Lil Jon Claims He's 'At Peace' With His Last Conversation With Late Son Nathan, 'I Understood Him..'
Lil Jon's son, Nathan Smith, passed away in February 2026. Months after his death, the rapper revealed that his last conversation with Nathan gave him peace as he navigated this tough time.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleLil Jon is one of the most well-known American rappers and record producers in the industry. He went through a really tough time earlier this year when his son, Nathan Smith, passed away. At the time, Nathan was reportedly 27 years old. As Lil Jon prepares to release his new memoir, I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, on October 20, 2026, he is opening up about the bond that he shared with his late son.
Lil Jon opens up about his relationship with Nathan Smith
In an interview with PEOPLE, Lil Jon revealed that he thought he had already finished writing his memoir at the beginning of 2026. However, after his son, Nathan Smith, passed away in February 2026, Jon channeled his grief into a new chapter. He said that he needed to share everything he was going through and that the book is dedicated to him now.
For the unversed, Jon welcomed Nathan with his ex-wife, Nicole Smith, in 1998. Growing up, Nathan followed in his father's footsteps by pursuing music under the name DJ Young Slade. Lil Jon and Nathan would also frequently collaborate together. The rapper said that a lot of fathers don't get the opportunity to do stuff like that with their sons, so he was thankful for it every day.
But despite this, the father and son duo’s relationship was full of ups and downs. Before Nathan passed away, he was dealing with both physical and mental stress, with Jon revealing that they had a “little back-and-forth” during their final in-person conversation. It was after a therapy session that Lil Jon mustered the courage to apologize to his son. He said:
“We had an amazing conversation, and basically I said I was sorry, and I was like, ‘You know what? I see you.’ He was just like, ‘Wow, thank you so much, Dad.’”
This call was the last time that Jon spoke to Nathan. After the 27-year-old went missing in early February 2026, he was found dead just a few days later in a pond near his home in Milton, Ga. Reports later revealed his cause of death as accidental “drowning in the setting of psilocybin use.”
Three months after Nathan passed away, Lil Jon had to go on tour. He said that he felt guilty for smiling and trying to be the life of the party as his job demanded. But behind the scenes, Jon was crying a lot. He confessed that he had a major breakdown in therapy recently. That's when he realized that he did not give himself time to grieve properly.
As he still tries to come to terms with Nathan’s loss, the rapper takes comfort in the last interaction he had with his late son. He said:
“I talked to his best friend after he passed. [Nathan] was just so happy that I understood him at that time, and it made me feel at peace to know that he was so happy with our last conversation, that we were in such a good place.”
Lil Jon wants to be strong for his family
Lil Jon claimed that right now he just wishes to be strong for his family. Jon shares a 22-month-old daughter with his partner Jamila Sozahdah. He shared that seeing his daughter's face and her smile gave him some much-needed love. He said that he really needed it in this time of grief. He added:
“The No. 1 lesson I tell people now is, don’t feel like you can put something off for tomorrow, because you don’t know how much time you have with people. Fatherhood has taught me that family is everything.”
What are your thoughts on Lil Jon opening up about his relationship with Nathan Smith months after his death?
Photo Credit: Lil Jon/IG, Nathan Smith/IG
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