Drake calls out DJ Khaled's silence on Palestine in new track

“Drake calls out DJ Khaled's silence on Palestine in new track Submitted by Ghalia Mohamed on Fri, 05/15/2026 - 12:15 The Canadian rapper also makes several Middle East references in his three surprise album drops early on Friday Canadian rapper Drake (left) released three new albums on 15 May 2026, and 'dissed' Palestinian-American rapper DJ Khaled in one of the tracks (Carmen Mandato /Getty Images via AFP and Chris Graythen / Getty Images via AFP) Off Drake appears to call out Palestinian rapper and producer DJ Khaled over his lack of support and advocacy for Palestine in a new track. The "diss" was in his new album Iceman , one of three albums that the Canadian rapper surprised fans with on Friday. One verse in his song Make Them Pay in particular sparked conversation online, as it appeared to directly reference Palestine and DJ Khaled, whose real name is Khaled Mohammed Khaled. Drake raps: "And, Khaled, you know what I mean / The beef was fully live, you went halal and got on your deen / And your people are still waitin' for a free Palestine / But apparently everything isn't black and white and red and green." The lyrics are just the latest pointed criticisms of DJ Khaled, who has been slammed by fans, activists and public figures alike since 2023 for not speaking out against Israel 's genocide in Gaza. American comedian Dave Chappelle famously called out DJ Khaled during a comedy show last year, when he said: "DJ Khaled, let me tell you something. For a Palestinian, this man is awfully quiet right now, and as a Palestinian, how could you be that quiet right now?" as much as i criticize drake he was one of the first major artists to sign on to the artists for a ceasefire petition. literally 23 days after october 7. https://t.co/YB8IX87Q0K pic.twitter.com/Liknmjaxjn — hasanabi (@hasanthehun) May 15, 2026 Despite increased international outrage over Israel's brutal military campaign and the dire conditions in the Gaza Strip, DJ Khaled, who proudly embraces his Palestinian heritage in his music and interviews , has avoided publicly commenting on the matter, and has also never acknowledged the criticism directed at him. Middle East Eye has reached out to DJ Khaled for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication. Drake made several references to Middle Eastern countries and Islamic practice in Iceman , with lines including: "My YGs are fastin' and prayin' / You lucky it's Ramadan" in the track titled Whisper My Name and "I'm at the Bulgari in Turkey" in the track Make Them Cry . One of the albums released on Friday was also titled Habibti , Arabic for "my love". While some online have pointed out that Drake has not been an outspoken advocate for Palestine despite his criticism of DJ Khaled, others highlighted that the rapper was one of the first major artists to sign the Artists4Ceasefire letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in October 2023. Music Trending Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0

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