Mogul, entrepreneur, DJ, producer, “the hip-hop Quincy Jones”—DJ Khaled has no shortage of ways to describe himself. Whatever his exact role is on “Top Off” with Jay Z and Beyonce, “Wild Thoughts” with Rihanna and Bryson Tiller, or any of the other hits that bear his name alongside his superstar guests, he’s consistently demonstrated his knack for connecting the right talent with the right tracks. What’s more, he’s always matched his ambition with equal amounts of hustle, swagger, and exuberance. Those qualities have been a huge part of DJ Khaled’s appeal ever since the young man known to his Palestinian immigrant parents as Khaled Mohamed Khaled started out as a radio DJ and mixtape maker in Miami. After making fortuitous early connections with production duo Cool & Dre and the Bronx-based rap crew Terror Squad, DJ Khaled expanded his social network across a series of star-studded albums for Cash Money and the Sony imprint RED. With his shift to Epic and the release of 2016’s Major Key and 2017’s Grateful, he completed his journey from the hip-hop world to the pop charts. He brings energy both to party-starting club tracks like “Wish Wish” with Cardi B and 21 Savage and to the honey-sweet likes of “I’m the One,” his 2017 match-up with Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne. And he does it while carving out an outsized role that’s his and his alone.