We the Best

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 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.

Reception

Critical reception

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 Stones 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. As of January 2008, the album has sold 440,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing

• Khaled Khaled

• William Roberts II}}

• Khaled

• Clifford Harris, Jr.

• Aliaune Thiam

• Roberts II

• Joseph Cartagena

• Bryan Williams

• Dwayne Carter, Jr.

• Floyd Nathaniel Hills}}

• Khaled

• Jay Jenkins

• LaRon James

• Roberts II

• Carter, Jr.

• Cartagena

• Barry Gibb

• Maurice Gibb

• Robin Gibb

• Marcello Valenzano

• Andre Lyon}}

• Khaled

• Faheem Najm

• Maurice Young

• Roberts II

• Algernod Washington}}

• Khaled

• Dwight Grant

• Jason "Pooh Bear" Boyd}}

• Khaled

• Jayceon Taylor

• Jason Phillips

• Young

• Valenzano

• Lyon}}

• Cool & Dre

• Khaled}}

• Khaled

• Bernard Freeman

• Paul Slayton

• Harr

• Jackson}}

• Khaled

• Williams

• Carter, Jr.

• Daniel Johnson}}

• Kane Beatz

• Khaled}}

• Khaled

• Lyon

• Young

• Katrina Taylor

• Roberts II

• British Mitchell

• Tramar Dillard

• Christian "C-Ride" Coates}}

• Khaled

• Anthony Henderson

• Byron McCane

• Charles Scruggs

• Stanley Howse

• Steve Howse

• Khaled

• Jeffrey Atkins

• Cartagena

• Phillips

• Valenzano

• Lyon}}

• Khaled

• Najm

• Jenkins

• Christopher Bridges

• Trevor Smith

• Antwan Patton

• Williams

• Roberts II

• Carter, Jr.

• Cartagena

• Harr

• Jackson}}

• Khaled

• Sharieefah Cooper

• William Adams

• Harr

• Jackson}}

• Khaled

• Joseph Jones

• David Styles

• Barry Reese

• Steve Morales}}

• Khaled

• Valenzano

• Lyon}}

• Cool & Dre

• Khaled}}

• Cartagena

• Carter, Jr.

• Robert Kelly

• Harris, Jr.

• Williams

• Roberts II

• Khaled}}

• Christopher Ward

• Jones

• Marece Richards}}

• Rob Holladay

• Khaled}}

;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.

• Robert "Big Briz" Brisbane – engineer
• Ryan Deaunovich – mixing assistant
• Luis Diaz – mixing
• Ben Diehl – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
• Jeff Edwards – engineer
• John Franck – video producer
• Abel Garibaldi – engineer, programming
• Paul Grosso – creative director
• Thomas "T" Hatcher – bass guitar
• Terrell Jones – stylist
• 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

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

References

1. "Terror Squad Presents DJ Khaled – Im from the Ghetto / Brown Paper Bag (2007, Vinyl)".
2. Jeffries, David. "We the Best - DJ Khaled". [[AllMusic]].
3. Slavik, Nathan. (June 18, 2007). "DJ Khaled - We The Best".
4. Matos, Michaelangelo. (June 15, 2007). "We the Best". [[Time Inc.]].
5. Tardio, Andres. (June 11, 2007). "DJ Khaled - We The Best". Cheri Media Group.
6. Breihan, Tom. (June 28, 2007). "DJ Khaled: We the Best".
7. Juon, Steve 'Flash'. (June 19, 2007). "DJ Khaled :: We the Best :: Koch Records".
8. Hoard, Christian. (May 31, 2007). "We the Best : DJ Khaled : Review". [[Jann Wenner.
9. Hasty, Katie. (June 20, 2007). "Toby Keith's 'Big Dog' Heads Straight To No. 1".
10. Diep, Eric. (October 21, 2013). "DJ Khaled's Complete Discography By The Numbers - Page 3 of 8 - XXL". [[Townsquare Media]].
11. "We the Best - DJ Khaled | Credits". AllMusic.
12. (June 24, 2007). "Albums : Top 100".
13. "2007 Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums".
14. "2007 Year-End Charts: Independent Albums".
15. "2007 Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums".
16. "2008 Year-End Charts: Independent Albums".