Hollis Johnson
DJ Khaled speaking to Business Insider in 2016 at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.
In October 2015, DJ Khaled's eighth album, "I Changed a Lot," debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard album chart, moving an unremarkable 19,000 copies in its first week.It was the lowest-selling album of Khaled's career.
The LP's tepid performance suggested that the once-ubiquitous Miami DJ - who boasted several platinum-selling hip-hop posse cuts ("We Takin' Over," "All I Do Is Win," "I'm on One") between 2007 and 2011 - had steadily lost his tastemaker's touch in popular culture.
Everything changed in December 2015, when Khaled got lost on a jet ski in the Atlantic Ocean and took to Snapchat to document his journey to safety. Khaled's footage of the event went viral.
Now, with over six million followers on Snapchat, Khaled's daily presence on the app and other social media has proven to be a colossally rejuvenating marketing tool for the 41-year-old producer.
In July 2016, buoyed by his millions of new followers and revived visibility, Khaled rode a wave of popularity to his first number-one album, "Major Key."
On the strength of his biggest single to date, "I'm the One," his new tenth album "Grateful" (out this Friday) is looking like it will be the blockbuster event of his career.
Here are four ways DJ Khaled has recaptured the charts and revitalized his career: