Education
Smith graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in Atlanta.
Actor entrepreneur producer writer rapper DJ songwriter
Smith graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in Atlanta.
After working as a DJ for Atlanta night clubs, he started working 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 hype men/rappers Big Sam (born Sam Norris) and Lil' Bo (Wendell 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 took part in starting up his own label BME Recordings and signed a distribution agreement with Norcross, Georgia based Southern Music Distribution. There 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.
After hearing feedback that Lil Jon was "the new guy" from street team people in the markets where he was attracting his biggest audiences – namely Atlanta, St. Louis, Memphis and Dallas – A&R at TVT, Bryan Leach, went to one of his Atlanta shows and was blown away by the immense energy of the experience. 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."
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz signed to TVT Records in 2001 and debuted there with Put Yo Hood Up, which combined previously released tracks with new ones. The group's first nationally played single was "Bia' Bia'", which featured rappers Ludacris, Too Short, Big Kapp, and Chyna Whyte. "Bia' Bia'" peaked at No. 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 47 on the Billboard R&B chart.
In 2002, the group released "Kings of Crunk". "I Don't Give A..." was its first single; it featured Mystikal and Krayzie Bone and peaked at No. 50 on the R&B chart. The group's next single, a collaboration with fellow Atlanta hip hop group Ying Yang Twins titled "Get Low", became popular in nightclubs nationwide and reached the top ten of the Hot 100.
"Crunk Juice" followed in 2004, led by "What U Gon' Do" featuring Lil' Scrappy. "What U Gon' Do" peaked at No. 22 on the Hot 100, No. 13 on the R&B chart, and No. 5 on the rap chart; its follow-up, "Lovers & Friends" featuring Usher and Ludacris, peaked at No. 3 (Hot 100), No. 2 (R&B), and No. 1 (rap).
In addition to leading Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, Lil Jon has also produced many hit urban singles.
From 2003 to 2005, while still with The East Side Boyz, Lil Jon produced hits like "Salt Shaker" by Ying Yang Twins, "Yeah!" by Usher, "Freek-a-Leek" by Petey Pablo, "Shorty Wanna Ride" by Young Buck, "Shake That Monkey" by Too Short, "Let's Go" by Trick Daddy, "Girlfight" by Brooke Valentine, "Presidential" by YoungBloodZ.
Lil Jon entered the San Francisco Bay Area hyphy music scene in 2006 with his collaborations with Bay Area rapper E-40: Lil Jon produced E-40's single "Tell Me When To Go" and had E-40 and Atlanta rapper, Sean P of the YoungBloodZ, on his own "Snap Yo Fingers".
During that same year he produced a song called “Go to Church” for Ice Cube.
In 2006, Lil Jon severed his negotiation with record label TVT. He vowed never to record for TVT Records again, alleging that TVT owner Steve Gottlieb was shortchanging him.