endocrine universality: DJ Khaled Tallies His Losses After Tour Bus Fire

Friday, May 4, 2012

DJ Khaled Tallies His Losses After Tour Bus Fire

'I was on my laptop listening to my album. It's the only thing I grabbed,' Khaled tells Sway about the incident on 'RapFix Live.'
By Carter Maness, with reporting by Sway Calloway

DJ Khaled
Photo: MTV News

It all started with a bare tire. At least that's what DJ Khaled told Sway on Wednesday's "RapFix Live" about his recent tour bus explosion. A video of the incident, showing Khaled reflecting on the loss while the bus was engulfed in a mountain of flames, has been making the rounds, but the Miami DJ/producer finally explained what happened in the exclusive interview.

Apparently, a bare tire caused the large bus to overcompensate and heat up on the bottom. The growing temperature hit flammable material on the back end and, upon exiting the bus, everything under the hood was burnt.

"In no longer than five minutes, the whole bus was completely on fire," Khaled told Sway, still dumbfounded by the experience. "I wasn't scared. I got real stressed at a moment. I had to stop, and my camera man, Daze, was like 'I'm gonna film this. I gotta capture this.' "

Losses for Khaled include at least 150 pairs of sneakers and up to $600,000 in jewelry, including two big-faced Rolex watches. Knowing time was limited, he and his crew made sure to grab the most important thing: music for his upcoming album."I was on my laptop listening to my album. It's the only thing I grabbed," he said. "That's the album. Very important... Everybody sacrificed to make sure we got the laptop and the drive."

More than any material loss, Khaled was thankful that everyone got through the experience unscathed. "We all go through pains and stress. We here," he said. "It is what it is, but we got life."

Khaled also has some friends in high places to make life easier. Upon hearing the news, Cash Money honcho Birdman stepped up and immediately gave him a new bus from his fleet. "He called me when his bus blew, and it wasn't too far from where we stash our buses at," Birdman told Sway. "I was fortunate enough to send a bus to him and make sure he could continue his journey."

DJ Khaled's sixth album, Kiss The Ring, is expected later this year.

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