Lil Jon

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Lil Jon, real name Jonathan H. Smith, is an American rapper and producer, born in Atlanta in 1971. He is regarded as one of the founders of crunk, a club-oriented form of hip-hop. At fifteen he taught himself to DJ and played at house parties in his parents' basement. Later he worked as a DJ in clubs in downtown Atlanta, where he met Jermaine Dupri. Dupri hired him as an A&R at his label So So Def Recordings, where he started the compilation series So So Def Bass All-Stars.

Music and breakthrough

With his group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz and as a producer he defined the sound of the early 2000s. He produced hits such as Salt Shaker by Ying Yang Twins, Freek-a-Leek by Petey Pablo, Goodies by Ciara and Yeah! by Usher. The last of these earned him a Grammy. In 2010 his album Crunk Rock appeared. In 2013 came Turn Down for What, an EDM single with DJ Snake that won a Billboard Music Award for top dance/electronic song.

Influence

What marks Lil Jon is his raw, shouting voice, often used as a cue or ad-lib, which gives every song a party character. His production, with hard synthesizers and stomping beats, brought southern club culture to the pop charts and brought hip-hop and dance music closer together.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 2010Crunk Rock
• 2026Something’s In The Water

Mentioned in other articles

• Southern hip hop and crunk GenreAround 2000, Lil Jon turned crunk into party music with shouted choruses and heavy 808 basses.

See also

• Southern hip hop and crunk