Down-South: Lets get started by talking a little bit about your background, where did you grow up?

Lil Jon: I was born and raised in the SWATS in Atlanta, Georgia.

Down-South: What was it like growing up in the Swats?

Lil Jon: Growing up in the SWATS….it was fun. I mean I don’t really know what to say. I ain’t gonna say it was hard because I ain’t grow up in no projects or nothing like that. SWATS is kinda like middle class. Shit it was just…I don’t know. Growing up I was into all kinda shit. I used to skateboard. I was into punk rock..

Down-South: What!?

Lil Jon: Yeah, I used to do all that shit when I was growing up. You know I do stuff trying to find yourself. So I used to do all kinda shit, man. And eventually I started DJing. When I graduated from high school I had a party and my boy Emperor Serche that on Hot 107 now. He DJed a party for me and I was amazed at how he rocked the party. After that I wanted to learn how to DJ. So eventually I started DJing and he left and went to navy and when he came back I was the man. I was doing like the hottest clubs and shit. So when he came back I put him on and started DJIng shit together and so forth and so on and shit.

Later on Jermaine [DuPree] stepped to me about coming to work for So So Def because when I was DJing, I’d be everywhere. So he was man you be everywhere I need to hire you at label. I was like, all right, ok. I was just a nigga, getting drunk everyday, DJing, living in his mama’s basement. I ain’t have no career plans or goal. I just DJed everyday so I was like cool, let’s go. So I called his dad the next Monday and I got hired. I was one of the original employees up there. I was So So Def for like eight years.

Down-South: Now you were like head of A & R at So So Def right?

Lil Jon: Yeah. I was President of A & R. When I first hired I was like the head of their street promotions, which gets back to what I said earlier, I was everywhere so of course you’re gonna hire somebody that you see everywhere to do you street promotions. I was influential in promoting Xscape’s first album, Da Brat’s album. I did all of that. I put all that shit out on the streets.

Down-South: Weren’t you also were responsible for bringing to life a few gold project to the label too?

Lil Jon: Yeah, I did the three So So Def Bass All Stars Compilations. I got a gold record with the first one. The second album sold like 400,000 units. And the third record we had a gold single with the Inoj record Time After Time. That was a big pop record. We had a lotta big pop records on those albums.

Down-South: At the time you were also doing your thing as a artist too…

Lil Jon: Yeah, actually it was later on. I think that we started putting out records back in 96…95/95 we put out “Who Ya Wit?” That became like the Freaknik anthem the year that it came out. That’s was the first thing that we did as Lil Jon & the Eastside Boys. So basically I was kinda doing my own thing when I was at So So Def and that was cool because when they hired me they knew that I was into music and shit.

(At this point Lil Jon is interrupted by someone, who appears to be the director of the video. After doing his cameo shot Lil Jon returns to the interview)

Where were we?

Down-South: You were talking about your first records, “Get Crunk,” and “Who Ya Wit.”

Lil Jon: Oh yeah, so I did those records “Who Ya Wit,” “Get Crunk” and “Couldn’t Be a Better Player” and also “I Like Dem Girls” and even “Bia, Bia” was all done while we was working at So So Def. Actually “Couldn’t be a Better Player,” the one with Too $hort has an interesting story. I was at So So Def in a fucking meeting and Too $hort came and got me out of the meeting and asked me if I could do a song for his compilation.

And the reason for that was $hort really loved the “Who Ya Wit” song so he came and got me for his Nationwide Compilation. He asked me to do a record for it and that’s how we got together.

Down-South: Now you’re known as the father of crunk music. Could you explain what is crunk?

Lil Jon: It’s hard to really explain exactly what crunk means. It’s just something you gotta experience to understand what it is. Crunk is the highest level of energy. Crunk music is music that gets you hype. It just makes you wanna wild out, throw them bo’s, push muthafuckas and just act goddamn crazy. That’s what crunk music is. And I guess you could define crunk as just the ultimate hypeness. I can’t really explain it, but that one of the terms that I use to describe it, just the ultimate level of hypeness.

Down-South: Now many people credit you with inventing this genre of music, would you say that is a fair assessment?

Lil Jon: I’d say that we are the first ones who told people to get crunk on record. The word has been around in the South forever. People would be like man we gonna get crunk tonight. We were the first ones to say specifically on record get crunk. We were the first to start doing records that were specifically designed to get people crunk. Before nobody, I don’t think, was making records that were specifically designed to make get people crunk and wild out. That was our goal. At the time you had records like 8ball & MJG’s “Pimp in my Own Rhyme” that was getting people hype at the club, and I was in the club when that record was playing and I saw the reaction that people had to that song and I said to myself: man there really ain’t no song for Atlanta that will just get people crunk like this one does. It was really a rap song. It wasn’t necessarily a record to get people crunk, it was just a hot ass record that people got crunk to because they liked the record. But we wanted to make a record that was specifically designed to make get crunk and wild out in the clubs.

Down-South: Since you have done that, do you know that your songs have been banned in certain clubs in the South because it starts fights?

Lil Jon: Yeah, but a lotta our songs starts fights. (laughs) But I mean we don’t design the record to starts fights or riots and shit. Because in Atlanta some people ask us are you promoting gang violence? And we’re like no in Atlanta every side, east side, west, side, north side and south side are all in the club together. We all be jamming together in the club. We just say be proud of where you’re from and represent that to the fullest. That’s our whole thing is we represent it. We have all these different sides in the clubs in Atlanta throwing them bo’s and shit and don’t nobody get to fightin’. You know you’ll have some fighting sometimes, but that’s because people are having problems with other people. That’s another issue, that ain’t got nothing to do with the music, ya know what I’m sayin’? We just want people to get crunk. We don't have nothin’ to do with no gang violence, we’re not trying to promote fighting or none of that shit.

Down-South: Tell us about how you inked the deal with TVT Records?

Lil Jon: Well it was like we were doing the independent record, “I Like The Girls” out and it was getting harder and harder to work it because it take a lotta money to work records independently so people had contacted us about deals but the situations just weren’t right. TVT contacted us at the right time with the right deal. They had a small roster of acts, so it was like the perfect spot for us, ya know what saying.

Down-South: And you all went gold with that album…..

Lil Jon: Yeah we went gold on an album that people said was already out and it wasn’t gonna sell. They ain’t rapping. They got a whole bunch of chants on the songs and so on and so forth. We made a lotta of non-believers believers. It was amazing just how far songs like “Bia, Bia” traveled. The song was bumping all up in New York and all up in DC and Philly. It was taking over All Star Weekend and Superbowl Weekend. It was like people were amazed at how powerful those records are….how we just evoke emotions outta people with our music.

Down-South: One of the things that really stand out in your music asides from the drum tracks are your bass lines.

Lil Jon: Yeah definitely with “Bia, Bia” that was one of the keys to that song’s success. It’s like kinda hypnotizing. But I think it’s everything. It’s the beat, it’s the bass lines, it’s the strings. It’s also the chants because we can get on anybody’s beat, our voice is what make a muthafucka go crazy. I’ve had people come up to me and say man, it’s your voice. Whenever I hear your voice I just wanna go and slap a muthafucka.

Down-South: Jon, speaking of your voice, how tall are you?

Lil Jon: Oh, I’m only about 5’7, 5’8.

Down-South: How much do you weigh, about a buck fifty?

Lil Jon: Yeah, I’d say about 150, 160.

Down-South: But dude whenever you get on the mic you sound like you’re about 400 pounds.

Lil Jon: Laughs, well that’s just a combination of me and the Eastside Boys’ together. You know we all do our tracks at the same time and we stack ‘em so we sound like 500 people.

Down-South: Okay, Okay that’s your secret because I was about to say I heard you on that David Banner record “Might Get Ya” and all I heard on the hook was you…..

Lil Jon: Yeah, I guess it’s my voice too. It’s the screaming and it’s the hollering.

Down-South: Tell me about the new album Kings of Crunk?

Lil Jon: Alright the new album is the Kings of Crunk. It should be in stores now. It’s got a whole lotta people that I’ve always wanted to work with as well as people that we worked with before. I basically was trying to make this album the Southern version of the Chronic. I wanted make a classic Southern album and I think that we definitely succeeded. And we’re fucking people’s heads up with some of the combinations like Jadakiss and Styles. It’s cool because it’s not compromising me or Jada or Styles. It don’t sound like that Lil Jon on a Jada and Styles record. He’s trying to get New York. It don’t sound like that. It just sounds like man he got Jada and Styles on a hot ass record. We got hot ass records….shit that’ll work anywhere.

Down-South: Okay now we get to the stuff that our reader really want to hear. I did a little research and you’ll never guess what I heard about you?

Lil Jon: Aw man, what the hell you done found out now?

Down-South: Come on Jon, you know I had to do my research…..

Lil Jon: Yeah, I know you Charlie…(laughs) but you can’t have no dirt on me now….

Down-South: Come on Lil Jon, what do I do for a living?

Lil Jon: Did Lenny send you that footage of me and Treach at his club?

Down-South: Yep….

Lil Jon: Okay, that’s cool. Go ahead and speak on it, what ya got?

Down-South: First of all I heard that Lil Jon loves to frequent the strip clubs, drinking gallons of Quevo Gold.

Lil Jon: Yeah that true, you know I like to hang out. I mean being from Atlanta strip clubs that’s a part of growing up, it’s a way of life.

Down-South: Now I heard that whenever Lil Jon walks into the strip club in the ATL there’s a little light that goes off in the girl’s dressing room like the one in the movie The Player’s Club.

Lil Jon: (laughs) I know anything about that shit. I mean we ain’t dropping no thousands of dollars off at the club. We go in the club and we got a lotta the girls that’s cool with us. You know we go in there and we might get drunk with ‘em. So if it’s a like going off then it’s a light going off and they saying aw shit here that nigga come, we about to get drunk again.

Down-South: Okay, I also heard that you and Treach went to Black Gold and got buck wild with some of the girls there?

Lil Jon: Aw yeah, yeah we got a little wild. We kinda took over a little bit. The little girl that was interviewing us was just overwhelmed by us. It’s crazy. You know what funny about that me and Treach went into the studio that day and we did a song called “Wild Muthafuckas” for Naught by Nature’s new album. So when we went into the club we went around screaming that we some wild muthafuckas. That was our first time hanging out and through out the whole evening we was going around telling folks we some wild muthafuckas. And our chemistry was so good together that people thought that we had been knowing each other all our lives. Our chemistry was so good that you’d never know that was our first time hanging out. And when you see the tape you can see that shit was totally real.

Down-South: Okay there another rumor that you are doing a porno movie?

Lil Jon: Yeah, I’m actually on the set right now.

Down-South: So are you’re starring in it?

Lil Jon: Naw, I’m definitely not starring in it. I can’t do that. Maybe if I was a little younger….maybe about five or six years younger I’d probably wouldn’t give a fuck because I look at it as good promotions. But I can’t do it. I’ll just be doing other stuff like hosting the movie. I let the actor do that shit.

Down-South: Are these professional porn stars or amateurs?

Lil Jon: Yes some of them are and some of them are ams.

Down-South: Anybody that our reader would know?

Lil Jon: Well we got this girl named Kenya. She’s an up and coming porn star. She’s done about 250 movies. We brought her in from LA. The other star is named Devin Michaels. She’s a white girl that only does girl/girl scenes. And that what she’s doing in the movie a girl/girl scene.

Down-South: And this is your first film of this sort, why would you do a porn film?

Lil Jon: Well it’s something that we’ve been thinking about doing for quite some time now. We’ve been planning it for about two years now. And when my homeboy came up with a script we just looked around for a crew and good producer. It probably took about two week to get together.

Down-South: Did you direct the movie yourself?

Lil Jon: No a dude by the name of Mike South directed it. He’s done these type of films before so we just hired him to do it.

Down-South: Are you planning to do any more movies like this?

Lil Jon: Yeah, we planning a series of them. This first one is going to be called Lil Jon & the Eastside Boys Worldwide Sex Tour. We got two others planned and the next one will be shot in either Costa Rica or Brazil.

Down-South: Okay, now you’re on the set of a porn movie, are you actually there when the action takes place?

Lil Jon: Yes I will be there when all of the festivities begin to make sure that everything goes smoothly (laughs). I was in New York for the start of it, but I’m back in the ATL and I’ll be here so yes I will be here on the set (laughs).

Down-South: I imagine that things can get kinda hard for you being on the set like that all the time?

Lil Jon: (laughs) Naw, it’s not gonna be hard for me. I’m cool.

Down-South: Yeah…right.

Lil Jon: I can keep my composure.

Down-South: Okay, what kinda girl makes you lose your composure?

Lil Jon: Man, I like all types of women: Black, white, Puerto Rican, Asian, Latino. I love all women. I am a connoisseur of fine women.

Down-South: Is there a particular body type that you like?

Lil Jon: Naw, I look at it like Now/Later. You know how you like every flavor of Now/Later, well that’s me when it comes to women. I like them all. Every flavor of woman. To me they’re all beautiful. That’s the most beautiful thing given to man is a woman.

by: Charlie Braxton © Down-South.com