DJ Khaled, impresario and bon vivant, has attached his name to some of the biggest hip-hop hits of the past decade. Thing is, it’s often unclear what he actually does. He’s a producer, but rarely credited as doing such, and he does not rap on these tracks. Ask the average hip-hop fan what he actually does and they’ll likely tell you that he is a middleman, a broker. He brings people together for the sole purpose of making rap so resolutely dedicated to its own sense of superiority that it is impervious to criticism. And a truly great DJ Khaled song delivers a thrill not too dissimilar from, say, dunking on a seven-foot basket—you just feel at least three feet taller than usual. I mean, "Bugatti" had me convinced for at least 30 seconds that Ace Hood was a transformative, generational artist.

The track record of We the Best Music Group made the avid Miami Heat fan and NBA conspiracy theorist an obvious choice to curate the soundtrack for NBA 2k16, due out in late September—he isn’t being asked to make beats or scout talent. In addition to putting together a playlist, he’s being asked to perform in his most expert and entertaining capacity, as that of a megaphone and living brand. If you’ve heard any DJ Khaled track or seen any DJ Khaled interview, you can expect him to state in no uncertain terms, as often as possible, that "We The Best".

A few weeks after we spoke, the soundtrack for NBA 2k16 was released, and it appears to be the strongest one yet—you might even say it’s "The Best". Hell, it might be the best soundtrack for any sports game, though that could be damning by faint praise. After all, Madden16 just released its soundtrack and it includes the likes of Blackberry Smoke and a Yelawolf song that isn’t "Hard White (Up in the Club)". NBA 2k on the other hand, has wisely avoided the Bruce Levenson-style bullshit about how the NBA should be less affiliated with hip-hop in order to attract a wider demographic. As recently as NBA 2k12, you’d have to endure the likes of Middle Class Rut, James Bugg and lord help us—Chiddy Bang—while trying to figure out the proper six-move sequence to make a maneuver in the post. The next year, Jay Z was brought on as executive producer and the past two releases have been curated by LeBron James and Pharrell Williams, respectively.

When I sit down to discuss this exciting development in gaming with DJ Khaled, he gives me approximately seven minutes of his time to answer questions about his involvement. In the span of those seven minutes, he proclaims "we the best" about a dozen times. He wants to make this perfectly clear—otherwise, that’s how rumors get started about him not being The Best. Props to dude for being robotically on brand.

Pitchfork: When you use Create-a-Player in NBA 2k, are you modeled after your actual physical characteristics?

DJ Khaled: I’m one of them guys that tries to make everything the best of the best, so sometimes I’m out of control with it. I’m just gonna use every feature to make me *outrageous—*the best. Some of the guys when they play, they try to keep it reality. Nah, I need the best everything.

Pitchfork: Do have any favorite rock bands that you wanted to include?

Khaled: I don’t have no favorite rock bands. I’m a fan of rock music though. When I was a kid, I loved Van Halen and Guns N' Roses, y’know [sings "Welcome to the Jungle"]. I always wanted to redo that song hip-hop style, so maybe we can make it happen and call it "Welcome to the Jungle".