Happy Birthday, Lil Jon! – XXL

Today, Jan. 17, is the 45th birthday of Atlanta rapper, producer and DJ Lil Jon!

Born and raised in the ATL, Jon got his start in the music world by DJ’ing at local clubs. After getting a job at So So Def in 1993, Lil Jon formed the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon, Big Sam and Lil’ Bo signed to Mirror Image Records in 1997 and dropped their debut album Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album the same year. Two of the group’s singles, “Who U Wit?” and “Shawty Freak a Lil’ Sumthin’” charted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz continued to be the faces of crunk music into the new millennium, but their career highlight came in 2003 when they dropped the song “Get Low” featuring the Ying Yang Twins. The bass-heavy club track became the standout song for the crunk sub-genre. As the lead single off Kings of Crunk, “Get Low” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lil Jon used his personality and catchphrases (“Yeahh!,” “What?!,” “Ok!”) to be a celebrity in his own right. In 2004, Lil Jon teamed up with Usher and Ludacris for the single “Yeah!” and the track—another party starter—won a 2005 Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. In 2010, Lil Jon officially went solo and dropped his debut album Crunk Rock.

These days, when he’s not appearing on The Apprentice, Lil Jon is touring the world as a DJ and being immortalized as a meme or two.

Happy Birthday, Lil Jon!

40 Hip-Hop Albums Turning 20 in 2017

Subscribe to XXL on