DJ Khaled had to change his original DJ name after 9/11 happened
Jess Hardiman
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@djkhaled
DJ Khaled had to change his original stage name after 9/11 happened, saying he wanted to be ‘respectful’ to the victims and their loved ones.
The 47-year-old DJ, whose real name is Khaled Mohammed Khaled, rose to fame in the 1990s as a radio host, when he also started working with hip-hop collective Terror Squad as a live DJ.
He went on to release his debut album Listennn... the Album in 2006, which was followed by 12 more studio records – the latest being God Did, released last year.
But while Khaled’s DJ name has become globally known, it turns out he originally went by a very different moniker when performing.
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He opened up about his earlier days in the business in a 2008 interview with Heeb Magazine, when he was asked if he ever considered not using his real name when he got into the business.
“Nah, I wanted to keep my name because it’s a powerful name,” Khaled replied.
“I never wanted to change my name, because that’s who I am.”
He said he got into hip hop in his early teens, explaining: “I was involved in the breakin’ era, the b-boy era, and I just loved music so much.
“And I was collecting mixtapes and had the biggest speakers in my room, and the turntables, and I started making my own music for my listening pleasure, and making it for my friends, so then I just got into it, and loved it. Hip hop!”
Khaled - who was born in Louisana to Palestinian parents - was clearly inspired to pave his own path in the industry, and forged his career as a DJ, though not without some changes along the way.
Before he was known as DJ Khaled, the star actually went by the name ‘Arab Attack’, which he decided to change after 9/11 happened.
“I dropped it because, after the whole 9/11 thing, you know I’m not one of those ignorant people,” he explained.
“I’m a positive person. ‘Arab Attack’ was mainly used for music, like we attack you with music, but when 9/11 happened, I said, you know what, I’m not gonna use that name no more. It wasn’t respectful to the people that went through some stuff.”
When asked about promoting peace through his music, Khaled said he always wanted to encourage 'unity' and 'people coming together doing music'.
He added: "I’m not about no violence and I’m not about beef, but in our music, sometimes we have to tell stories, real-life stories. But personally, as a person, I like to keep love and peace as much as you can in this world, you know?"