The East Side Boyz
| Lil Jon | |
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Lil Jon in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jonathan Smith |
| Born |
January 17, 1971 Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts | |
| Notable instruments | |
| Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1995–2005 |
| Labels | BME Recordings |
| Past members | Lil Jon Big Sam Lil' Bo |
Jonathan Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American record producer, rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, DJ and actor from Atlanta, Georgia. He was the frontman of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, which he formed in 1997, and they released several albums until 2004.
After going solo, he released a new album in 2010 titled Crunk Rock. He was featured on Celebrity Apprentice during its 11th and 13th seasons.
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Smith graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in Atlanta. After working as a DJ for Atlanta night clubs, he worked for So So Def Recordings between 1993 and 2000.
Smith took the stage name Lil Jon and formed musical group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, with rappers Big Sam (born Sammie Dernard Norris) and Lil' Bo (born Wendell Maurice Neal). The group signed to the Atlanta-based Mirror Image Records and were distributed by Ichiban Records. In 1997, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz debuted with Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album. It included singles "Who U Wit?" and "Shawty Freak a Lil' Sumthin'", the latter of which came out in 1998. Both singles charted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at No. 70 and No. 62, respectively.
In 2000, Jon started up his own label, BME Recordings, and signed a distribution agreement with Norcross, Georgia-based Southern Music Distribution. He released his breakthrough album titled We Still Crunk!. Among the tracks on that project was the hit single "I Like Those Girls," which reached No. 55 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.
Lil Jon was talked about as "the new guy" by street team people in the markets where he was attracting his biggest audiences – namely Atlanta, St. Louis, Memphis and Dallas. Bryan Leach, A&R at TVT, went to one of Lil Jon's Atlanta shows and was blown away by its 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 ... that energy is what crunk music is all about."
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Wikipedia