out special artists and to bring out a collaboration of artists, that takes love."