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.
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But while Khaled’s DJ name has become globally known, it turns out he originally went by a very different moniker when performing.
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.
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“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.
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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.”
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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?"
Jess Hardiman