(born January 27, 1971) For the last decade, the words %u201CYeah,%u201D %u201COk,%u201D and %u201CWhat%u201D have been synonymous with Grammy award winning artist Lil Jon. He has been one of the most prominent figures in music and pop culture alike, performing for hundreds of thousands of fans with Afrojack, Steve Aoki and Sydney Samson at Ultra Music Festival. The last few years have proven that he%u2019s a mainstay in music as he went back to his DJing roots - with a residency at The Wynn/Encore in Las Vegas - bringing his %u201CLet%u2019s F**** Lose It%u201D tour all across the country and over-seas. The success of his Vegas residency is evident, even being named the Las Vegas Resident DJ of The Year (Surrender, Tryst, XS).
Lil Jon continues to be a master at marketing and business with an Oakley endorsement deal (since 2005), becoming a Don Julio tequila brand ambassador, partnering with SOL headphones - helping to launch SOL Deck by starring in the Radio Shack commercial in Fall 2013 - and launching his own clothing line 2Vicious. His marketing chops came in helpful when casted on NBC%u2019s primetime show Celebrity Apprentice (Spring 2011) quickly becoming a fan-favorite nationwide. Lil Jon was back on primetime television in the Spring of 2013 on the cast of Celebrity Apprentice All-Stars where he came in 3rd and raised almost $200,000 for the American Diabetes Association.
Known best for his role in creating and popularizing the southern movement and lifestyle known as Crunk, Lil Jon delivered a string of regional hits (in the 90%u2019s) with the East Side Boyz eventually becoming a national force in 2001 thanks to the tracks %u201CBia Bia%u201D and %u201CPut Yo Hood Up.%u201D Crunk became so popular that Jon became a fixture on Chappelle%u2019s Show and artists not directly connected to him (such as Mary J. Blige) began using the word Crunk, in their own music. Jon helped usher the word %u2018Crunk%u2019 not only a national scale, but worldwide. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary added the word into their book in 2007.
Widely known for his platinum-selling productions, Lil Jon has crafted groundbreaking hits for a diverse array of artists such as Usher, Ciara, The Ying Yang Twins, E-40, Ice Cube and more. He%u2019s also worked with will.i.am, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Bret Michaels, Travis Barker, Jennifer Lopez, Machine Gun Kelly and many more. As an artist, he has sold millions of records as the frontman of Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, whose smash hits %u201CGet Low%u201D and %u201CWhat U Goin%u2019 Do%u201D have been among some of the biggest crossover hip-hop records. His songs have been featured in huge blockbuster movies including The Hangover, The Proposal and the Step Up franchise.
His consistent hitmaking has earned him legions of fans from Los Angeles to New York to the Midwest and of course his native region, the South. This is no more evident as Lil Jon won BMI%u2019s Songwriter of the Year award as well as scored eight Billboard Awards (for the two hit Usher tracks %u201CYeah!%u201D and %u201CLovers and Friends%u201D), a Grammy, a Radio Music Award, a BET award, two MTV Video Music Awards, and an American Music Award.
