DJ Khaled Opens One-of-a-Kind SNIPES Concept Store in Miami: ‘Never Been Done Before’

DJ Khaled is no stranger to making his wild thoughts a reality.

The producer’s latest endeavor is We the Best x SNIPES, a larger-than-life concept store in the heart of Miami Beach that is essentially an extension of Khaled himself.

Ahead of the shop’s Aug. 3 opening, Khaled, 47, along with SNIPES CEO Sven Voth and SNIPES USA President Jim Bojko, spoke with PEOPLE about the mammoth effort, which they say has been a long time coming.

According to Voth, the idea for the Miami location “popped up quite immediately” after the brand began working with Khaled, who, shortly after a 2019 SNIPES campaign, clicked with the company and came aboard as chief creative officer — a title he does not take lightly.

“I’m taking everything so serious,” the producer tells PEOPLE. “This is very special [and] unique, but what I love about it is it’s something that the city’s going to love — the young world’s going to love.”

After telling the SNIPES CEO that he “needs a store” on his first day, Khaled embarked on a rain-or-shine quest for the perfect location in Miami (a city he not only lives in but also has the keys to), and found it — in the middle of a hurricane.

“He was driving with his car through South Beach and was looking for a good site, and then he was standing in the hurricane having me on the phone showing me,” Voth says. “And he said, ‘This is my store.’”

When the 6,105-square-foot retail space — which was occupied when Khaled found it — finally freed up, it was time for the chief creative officer to get creative.

Both the DJ and streetwear brand wanted to ensure that the collaborative retail experience was not only a store but also a hub for the community.

Thus, outside of retail necessities, the Miami Beach location is outfitted with a raised DJ booth, free recording studio for local artists and a glassed-in office where Khaled will do business when he is in town.

Khaled says the unique set-up is a way to “show how much I’m in love with this opportunity to be there.”

Used to working on the go, the Grammy winner says he always has “some type of studio” with him, whether he’s in a hotel room, rented house — or even a plane. So, doing “business in the back” of the sneaker shop isn’t a far-fetched notion.

“The way I make music — I’m in the middle of working on new music as we speak — I bring a set-up everywhere I go,” Khaled tells PEOPLE. “It’s great to have a studio set up there in case I have to do some drops or record stuff for my album or do a feature or just listen back to new stuff I’m working on.”

“I think it’s unique and special,” he says. “I think it’s never been done before.”

Bojko adds, “When you see it, it’s clear Khaled means business. It’s not just a little area that looks nice [or] a shrine to Khaled, which would be fun also, but he’s there to work. He’s there to meet. He’s there to welcome the community.”

According to Khaled, the We the Best x SNIPES store is more than a community hub, retail experience and workspace, however. “It’s a landmark.”

“If I go to New York, I go to Times Square,” he says. “If you go to Paris, you have to go to the Eiffel Tower. This is a monumental location, and besides it being an incredible store to shop in, it’s somewhere you’re going to want to take a picture even if you don’t want to walk in.”

If the store is as monumental as Khaled’s vision for it, visitors will flood in each day — Voth says people have already been lining up outside its door for days — but the DJ doesn’t think this will pose any distractions.

“I’m a guy that can multitask in so many ways,” Khaled says.

And while he may be making music in the back, he says the in-store DJ won’t be spinning purely Khaled-produced tracks.

“We’re going to be playing all types of music. I love music. I come from music,” he says, noting that the store’s soundtrack will “go off” of what visitors and employees want to listen to.

“That’s what it’s about, Snipes and We The Best. It’s about the people,” he says. “It’s really just about love and us coming together and celebrating music and hip-hop culture and lifestyle and community and blessings.”

[via]