Lil Jon (Jonathan Smith) was born on January 27, 1971, better known by his stage name, is an American hip-hop artist & producer.

He is best known as a pioneer of the sub-genre of hip hop known as "crunk" (a combination of elements of Bounce Music, Disco music, Southern hip hop and bass music).

His group, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, which includes Big Sam and Lil Bo, is one of crunk's most notable acts.

Lil Jon graduated from Douglass High School in Atlanta, Georgia in 1989 and went on to pursue a bachelors and masters degree. He hosted a radio show on BET and started doing remixes for artists like Matty-K, Jamaal, Too $hort, Kim Murdah, Xscape, and Total. He worked for So So Def between 1993 and 2000.

Lil Jon is a big fan of the Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL; he attends games regularly and is friends with several players including goalie Kari Lehtonen, who wears the rapper's likeness on his goalie mask. Lil Jon also writes for a blog on NHL.com and his son plays youth hockey in the Atlanta area.