I feel like when I sing that song, I can almost hear him on the record as well. Speaking with Zane Lowe, Khalid says he hears echoes of Tillman’s voice in “Heaven” as well:įather John Misty wrote “Heaven,” and that’s the song he played to me with the Cinderella moment, right? Talking to him about that song, that’s a song that he loved a lot and he felt like it was so fitting for me. It’s a piano-led number that, come to think of it, sounds a lot like something off God’s Favorite Customer. “Heaven” is one of many maudlin ballads on the album, but its particular form of maudlin balladry stands out. The album’s lead single, “ Talk,” was produced by Disclosure, and on tomorrow’s installment of Free Spirit Radio, Khalid will reveal another track on the album was penned by none other than Josh Tillman. He’s promoting it with a couple pop-up broadcasts on Beats 1, Apple Music’s online radio station.

The young pan-genre pop star from El Paso is releasing Free Spirit, his second album, this Friday. He famously contributed to Beyoncé’s Lemonade hit “Hold Up” and a pair of songs on Lady Gaga’s Joanne, and it sounds like his latest venture into the field is a track on the imminent new album from Khalid. There’s a totally new energy in the odd-couple collab “LET IT GO” (featuring Justin Bieber and 21 Savage), a mountain-moving statement song that features both JAY-Z and Nas (“SORRY NOT SORRY”), and then a legends-only dancehall set called “WHERE YOU COME FROM” featuring Buju Banton, Capleton, and Bounty Killer.Father John Misty dabbles in writing for pop stars from time to time. The sounds he’s engineered here are undeniable in that regard and will surely be as eyebrow-raising for the uninitiated as they are for those overcome with nostalgia. To be fair, though, these same touchstones of hip-hop past are in many cases samples themselves, with Khaled merely furthering the tradition he was born into-updating great music for a new generation of listeners.

classic “Long Kiss Goodnight” for “THIS IS MY YEAR,” and then we get Justin Timberlake on “JUST BE” singing over a piano loop that Ghostface Killah made famous on “All That I Got Is You.” Project opener “THANKFUL,” featuring Lil Wayne and Jeremih, borrows the flute line from JAY-Z’s “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love).” Fans of dearly departed ATL hero Shawty Lo will recognize the horn charge from H.E.R./Migos collaboration “WE GOING CRAZY” as the one from “Dey Know.” A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Big Sean, Puff Daddy, and Rick Ross appear over an interpolation of the Notorious B.I.G. For hip-hop heads of a certain age, there’s an inescapable familiarity present throughout DJ Khaled’s 12th studio album, KHALED KHALED.

Khalids new album