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We the Best

{{about|a 2007 DJ Khaled album|a record label founded in 2008|We the Best Music Group}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{Infobox album

| name = We the Best

| type = Album

| artist = DJ Khaled

| cover = We the Best.jpg

| alt = A man wearing a black t-shirt, sunglasses and various jewellery around his neck and wrists.

| released = {{Start date|2007|6|12}}

| recorded = 2006–2007

| venue =

| studio = Terror Squad Studios The Bronx, New York City, New York, North Miami, Florida, Dade

| genre = Hip-hop

| length = 65:49

| label = {{hlist|Terror Squad|Koch}}

| producer = {{hlist|DJ Khaled|Cool & Dre|Jim Jonsin|Diaz Brothers}}

| prev_title = Listennn... the Album

| prev_year = 2006

| next_title = We Global

| next_year = 2008

| misc = {{Singles

| name = We the Best

| type = studio

| single1 = We Takin' Over

| single1date = March 27, 2007

| single2 = I'm So Hood

| single2date = August 28, 2007

}}

}}

We the Best is the second studio album by American disc jockey and record producer DJ Khaled. It was released on June 12, 2007, by Terror Squad Entertainment and Koch Records. Khaled, alongside fellow American rapper Fat Joe, handled as the executive producers on the album. The album also was produced by The Runners, Drumma Boy, Cool & Dre, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Diaz Brothers, and Jim Jonsin; as well as this record features guest appearances from T-Pain, Akon, Rick Ross, Brisco, Flo Rida, Fat Joe, Cool & Dre, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, Plies, Birdman, Lil Wayne, Trick Daddy, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Trina, Paul Wall, Bun B, T.I., and Young Jeezy, among others.

Upon its release, We the Best received a mixed reception from critics, who found some of the tracks enjoyable and engaging, but felt it was over-bloated with lesser tracks and Khaled's persistent ad-libbing throughout the album. The record debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200. As of January 2008, the album has sold 440,000 copies in the United States. It was supported by two singles: "We Takin' Over" (featuring T.I., Akon, Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Birdman, and Lil Wayne), and the other Rick Ross-featured track, "I'm So Hood", alongside T-Pain, Trick Daddy, and Plies.

Singles

The album's lead single, called "We Takin' Over" was released on April 1, 2007. The song features guest vocals from American rappers T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Birdman, and Lil Wayne, alongside the musician Akon. The song was produced by Danja.

The album's second single, "I'm So Hood" was released on August 28, 2007. The song features guest vocals from American recording artist T-Pain, alongside fellow American rappers Trick Daddy, Plies, and Rick Ross (whom recently featured on the track and its previous single, "We Takin' Over"). The song was produced by The Runners.

The album{{'s}} promotional singles features two of the album's tracks—"I'm From The Ghetto" and "Brown Paper Bag"—in which has been released sometime in 2007.{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/DJ-Khaled-Im-From-The-Ghetto-Brown-Paper-Bag/release/10774031|title = Terror Squad Presents DJ Khaled – Im from the Ghetto / Brown Paper Bag (2007, Vinyl)|website = Discogs}}

Reception

=Critical reception=

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/we-the-best-mw0000583677|title=We the Best - DJ Khaled|last=Jeffries|first=David|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=August 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823052835/https://www.allmusic.com/album/we-the-best-mw0000583677|archive-date=August 23, 2015|url-status=live}}

| rev2 = DJBooth

| rev2Score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite web|url=https://djbooth.net/features/2007-06-18-dj-khaled-we-the-best-album-review|title=DJ Khaled - We The Best|last=Slavik|first=Nathan|website=DJBooth|date=June 18, 2007|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520175423/https://djbooth.net/features/2007-06-18-dj-khaled-we-the-best-album-review/|archive-date=May 20, 2022|url-status=live}}

| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev3Score = C{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20042666,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901083255/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20042666,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 1, 2007|title=We the Best|last=Matos|first=Michaelangelo|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|publisher=Time Inc.|date=June 15, 2007|access-date=July 27, 2011}}

| rev4 = HipHopDX

| rev4Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.807/title.dj-khaled-we-the-best|title=DJ Khaled - We The Best|last=Tardio|first=Andres|magazine=HipHopDX|publisher=Cheri Media Group|date=June 11, 2007|access-date=July 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026222324/https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.807/title.dj-khaled-we-the-best|archive-date=October 26, 2023|url-status=live}}

| rev5 = Pitchfork

| rev5Score = 4.8/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10359-we-the-best/|title=DJ Khaled: We the Best|last=Breihan|first=Tom|website=Pitchfork|date=June 28, 2007|access-date=May 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121135116/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10359-we-the-best/|archive-date=January 21, 2024|url-status=live}}

| rev6 = RapReviews

| rev6Score = 7.5/10{{cite web|url=https://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2007_06_wethebest.html|title=DJ Khaled :: We the Best :: Koch Records|last=Juon|first=Steve 'Flash'|website=RapReviews|date=June 19, 2007|access-date=July 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730201538/https://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2007_06_wethebest.html|archive-date=July 30, 2023|url-status=live}}

| rev7 = Rolling Stone

| rev7Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/14898806/review/14952976/we_the_best|title=We the Best : DJ Khaled : Review|last=Hoard|first=Christian|author-link=Christian Hoard|magazine=Rolling Stone|publisher=Wenner Media|date=May 31, 2007|access-date=July 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211172444/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/14898806/review/14952976/we_the_best|archive-date=December 11, 2008|url-status=dead}}

}}

We the Best received a generally mixed reception from music critics. Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews praised the album for showcasing great lyricism and production from some of the best rappers and producers working at the time but found Khaled's repeated trademark phrases annoying, concluding with: "Other than that though this album is good - hell it's even summer banger ride in your Jeep with it 'til October good. Just don't fool yourself into thinking that Khaled had anything to do with it other than putting the right people together in the right place at the right time." Rolling Stone{{'}}s Christian Hoard said that Khaled's beats weren't anything innovative but were used well thanks to a huge list of guest artists and tracks like "Hit Them Up" and "Brown Paper Bag" that he credited for being "big, dumb pleasures, just begging to blast from your SUV." AllMusic editor David Jeffries also praised the album for collecting a lot of capable guest artists to deliver great lyricism but found some of Khaled's catchphrases and geographical jumping through his producers as the album's shortcomings, concluding that, "Much more frustrating than a failure, We the Best earns a slight thumbs up if you think of it as a disjointed soundtrack or four-hit mixtape."

Andres Tardio of HipHopDX commented on the various tracks throughout the album, saying that some of them can grab the attention of the listeners but others will feel tiring with the overabundance of guest artists and their lack of focus in the lyrics. Pitchfork contributor Tom Breihan said that after the first single, the album starts to sound rote and generic with tracks that deliver more swagger-rap and less thought-provoking substance, concluding that "We the Best, it turns out, is indicative of one of the major problems with mainstream rap lately: too many rappers seem unwilling to drop their defenses and speak plainly." Nathan Slavik of DJBooth gave credit to the first two singles for having great production and solid artists performing on them but felt the rest of the track listing can get overbloated, saying "We the Best will hit at the charts, but as soon as the next major release comes around it will be forgotten."

=Commercial performance=

The album debuted at number 8 on the US Billboard 200, selling 79,000 copies in its first week.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/toby-keiths-big-dog-heads-straight-to-no-1-1051425/|title=Toby Keith's 'Big Dog' Heads Straight To No. 1|last=Hasty|first=Katie|magazine=Billboard|date=June 20, 2007|access-date=September 10, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016184649/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/toby-keiths-big-dog-heads-straight-to-no-1-1051425/|archive-date=October 16, 2023|url-status=live}} As of January 2008, the album has sold 440,000 copies in the United States.{{cite magazine|last=Diep|first=Eric|url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/10/dj-khaleds-complete-discography-by-the-numbers/3/|title=DJ Khaled's Complete Discography By The Numbers - Page 3 of 8 - XXL|magazine=XXL|publisher=Townsquare Media|date=October 21, 2013|access-date=October 22, 2013}}

Track listing

{{track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Intro (We the Best)

| writer1 = {{flat list|

| extra1 = DJ Khaled

| length1 = 1:57

| note1 = featuring Rick Ross

| title2 = The Movement (Skit)

| writer2 = Kim "K. Foxx" Jefferson

| length2 = 0:22

| note2 = featuring K. Foxx

| title3 = We Takin' Over

| writer3 = {{flat list|

| extra3 = Khaled

| length3 = 4:24

| note3 = featuring Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Birdman, and Lil Wayne

| title4 = Brown Paper Bag

| writer4 = {{flat list|

| extra4 = Cool & Dre

| length4 = 4:57

| note4 = featuring Dre, Young Jeezy, Juelz Santana, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne

| title5 = I'm So Hood

| writer5 = {{flat list|

| extra5 = Khaled

| length5 = 4:15

| note5 = featuring T-Pain, Trick Daddy, Rick Ross, and Plies

| title6 = Before the Solution

| writer6 = {{flat list|

| extra6 = Khaled

| length6 = 4:29

| note6 = featuring Beanie Sigel and Pooh Bear

| title7 = I'm from the Ghetto

| writer7 = {{flat list|

| extra7 = {{flat list|

  • Cool & Dre
  • Khaled}}

| length7 = 5:06

| note7 = featuring Dre, The Game, Jadakiss, and Trick Daddy

| title9 = Hit 'Em Up

| writer9 = {{flat list|

| extra9 = Khaled

| length9 = 3:20

| note9 = featuring Bun B and Paul Wall

| title10 = "S" on My Chest

| writer10 = {{flat list|

| extra10 = {{flat list|

| length10 = 4:10

| note10 = featuring Birdman and Lil Wayne

| title11 = Bitch I'm from Dade County

| writer11 = {{flat list|

| extra11 = Khaled

| length11 = 5:48

| note11 = featuring Dre, Trick Daddy, Trina, Rick Ross, Brisco, Flo Rida, and C-Ride

| title12 = The Originators

| writer12 = {{flat list|

}}

| extra12 = Khaled

| length12 = 6:18

| note12 = featuring Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

| title13 = New York

| writer13 = {{flat list|

| extra13 = Cool & Dre

| length13 = 5:54

| note13 = featuring Ja Rule, Fat Joe, and Jadakiss

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Wal-Mart edition (bonus tracks)

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title13 = I'm So Hood (Remix)

| writer13 = {{flat list|

| extra13 = Khaled

| length13 = 5:42

| note13 = featuring T-Pain, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Fat Joe, Birdman, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Best Buy bonus tracks

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title13 = The Streets

| writer13 = {{flat list|

| extra13 = Khaled

| length13 = 3:46

| note13 = featuring Shareefa and Willy Northpole

| title14 = No Hook

| writer14 = {{flat list|

| extra14 = Morales

| length14 = 3:55

| note14 = featuring Jim Jones, Styles P, Cassidy, and Rob Cash

| title15 = Choppers

| writer15 = {{flat list|

  • Khaled
  • Valenzano
  • Lyon}}

| extra15 = {{flat list|

  • Cool & Dre
  • Khaled}}

| length15 = 4:47

| note15 = featuring Dre, Joe Hound, and C-Ride

| title16 = Make It Rain (Remix)

| writer16 = {{flat list|

  • Cartagena
  • Carter, Jr.
  • Robert Kelly
  • Harris, Jr.
  • Williams
  • Roberts II
  • Khaled}}

| extra16 = Storch

| length16 = 7:00

| note16 = performed by Fat Joe featuring Lil Wayne, R. Kelly, T.I., Birdman, Rick Ross, and Ace Mac

| title17 = Sexy Lady (Remix)

| writer17 = {{flat list|

| extra17 = {{flat list|

  • Rob Holladay
  • Khaled}}

| length17 = 4:46

| note17 = performed by Yung Berg featuring Jim Jones and Rich Boy

}}

;Notes

  • On the Wal-Mart edition of the album, "Hit 'Em Up", was being removed from its track listing on the album.
  • "Intro (We the Best)" and "**** I'm from Dade County" do not include the vocals from Rick Ross in some markets and only his vocals included on the Best Buy edition.
  • Tracks "187" and "Hit 'Em Up" are not included in the digital version.

;Sample credits

  • "We Takin' Over" contains a sample of "C.R.E.A.M." as performed by Wu-Tang Clan.
  • "Brown Paper Bag" contains a sample of "If I Can't Have You" as performed by Yvonne Elliman.
  • "S" on My Chest" contains a sample of "Get Your Shine On" as performed by Birdman.

Personnel

Credits for We the Best adapted from AllMusic.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/we-the-best-mw0000583677/credits|title=We the Best - DJ Khaled | Credits|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=May 15, 2015}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

  • Andrew Kelley – art direction, design
  • Ian Mereness – Pro Tools
  • Eddie Montilla – piano
  • Regena Ratcliffe – print production
  • Leroy Barbie Romans – keyboards
  • Douglas Sadler – producer
  • Paul Alfonso – SEIR
  • Gina Victoria – assistant engineer

{{col-end}}

Charts

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

=Weekly charts=

class="wikitable sortable"
align="left"|Chart (2007)

!align="left"|Peak
position

{{album chart|Billboard200|8|artist=DJ Khaled|access-date=May 14, 2015}}
{{album chart|BillboardIndependent|1|artist=DJ Khaled|access-date=May 14, 2015}}
{{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|2|artist=DJ Khaled|access-date=May 14, 2015}}
{{album chart|BillboardRap|2|artist=DJ Khaled|access-date=May 14, 2015}}

{{col-2}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable sortable"
scope="col"|Chart (2007)

!scope="col"|Position

US Billboard 200{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2007/top-billboard-200-albums|title=2007 Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums|magazine=Billboard|access-date=May 14, 2015|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614072559/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2007/top-billboard-200-albums|archive-date=June 14, 2015|url-status=live}}

| style="text-align:center;"|193

US Top Independent Albums{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2007/top-independent-albums|title=2007 Year-End Charts: Independent Albums|magazine=Billboard|access-date=May 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726120320/http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2007/top-independent-albums|archive-date=July 26, 2015|url-status=dead}}

| style="text-align:center;"|11

US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2007/top-r-b-hip-hop-albums|title=2007 Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|magazine=Billboard|access-date=May 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150719031625/http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2007/top-r-b-hip-hop-albums|archive-date=July 19, 2015|url-status=dead}}

| style="text-align:center;"|56

scope="col"|Chart (2008)

!scope="col"|Position

US Top Independent Albums{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2008/top-independent-albums|title=2008 Year-End Charts: Independent Albums|magazine=Billboard|access-date=May 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705181120/http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2008/top-independent-albums|archive-date=July 5, 2015|url-status=dead}}

| style="text-align:center;"|50

{{col-end}}

References

{{Reflist}}

{{DJ Khaled}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2007 albums

Category:DJ Khaled albums

Category:E1 Music albums

Category:Albums produced by Jim Jonsin

Category:Albums produced by Danja (record producer)

Category:Albums produced by Cool & Dre

Category:Albums produced by Kane Beatz

Category:Albums produced by the Runners

Category:Albums produced by DJ Khaled