DJ Khaled’s new album Grateful shines with the glitz and glamor that comes with being successful, but one luxury item stands above the rest throughout the album: Patek Philippe watches.
Patek Philippe & Co. is a Switzerland-based watch manufacturer; founder Antoni Patek began making pocket watches with Franciszek Czapek in 1835. The duo eventually split and Patek began to work with France’s Adrien Philippe leading to the creation of the Patek Philippe company in 1851. The brand came to America in 1935 and developed a reputation as a company that took the art of watchmaking seriously. Queen Victoria and Albert Einstein both wore Patek Phillippe watches, which are some of the most expensive ever produced—some sell for as much as 2.6 million dollars.
On Grateful, a host of rappers reference their Patek Phillippe watches and just how costly they are. On the album’s lead single “Shining,” which features both JAY-Z and Beyoncé, Jay mentions that he’s owned one of the watches for years:
Plain Patek, been had it
Flooded when I got it from Khaled
Jay previously owned a Patek Philippe, but was gifted another one that was “flooded” with diamonds from DJ Khaled. The lyrics also reference Future and Lil Uzi Vert’s “Too Much Sauce,” where Future also alludes to owning a plain Patek:
Patek Philippe, the plain one, that’s too much sauce
On “That Range Rover Came With Steps”, Yo Gotti mentions the watch and another luxury timepiece brand:
Patek Philippe it AP, 40 mil I’m all in
“AP” in this case refers to the Audemars Piguet watch, another Swiss watch manufacturer that went into business nearly 25 years after Patek Philippe & Co.
Future crowns himself as watch royalty on “I Can’t Even Lie”:
King of the Patek, clarity showing without even knowing
“Clairty showing” references the clarity of the diamonds in the watch, which ranks how many flaws are visible within each stone.
“Major Bag Alert” includes all three of the Migos rapping about the watch. Quavo adds diamonds to his:
Plain Patek, Plain Jane, fill it with ice (ice)
Offset compares the ice in his watch to a blizzard:
Patek Philippe with the snow in the wind
Takeoff confirms that he has a Patek, and not an opposing brand:
Two Peak Patek, no Pele
Brazlian soccer player Pele was voted the World Player Of The Century in 1999, and is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. Long after he retired in the early ‘70s, Pele received an endorsement deal with luxury watch brand Hublot in 2014; the watches were created to promote that year’s World Cup.
“Iced Out My Arms” is where a big chunk of the album’s Patek Philippe references lie. Offset gives a peek into just how much the watch can cost:
This is a hundred Patek, 20 more for baguettes
The watch can cost $100,000, and additional $20,000 to add diamond baguettes.
Takeoff impresses women with his watch:
She saw the Patek and got undressed for sex (‘Tek)
21 Savage brags about owning two different watches, including one of the aforementioned Hublots:
Patek drippin', Hublot drippin'
Rap veteran T.I. also owns the rare watch:
The Patek Philippe sit right on my wrist
Finally, the chorus includes a mention of the watch, led by Future:
I got Patek on my arms
Grateful is the follow up DJ Khaled’s 2016 album Major Key, which features the Gold-certified single “For Free” by Drake.
Read all the lyrics to DJ Khaled’s Grateful on Genius now.
