The East Side Boyz

The East Side Boyz

Jonathan Howard Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre crunk, and is credited with bringing the genre into mainstream success. Lil Jon frequently collaborates with Miami-based rapper Pitbull, Bay Area-based rappers Too Short and E-40. He participates as one-third of an unofficial trio consisting of Atlanta-based artists Ludacris and Usher who frequently create songs together.As a producer, Lil Jon has produced several Billboard Hot 100 hit singles including "Salt Shaker", "Cyclone", "Get Low", "Snap Yo Fingers", "Damn!", "Freek-a-Leek", "Lovers and Friends", "Goodies" and "Yeah!". As a five-time Grammy award nominee, Lil Jon won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance with Usher and Ludacris for "Yeah!"In 2013, Lil Jon collaborated with producer DJ Snake and released "Turn Down For What" an EDM single that, as of 2021, has gone 6× multi-platinum in the United States. The song went on to win the Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Song. The accompanying music video was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, and has been viewed over 1.14 billion times on YouTube as of January 2023.Listed as one of the Top Billboard Music Award Winners of All Time in 2016, Lil Jon achieved his 8th number 1 on Billboard's Rhythmic Chart as a songwriter on "My Type" a song by California rapper Saweetie and was also a songwriter on the rapper's single "Tap In" which reached number 2 on the same chart.

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