How exactly does a classic collaboration like DJ Khaled's "I'm the One" come together? For Khaled, it's often just a matter of showing up at an artist's house with passion and a speaker. In a new interview with Billboard, Khaled detailed how he stacked up perfectly summer-esque contributions from Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Chance the Rapper, and Quavo.
"I was doing a show or something, I had to come to LA to work," Khaled recalled. "I had been working on my album, and as soon as I got to LA I said, you know what? Let me call Justin Bieber. I FaceTimed him and he picked up. I was like, 'Yo JB, what's good? I wanna present something to you, but I don't wanna email it, I don't wanna text it.' But before I explained, he said 'Yo Khaled, come over to my crib. Come check me.'"
Though Khaled shows up at Bieber's place with a speaker and presentation ready to go, Bieber insisted they listen to the track in his truck. After vibing to what would eventually become "I'm the One" in the truck, Bieber was sold.
For Quavo, his contributions to the song of the summer contender were completed within minutes of hearing the track. "Quavo and the whole Migos came through," Khaled said, noting that the studio he used was the same one Michael Jackson used during Thriller. "Played it for Quavo and he was like, 'Man, this is crazy.' I could see it in his face. And the man really took 5 minutes. 5 minutes listening to the beat, and then he went in the booth and just knocked the verse out. And if you notice, Quavo's melody is like a vibe. It's just like a melody that just puts you in a trance."
Chance hopped on the track after a meeting with Khaled in Malibu, while Wayne immediately agreed to contribute because "it's a family thing."
Khaled recently shared the tracklist for his new album Grateful, featuring appearances from Rihanna and Future. Check the full rundown for executive producer Asahd Tuck Khaled's latest project right here.
