Drake Calls Out DJ Khaled Over Gaza Silence in Surprise Multi-Album Drop

Canadian rapper Drake released three albums in a surprise drop and used one track on his latest project to take aim at fellow producer DJ Khaled over his silence regarding the Israel-Gaza war. The callout appeared on the song Make Them Pay from ICEMAN, part of the multi-album release, in which Drake references Khaled by name and includes lyrics urging Palestinian liberation.

The lyrics, delivered in the middle of the album’s tracklist, directly link Khaled to public expectations during the ongoing conflict. In Make Them Pay, Drake says, “Khaled, you know what I mean,” followed by lines including “your people are still waitin for a free Palestine,” and “apparently everything isn’t black and white and red and green.” The emphasis on “free Palestine” quickly drove online discussion about whether Drake was challenging Khaled’s public stance, rather than focusing only on industry rivalry.

DJ Khaled has faced criticism from activists and fans in the past year for not using his platform to more directly address Gaza, according to the broader public debate reflected in the reports. Drake’s inclusion of the message in a mainstream release added a new, explicit layer to that scrutiny,...