Lil Jon is mourning the loss of his late son, Nathan Smith a.k.a DJ Young Slade. Did you know, Lil's son had a tattoo of his father on his arm?
Lil Jon is mourning the loss of his late son, Nathan Smith a.k.a DJ Young Slade, who passed away at the mere age of 27. The body of DJ Young Slade was reportedly found in a Georgia pond after the Milton Police Department had made the announcement that the Cherokee County Fire Department had found a body from a pond near Smith's residence in Mayfield Park. Rapper, Lil Jon has been grieving the loss of his son and, a while back, took to his Instagram Stories to reveal how his son had a tattoo of the rapper. He has been sharing old interviews of Nathan and remembering his late son.
For the unversed, Lil Jon's son, Nathan Smith, a.k.a. DJ Young Slade, had been missing since February 3, 2026. He ran out of his home without a phone and was last seen at 6 a.m. on Feb. 3 in the vicinity of Baldwin Dr./Mayfield Rd. in Milton. Lil has been grieving the loss of his son and is remembering the old times with his young boy. A while back, the rapper shared an old video on his Instagram Stories of Nathan revealing things he had learnt from his dad. Nathan also spoke about having a tattoo of his dad on his arm and said:
"Umm it is crazy, aah it is trippy cause you know I just see him as a dad. I don't see him as Lil Jon. I have got a tattoo of his signature. It was something ironic for me. He is my dad but his signature. I was talking to my manager about how he brought me on stage back in 2004. I was five or six.. I was so shy. It is crazy to have experiences like that and then going home, drin**ng and playing video games."
When Nathan was not located for a long time, the teams had to expand their search to include a pond in Mayfield Park near Smith’s Milton residence. It was on February 6, 2026, at approximately 11:53 a.m., that divers from the Cherokee County Fire Department discovered a body in the pond. The person reportedly was Nathan.
Lil and his estranged wife, Nicole Smith, welcomed Nathan in 1998. Nathan followed in his father's footsteps as a DJ and musician and adopted the stage name DJ Young Slade, or just Slade. Earlier, Lil had thanked his fans and community for praying and supporting him while the search for his son went on relentlessly since he went missing. Lil had thanked the entire Milton Police Department involved: Detective, Dula Milton, Investigator, Sergeant Scott Lappin, Detective, Randy Dula, Detective, Sarah Moore, and Detective, Daniel Williams.
Nathan, in an interview with The Quintessential Gentleman back in March 2025, had spoken about being a part of his dad's legacy and also working towards creating his own career. He had shared that it was dope to appreciate his dad, show respect, and just look at all the things he has done. Nathan further had shared:
It’s nice to get the torch passed down and do my own thing," he told the outlet. "Because it’s like it comes from him, but also I’m definitely taking it and making it my own."
Rest in peace, Nathan Smith.
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