Lil Jon

Not to be confused with Little John.

Lil Jon
Lil Jon in 2007
Lil Jon in 2007
Background information
Birth nameJonathan H. Smith
Born (1972-01-17) January 17, 1972 (age 52)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
  • disc jockey
  • record producer
  • music executive
Discography
Years active1991–present
Labels
Formerly ofLil Jon & the East Side Boyz
Spouse
Nicole
​
(m. 2004)​
Children1
Websiteliljon.com

Jonathan H. Smith[1] (born January 17, 1972),[2] better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. He was instrumental in the commercial breakthrough of the hip hop subgenre crunk in the early 2000s and is often credited as a progenitor of the genre.[3] He was the frontman of the crunk group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, with whom he has released five albums.[4][5] In addition, Lil Jon served as a producer for most recordings by artists who popularized the genre; these include Pitbull, Too Short, E-40, Ludacris, Ciara, and Usher.[6]

Lil Jon has produced several Billboard Hot 100 hit singles including "Salt Shaker", "Cyclone", "Get Low", "Snap Yo Fingers", "Damn!", "Freek-a-Leek", "Lovers and Friends", "Goodies" and "Yeah!".[7] The lattermost won Lil Jon a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance as part of his five Grammy Award nominations.[8]

In 2013, Lil Jon released "Turn Down for What" (with DJ Snake), an EDM single which was certified octuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[9] The song went on to win the Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Song.[10] The accompanying music video was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, and passed the milestone of 1 billion views on YouTube seven years after it was released.[11] Listed as one of the Top Billboard Music Award Winners of All Time in 2016,[12] Lil Jon has amassed his eight number one singles on Billboard's Rhythmic chart.[13]

  1. ^ "Credits | off and Running | POV". PBS. January 10, 2010.
  2. ^ Irvin, Jack. "Lil Jon Talks Shifting His Focus from Music to Designing Homes on HGTV: 'That's How You Have Longevity'". People. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Sarig, Roni. "Lil Jon heralds a new Southern music movement". Creative Loafing. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  4. ^ "Gold and Platinum Certifications". RIAA. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  5. ^ "Lil Jon:Artist Page". Recording Academy. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  6. ^ Lavin, Will (April 10, 2020). "Usher, Lil Jon and Ludacris share new song 'SexBeat'". NME. BandLad Technologies. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  7. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (November 28, 2004). "Lil John Crunks Up the Volume". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  8. ^ "Nominees/Winners". Grammys. The Recording Academy. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  9. ^ "Turn Down For What". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "Billboard Music Awards Full Winners List". Billboard. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  11. ^ Smith, Dylan (January 17, 2021). "Released 7 Years Ago: DJ SNAKE & Lil Jon – Turn Down For What". EDM House Network. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  12. ^ "Top Billboard Music Award Winners of All Time (1990–2016)". Billboard. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  13. ^ Anderson, Trevor. "Saweetie's 'My Type' Hits No. 1 on Rhythmic Songs Airplay Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2019.