Lil Jon Reveals Why He Leaked Usher’s “Yeah!” | Ep. 457 with Lil Jon

Daniel (0:00)

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Lil Jon (1:06)

People think I'm an idiot. They just think all I do is scream.

SPEAKER_3 (1:09)

What?

Daniel (1:10)

Lil Jon, Grammy winner, the King of Crunk, the producer behind Yeah, Goodies, and Turn Down for What, a billion streams on one song, and the musical director and performer of the Super Bowl halftime show in front of 300 million people.

Lil Jon (1:27)

Yeah is the biggest song in my entire career. The song almost didn't make the album, so I leaked the song and the song just ignited.

SPEAKER_3 (1:38)

Can you hear in a song before everyone else hears it?

Lil Jon (1:41)

As soon as I said, Turn Down for What, I was like, oh, this is out of here. I turned 50 and I'm just like not liking where I'm at in life, and I felt when he left, I felt a part of me go.

Daniel (1:55)

But was that the hardest thing that you ever had to do?

Lil Jon (1:59)

The key to life, what I've learned in my last four years, number one.

Daniel (2:09)

It's an honor, Lil Jon.

Lil Jon (2:11)

Hey.

Daniel (2:11)

I grew up listening to you. We party to all of your music. I mean, everyone's getting turned down, or turned up.

And then with your meditation, you get turned down.

Lil Jon (2:22)

My dad is lame, bro. He does these lame dad things all the time. The dad jokes are terrible.

Daniel (2:27)

Dad jokes. I got a book coming out.

But let's talk about your book, though. This book right here. This book.

Lil Jon (2:34)

Oh, did you say turned down? Getting everybody turned down. I'm sorry.

Daniel (2:38)

I know, because I got to, no.

Lil Jon (2:40)

I got to with you. Why not?

Daniel (2:41)

Because I have a question later where I say, you used to get people turned up, and now you get them turned down with meditation. So I was thinking about the question later.

Lil Jon (2:51)

It's okay. It's okay.

SPEAKER_3 (2:52)

We're all friends. I'm kind of lame, though.

Daniel (2:54)

I'm not gonna lie. I'm not funny.

Lil Jon (2:55)

No, you're good. You're good. I just got to, I got to mess with you.

Daniel (2:59)

If I think back to when I was in my 20s, knowing that at one point, Lil Jon was going to call me lame, I think that's pretty damn cool.

SPEAKER_3 (3:06)

I think that's pretty damn cool.

Lil Jon (3:06)

But it's lame in a good way.

SPEAKER_3 (3:08)

Yeah.

Daniel (3:09)

It's cool to be lame now.

Lil Jon (3:10)

It's actually cool to be lame.

SPEAKER_3 (3:11)

Right? Yeah.

Daniel (3:12)

So this book, by the way.

Lil Jon (3:13)

Yeah, no?

SPEAKER_3 (3:14)

Yeah?

Lil Jon (3:14)

No, never mind.

Daniel (3:15)

Yeah.

SPEAKER_3 (3:16)

Yeah.

Daniel (3:17)

Oh, that's so bad.

Lil Jon (3:18)

See?

SPEAKER_3 (3:19)

Prime example right there. Don't say that.

Lil Jon (3:21)

You're proving my point. What? Nothing.

He's been waiting to do that probably.

SPEAKER_3 (3:26)

I know.

Daniel (3:26)

My whole life. 25 years. So Lil Jon, okay. This book, I cried, I laughed, I was entertained. But I have to know, on the cover, you're smiling, you're angry, you're happy.

What are the emotions of you on this cover?

Lil Jon (3:43)

I think it's like, yeah.

It's like, you're getting classic Lil Jon in the body of Lil Jon now. So I'm known for the expressions on a lot of my pictures and whatever. So we wanted to be classic Lil Jon, a nod to the old Lil Jon, but me in a suit, showing the maturity of who I am now. So it's like showing that it's also just like, it's two people in this one person, and this is who I am right now. I would say happy. I love that.