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Lil Jon has been dealing with something no parent should ever go through. In February, his son drowned while on hallucinogenic drugs, leaving this world at the far too young age of 27. In a quick interview with TMZ, Lil Jon explained how he coped with his passing.
What Did Lil Jon Say?
In the interview, Lil Jon promotes his new memoir, completed prior to his son’s death. However, after the tragedy, he went back and added more to the book as he processed his grief. For Lil Jon, he did it so other people who’ve felt this trauma could feel seen.
“I look at it like me telling my story and what I’m going through could help someone else to get through it because I’m not alone,” Lil Jon said. “That’s one thing that helped me get through it too. So many people reaching out and sending me prayers and love and then also other celebrities reaching out that have experienced loss and similar loss giving me the opportunity to speak with them if I needed to. I just felt like I needed to be able to express everything that I was going through so somebody else out there that’s going through it can see that they can get through it as well. God was preparing me for everything that was starting to happen or getting me ready for it, so he got me in a different mindset so I could deal with the loss the way I dealt with it and not spiral.”
Lil Jon’s son, Nathan Smith, was a DJ under the moniker DJ Young Slade. The NYU graduate had a promising DJ career, playing in several clubs around Los Angeles. Tragically, his time on earth was cut short due to a Shroom trip gone wrong. The “Yeah” rapper will expand on his feelings and thoughts about the tragedy when his new memoir, I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, comes out this fall.
Lil Jon says writing memoir helped him process his son's tragic death. ❤️🩹 pic.twitter.com/iYDow5uBGW
— TMZ (@TMZ) June 17, 2026
What Else Is He Working On?
In the same interview, Lil Jon said he has an album dropping July 3rd. He says the album is a mix of southern soul and R&B.
The album is a collaboration with Jon’s friend Tonio Armani, a successful singer signed to Death Row Records.
