Inside The Credits 012: Jonathan “Lil Jon” Smith
What?! Lil Jon Produced That Too? OK!
I’ve begun to think I’m alone in this, but as legendary and revered as some of those Versuz battles became during and slightly post pandemic, my personal favorite was the one between T-Pain and Lil Jon. It happened within the first month of the pandemic and to me really highlighted what the platform could be at its greatest potential. First, the duo of Pain and Jon had an innate hilarity throughout the livestream via Pain calling Jon “Jonathan” and Lil Jon’s energy just being generally zany. Second, the type of music they played, and have made throughout their careers, is overwhelmingly feel good slaps that you can sing or yell/rap along to with unrelenting hype. Third, and most importantly, as they progressed in the battle I was either consistently reminded of a track they did I had forgotten about or, mostly in Lil Jon’s case, made aware of a song they had produced for others I had no idea about.
The big three songs that became competitive daggers when Jon dropped them were “Goodies” by Ciara, “Blow The Whistle” by Too Short, and “Freek-a-Leek” by Petey Pablo. I was born in ‘92 so these three early 2000s hits induced immediate nostalgic excitement I wasn’t prepared for. I’m assuming I wasn’t completely alone in realizing Lil Jon’s production legacy at that moment, but I would never forget it after. Still, when I saw this tweet and others like it within the week of this year’s Super Bowl halftime performance by Usher, I was stunned again. Not only is Lil Jon the ONLY producer credited on Usher’s hit record “Yeah!,” but he also co-produced a favorite deeper cut from the Confessions album “Red Light.” Lil Jon was even appointed musical director of the halftime show itself. This immediately spurred me to add Lil Jon to my list of producers to do a credit dive on.
One of the other shocking moments from Lil Jon’s Versuz with T-Pain was when he suddenly dropped his Dancehall remix of Capleton’s song “Tour.” That remix became the number one song in Jamaica at the time when Lil Jon was first starting his career developing into the biggest Dancehall DJ in Atlanta in the mid 90s. This remix, as well as two others on the Dancehall legend’s 1995 album Prophecy, were produced by Lil Jon. These are also Jon’s first officially listed producer credits.
Fusing Dancehall’s bombastic energy with Southern Hip Hop subgenres Trap and Horrorcore would develop into what would become Crunk Music. When I listened to these first three Capleton songs, what struck me the most was the range at which Jon began his dive into genre fusion. Capleton’s vocal style on “Tour” feels most tied to the abrasive delivery Lil Jon would become known for, yet the production on the remix samples a classic Hip Hop beat in “Children’s Story” by Slick Rick. “Wings In The Morning” uses sampling to stick out again, but this time in a more classic Hip Hop tradition pulling from the classic Soul track “Hard To Handle” by Otis Redding. This is an impeccably popular sample in the Hip Hop canon, sampled 40 times total, and Method Man’s feature on the remix is just the cherry on top (he had previously rapped over the sample on Wu-Tang’s “Protect Ya Neck”). Then Lil Jon flipped a classic R&B sample for the “Heathen Reign” remix in Barry White’s “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby.” This song has been sampled a staggering 292 times. Jon, for the first time here, used a sample to add some darkness much like he would later on for Crunk tracks to brood beneath a potent vocal delivery (ie. Trillville’s “Neva Eva”). This three track remix run would propel Jon into the spotlight for his second proving ground: Atlanta Hip-Hop and R&B.
Atlanta producer and label head Jermaine Dupri seems to have taken note of Jon’s DJ and remix proficiency in ‘95 and tapped him for his first, second, and third iterations of his Atlanta Bass Music Compilation series So So Def Bass All-Stars from (1996-1998). Bass Music popped in both Miami and Atlanta resulting in major groups like 2 Live Crew and the legendary commercialization of the Freaknik festival. The boom of the sound would prove to be quite the testing ground for Jon before he elevated the Crunk of the early 2000s. Jon was the executive producer for all three projects alongside Dupri while also having main producer credits on 13 total tracks. There’s a few of these 13 that really exemplify where Jon came from and where he would go. The first from Volume 1 is “Sexiest” by Don Yute which seamlessly fuses Atlanta Bass with very Capleton-esque Dancehall. What is perhaps most intriguing about the track though is the first few sounds feel like they are about to start a Trap song. The reverberating “go” adlib, which appears periodically, also adds a Crunk-adjacent guttural feel that can’t be denied. Then on 1998’s Volume 3’s “Drop Dem Boes” by Bo Hagan + Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz, we officially hear the Crunk sound emerge. The Memphis hard piano and Atlanta Trap sound feels impeccably prevalent and Jon’s voice, while containing a bit less harsh of a rasp than what would become his signature, enters the track with vigor. The layered vocal potency on the hook creates the first Crunk stank face reaction from his catalog.
The other precursors within Jon’s So So Def production would come on three R&B tracks, one from each Volume, which feel directly tied to his later production for Usher (sidenote: Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz did also remix Usher’s “You Make Me Wanna” in ‘97). “Let It Burn” by Playa Poncho (no relation to Usher’s “Let It Burn”), “Freak It” by Lathun, and “Six Eight” by Katrina all have that quintessential Confessions era blend of hype dance music underneath the smoothest of R&B croons. Lil Jon executed the production for each track with a deft hand tying in pockets of verve to induce every variety of a twerk-riddled dance move.
“Let It Burn” was not just a smooth R&B track but also had rapped verses that would precursor some of the Bay Area rap Lil Jon would produce. This is an often unmentioned side of his track record that deserves much more praise. Jon’s first credit of the 2000s, in fact, was as a composer for Too Short on the track “Let My Nuts Go” for a compilation album, Nationwide 2 Ghetto Pass. This would be the beginning of an 8 track production escapade with Short over the next decade culminating in the smash hit “Blow The Whistle.” There is even a correlation between Crunk and Hyphy which Jon developed an ability to intertwine within his production for Bay Area icon E-40 during the 2000s. On both his posse cut “Rep Yo City” in 2002 and the track he and the Eastside Boyz featured on “Anybody Can Get It” in 2003, Jon raised the roof and broke the floor with rage and bounce, finding a way for both genres to organically fuse.
Before we finally get back to Usher, I must mention that Lil Jon took 2000 to 2004 to also solidify himself as a production arbiter within Southeastern Trap and Crunk. With a barrage of producer and composer credits for the likes of Trillville, Pastor Troy, Killer Mike, Lil Scrappy, Lil Jon and The Eastside Boyz, and Youngbloodz from Georgia; Petey Pablo from North Carolina; Nappy Roots from Kentucky; and David Banner from Mississippi, it’s safe to say Lil Jon was at the core of the birth of the Atlanta sound that eventually made the city an arguable center of Hip Hop. You must mention Jon’s name when you think of the drum sequences involving double time hi-hats, tempo maintaining claps, and speaker rattling multi-drum transitions. You must also mention how he made the sound shift invariably into the mainstream because of his distinct production style. Jon made something guttural and street-rooted transform into anthemic compositions. The sound, initially meant for car speakers, became catered equally to frat parties, diversified club audiences, and festival-goers. The thing is though, with Jon’s pivot he never once let the sound lose its authenticity. “Get Low” is as pure a Crunk song as Pastor Troy’s “Who, When, When, Where” or Nappy Roots’ “Whatcha Gonna Do.”
Within this surge of controlled chaotic Southern roar, Jon did prep for his ultimate crossover Usher moment. He produced an add on single to TLC’s Greatest Hits album in 2003 which featured himself and Sean Paul. This is the first true fusion of Pop R&B and Crunk to emerge. He even had a sneakier credit early in ‘04 on the Barbershop 2 Soundtrack for the smooth R&B singer Olivia Longott’s track “All.” There are obvious similarities between this song and what would become “Yeah!” production-wise. For one thing, there is the horn-like synth under silky melismas. It feels like this was the final proof Jon needed to show the unanticipated range of the genre he coined. Usher’s “Yeah!” and “Red Light” then both shave off just enough growl from the subgenre to allow for Usher’s sensual superpower.
When you really think about it, “Yeah!” is a tightrope of a song to pull off. Jon has to take sonics that, even in their most mainstream form, still feel like someone is about to get into a fight. He must then shift them into feeling euphoric and joyful without losing any of their punch. Jon then had to emphasize a rhythm which had not previously existed within Usher’s catalog and make it fit him like a glove. So that when he crooned, it didn’t feel lost in the madness. If you go back to Jon’s training on the So So Def tapes you realize he is the only producer who could have made this song not only work, but go beyond the stratosphere of reach and influence.
For the most part, from 2004 onwards, Jon’s production stayed in his four-pronged lane: Atlanta/Southeast Trap/Crunk, West Coast, Hyped-Up R&B, and Remixes. The two tracks where Jon’s expertise in Crunk expanded to another region is Mobb Deep’s “Real Gangstaz” (2004) and “Can You Believe It” by Styles P feat. Akon (2005). Those dips into New York rap funny enough feel tied to the classic Hip Hop sampling in the Capleton remixes. He had to connect with the Mecca a few times more to close that chapter. His official remix to Fat Joe’s “Lean Back” in ‘05 was just the icing on the cake.
From then til now, there has still been a solid number of songs I didn’t realize Lil Jon produced or composed that he isn’t featured on vocally. G-Unit’s Young Buck only ever had one solo single that anyone remembers and that was “Shorty Wanna Ride.” Interestingly enough, the textures in the instrumental mimic much more of Jon’s West Coast production, but still serve the Tennessee spitter the most ideal pocket he ever had on a beat. It makes you wonder if they had worked together more if Buck’s solo career would’ve garnered more success. “Like That” by Houston Rap group UGK, on their Jive Records debut album, has everything you’d think would exist in a Crunk track with an H-town swang. It’s a song that I never knew he was on the boards for but it makes you realize the timeless chemistry between the bass in his soundscapes and the bass in Bun B’s delivery. Big Boi from Outkast’s solo debut Sir Lucious Leftfoot is still an underrated body of work and Jon produced a standout album cut on it: “Hustle Blood” feat. Jamie Foxx. On this incredibly intriguing song, you hear speaker rattling Crunk in the guitar mixed with slick rhythmic reminders of early mid 90s Outkast and late 90s Northern California cruise music. It’s a style I wish Jon would’ve explored more thoroughly.
The final secret production credit Jon has is for a 2021 Saweetie cut “Get It Girl,” which was an original track for the show Insecure. There seems like no producer more fitting for that show than Lil Jon. I had actually never heard that Saweetie song until doing this deep dive. Because of how the production surrounds her, it’s probably my favorite Saweetie song I’ve ever heard besides “Best Friend” (but that mostly has to do with the beat and Doja Cat). It makes me wonder if Jon could be to Saweetie what Juicy J has been at times for Meg Thee Stallion. She is sonically equal parts Bay Area and Atlanta while Meg is equal parts Houston and Memphis. This is the first time writing this Substack I’ve discovered an A&R angle for an album. Lil Jon, if you ever read this, I urge you to consider letting me arrange for you to solely executive produce Saweetie’s version of Meg’s Fever. It’s the 2020s production moment you’ve been long overdue for.
Inside The Credits 012: Jonathan “Lil Jon” Smith- The Playlists