The newest album from Dj Khaled was released on June 23. "Grateful" is another star-studded affair from the Miami DJ known for hits such as "All I Do Is Win" and "I'm On One." The latest offering from Khaled brought forth several contenders already for summer hip-hop hits including "I'm the One" featuring Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne, as well as "Shining" by Beyonce and Jay-Z. Unfortunately, DJ Khaled's "Grateful" album has been bashed in many of the critics' reviews.

'Grateful' tops charts

The new Khaled album features a whopping 23 tracks, some of which are skits or interludes.

Among the guests stopping by are Nicki Minaj, Nas, Future, Migos, Rick Ross, Big Sean, Raekwon, Pusha T, Jadakiss, Alicia Keys and Travis Scott. Those are just a few of the stars listed on the tracklist, and unfortunately, many of them seem lost on this latest outing from Khaled.

At the Apple iTunes digital music charts, Khaled has taken over. "Grateful" tops the hip-hop albums at No. 1 and as of this report was second to only "Evolve" by Imagine Dragons on the overall chart. Most likely, the album will have a high debut on Billboard's charts when they are released in the coming days.

What reviews say

While Khaled's album has done well based on previous popularity and of course all of those guest stars, reviewers certainly aren't in love with the latest project.

The Guardian's Michael Cragg gave it three out of five stars saying it's ruined by Khaled's trademark hyped-up yelling of "Another One" or "We the Best." Most listeners may have already been prepared for these sort of call-outs from the popular DJ, but it could grow tiresome after a while to newer listeners.

In an even harsher review, USA Today's Maeve McDermott calls the album "90 minutes of pain." While the reviewer calls some of the album's singles among Khaled's best work to date, they mention that the rest of the album is watered down by ho-hum performances.

That includes Travis Scott and Future appearing on multiple songs and not in any inspiring fashion.

A GQ review mentions that most of the tracks on the new album "sound the same" despite the staggering quantity and quality of guests on the tracklist. A standout song that GQ's reviewer points out is the track "Good Man" which features veteran rappers Pusha T and Jadakiss.

The track includes Pusha praising legendary hip-hop stars Biggie and 2Pac, while also bringing up images from his drug-dealing past. Jadakiss joins in and offers his elevated wordplay as well to make this one of the top tracks not released to the public until the album dropped.

With all that said, there are good reviews out there, and there are plenty of fans who love Khaled's work. Fans of the various guest stars on the album can simply preview tracks to pick and choose those they may want to download, rather than opting to pick up the entire "Grateful" album.
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