What Happened to Lil Jon?

By CelebPaid Editorial Team · 8 min read

Lil Jon.Image via Wikimedia Commons

The Rise to Fame

Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were instrumental in the genre's commercial breakthrough in the early 2000s. He was also the frontman of the group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, with whom he has released five albums.

Having been credited on most crunk releases throughout the 2000s, Lil Jon produced several of the genre's Billboard Hot 100 hits including "Salt Shaker" by Ying Yang Twins, "Cyclone" by Baby Bash, "Damn!" by YoungBloodZ, "Freek-a-Leek" by Petey Pablo, "Goodies" by Ciara, and "Yeah!" by Usher. The latter won Lil Jon a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance as part of his five Grammy Award nominations. As a lead artist, three of his own singles—"Lovers and Friends" (with the East Side Boyz featuring Usher and Ludacris), "Get Low" (with the East Side Boyz featuring Ying Yang Twins), and "Snap Yo Fingers" (featuring E-40 and Sean P)—peaked within the chart's top ten. His debut studio album, Crunk Rock (2010), was met with lukewarm critical and commercial response.

In 2013, Lil Jon released "Turn Down for What" (with DJ Snake), an EDM single that has been certified 8× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song went on to win the Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Song. Its accompanying music video was nominated for Best Music Video at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, and passed the milestone of 1 billion views on YouTube in 2020. Listed as one of the Top Billboard Music Award Winners of All Time in 2016, Lil Jon has amassed his eight number one singles on Billboard's Rhythmic chart.

Early life

The Peak Years

Smith was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in the city's Southwest Atlanta region. He is the oldest of five children born to his father, an aerospace engineer with former military service, and his mother, with a medical career within the military. Three of his siblings would later follow their parents' lead and also serve in the United States military.

Smith attended Beecher Hills Elementary School and Southwest Middle School, both located within the Atlanta Public Schools district. His mother described him as a high achiever early on in addition to being independent and a passionate reader. While in middle school, Smith became lifelong friends with Robert McDowell, Dwayne "Emperor" Searcy (future DJ and radio personality for Radio One's WHTA), and Vince Phillips (named as one of Billboard's Top Music Lawyers since 2020), who would become business partners. The foursome quickly became immersed in the skateboarding culture and would later work at Skate Escape, a popular skate and bicycle shop near the city's iconic Piedmont Park. While his best friends attended Benjamin E. Mays High School, Smith attended Frederick Douglass High School for their magnet program and was a member of the marching band. They also began to frequently attend concerts at the Masquerade, to see their favorite bands, including Agent Orange and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

At the age of 15, Smith taught himself how to DJ, and although his parents were strict, they gave him a chance to work on his DJ skills by allowing him to have house parties in the basement of the family home, citing that they would rather have him under their watch than for him to "be in the street somewhere wilding out". The parties, hosted by Smith and Searcy, "Old Eng and Chicken Wing" became popular with local teens. In addition to working at the skate shop, Smith also began spinning at house parties and working in local dance clubs as a DJ. Eventually, Smith became an in-house DJ at Phoenix, a popular Atlanta nightclub at the time. It was there he would meet established music artists such as Jermaine Dupri, TLC, the Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, and Mary J. Blige.

After graduating from high school, Lil Jon continued to work as a DJ in popular downtown Atlanta clubs; it was there he met Jermaine Dupri. When it came to hiring an A&R to lead his Atlanta-based record label So So Def Recordings, Dupri stated that "All I could think about was Lil Jon, because he was the person in the clubs. He knew people, DJs knew him. I had to hire him."

What Changed

After he was promoted to Executive Vice President of A&R, Lil Jon recruited DJ Smurf, Shawty Redd, Raheem the Dream, and Playa Poncho with others to create the compilation album series, So So Def Bass All-Stars as his first project. Released on May 12, 1996, the album was a success, selling over 500,000 units and was certified gold by the RIAA on September 19, 1996, four months after its initial release. The album, executive produced by Lil Jon, included the hit single "My Boo" by Ghost Town DJ's. It was sampled by Ciara in her 2013 hit single "Body Party". In 2016, 20 years after its initial release, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 29 due to a viral dance video. Lil Jon completed the series, releasing So So Def Bass All-Stars Vol. II (1997) and So So Def Bass All-Stars Vol. III (1998).

Apart from his label commitments, Lil Jon was a radio personality and DJ on Atlanta radio station, V-103, continued to produce music for outside music artists, and was still working as a DJ at popular clubs around the city.

1995–2005: Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz

In 1995, Lil Jon collaborated with Big Sam and Lil' Bo to form a rap group: Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz.

Where Lil Jon Is Now

In 1996, the group released their debut single, "Who U Wit?". The song is credited as bringing the term "crunk" into hip-hop currency. In 1997, the group released their debut album Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album. The singles, "Who U Wit" and "Shawty Freak a Lil Sumtin'", charted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 70 and number 62, respectively.

In 2000, through the newly created label Black Market, the group released their breakthrough album We Still Crunk!!, which featured the single "I Like Dem Girlz", which reached number 55 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 3 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart.

Bryan Leach, formerly an A&R executive at the now defunct New York-based label TVT Records, heard about the group and attended their Atlanta show. He was blown away by the group's immense energy. Leach told HitQuarters: "It was like early Beastie Boys, when they had the energy of a rock group but they were rapping and it was just so different. Jon and I even referred to Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz as the black Beastie Boys because that energy is what crunk music is all about." By 2002, Leach signed Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz to TVT Records with Black Market delivering the albums to the label. The group released the album Put Yo Hood Up, which combined previously released tracks with new ones. "Bia' Bia'" (featuring Ludacris, Too Short, Big Kap, and Chyna Whyte) was the group's first single to be played nationally. "Bia' Bia'" peaked at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 47 on the Billboard R&B chart. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in June 2002.

In 2002, the group released their sophomore studio album under the label Kings of Crunk with the song "I Don't Give a Fuck" (featuring Mystikal and Krayzie Bone) as the first single. It peaked at number 50 on the Billboard R&B chart. The group's next single, "Get Low" (featuring Ying Yang Twins), became popular in nightclubs nationwide; it reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified multi-platinum by the RIAA in August 2004. The song was also featured in Need for Speed: Underground, which plays in the main menu as well as gameplay. In 2003, the group released Part II, a remix album of previously released singles with two new songs.

Legacy

In 2004, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz released what would be the group's last studio album, Crunk Juice. The lead single "What U Gon' Do" (featuring Lil Scrappy) peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 13 on the Billboard R&B chart, and number 5 on the Billboard Rap chart. The second single, "Lovers and Friends" (featuring Usher and Ludacris), peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 2 on the Billboard R&B Chart, and number 1 on the Billboard Rap chart. The album was certified multi-platinum in January 2005, two months after it was released. In 2005, after releasing six studio albums together and amidst ongoing creative and financial conflicts with TVT, the group disbanded.

2006–present: Solo career

In 2006, Lil Jon, in an attempt to fulfill his obligations to TVT, released the single "Snap Yo Fingers" (featuring E-40 and Sean P). The song peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum on November 22, 2006. After the song was released, Lil Jon vowed to never record for TVT Records again. In 2008, TVT Records, embroiled in legal battles, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In 2009, Lil Jon was featured alongside Sean Paul on Jay Sean's double platinum single "Do You Remember" that was featured in the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid. On February 16, 2010, Lil Jon released a song with Jamie Drastik called "How Many Girls" which is as a track to Drastik's mixtape, The Magnet....

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