Every city I record in gives me certain energy.
— Lil Jon
For me, I put Mac Dre right up there with Biggie and 'Pac as legends who have since passed on.
I think people underestimate because I'm the rap guy, I'm a crazy guy, screaming all the time. But that doesn't mean that I'm not intelligent.
As a producer and DJ, I just like makin' great music and hot records for the club.
Sometimes I just got off of an international flight and people are like running up, screaming and hollering, and want to take pictures. They don't really understand like, 'Dude, I'm tired. Just say hello. Keep it moving.'
Even though 'Turn Down For What' is considered an EDM song, it's really a rap song.
You know, my era of DJing was the 90s. I think that was one of the best eras of music, period. From dancehall to hip hop to rock to pop to R&B to everything. I just like that era of music, so I just listen to a lot of 90s overall but definitely 90s hip hop.
I've been an Internet person since early on, been a social media person since early on.
In the 80s, I remember the radio stations would play everything from rock to rap.
I always try to give all of my fans something special for them.
Everybody I see, that's the first thing they think of when they see me: 'WHUUUUUT?' or 'YEEEAAAHHH!' But they don't realize that everybody and their grandmother says that to me.
I used to do this one club called New York Sound Factory where I played house, hip-hop, and dancehall. I was one of the first DJs in the South to play everything.
I used to DJ in Atlanta, and that's how I kind of got into the music industry.
I like producing myself, I like other people producing, I just like it all.
Something that's Crunk is off the hook. It's popping, it's going down if it's Crunk. A football player listening to his Walkman as he's getting ready for the game, jumping up and down, he's Crunk.
I started DJ-ing in the '90s. DJ-ing is in every record I do. When I make records I make them for DJs.
I love to make people have a good time and I love to make people party.
If the beat feels like it don't make you move right, I scrap that and go to another track. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes, sometimes it takes an hour to get one done.
I have a couple different businesses.
My full name is Jonathan.
When I worked with Jermaine Dupri for his label, he would have So So Def parties and he'd tell me, 'Yo, go on get this thing started.' I had to go get on the mic and get people turnt up. I mean, I don't want to be that turnt up guy all the time. It's part of my job so I do what I gotta do.
When I'm doing a set as an artist I'm right in front of the stage the entire time, interacting with the crowd. The DJ set's a little different but they both are great and high energy for the crowd.
My music is designed to make a club go insane when it goes on.
I'm the type, when I used to go to the record store I used to buy two or three copies of certain records so I've got a pretty large selection of a lot of 12 inches.
I was into the Ramones, Bad Brains, all of that, when I was in high school.
A crunk attitude you're just rowdy, rahhhhh! You're just crunk. But you add the crunk rock to it, and it gives you some edge.
I Twitter quite a bit, and try to send out some funny stories.
Yeah, I'm walking through the airport, I'm walking through the street, I'm driving in my car, people just start screaming at me - 'YEEEAAAHHH!'
It's always shocking to people, because sometimes when I go on the road and I DJ, they think I'm just gonna perform, so to see me really DJing and playing their favorite song and really rockin', it's a shock to people, and definitely to DJs.
Zumba is world-wide, respected and it's about health. It's something that you really didn't expect from me. People have been blown away to find out that Zumba and I have partnered up.
When you put the guitars over the 808, it just makes it grittier and grimier. It's just different.
Well, 'Crunk Rock' doesn't mean rock. Initially when I started the album, I did collaborate with a bunch of rock musicians and producers. But as I started to have time to free my mind and catch different vibes, it started to mean something different.
The word 'crunk' means energy. 'Crunk' is the past tense of crank. So if you crank something up, you are getting it started and getting it going. So 'crunk' is when it's going... when it's off the hook.
I'm always on the road.
My job is to make beats and make something hot.
A lot of stuff that I'm involved in is about branding.
I'm not no 'drink wine every day' kind of dude.
Sometimes I don't want to have to be the guy that gets the party going.
My music is party music. If you can make people party, you can always have an audience for that.
Before Lil Jon and The Eastside Boyz, nobody ever said, 'I'm a crunk artist. I make crunk music.'
Yeah, I actually still have my crates that I used to DJ out of when I was first DJing - my crates that I would travel with and take to the club.
I hate reality shows. It's funny because me and my wife be arguing all the time about reality shows 'cause she loves reality shows and watches them all day, all the time. And I be like, 'C'mon. No. No.'
Ladies like to kiss.
I focus all the way on the club. That's why my music sounds the way it does, with the 808, heavy kicks. Every aspect of it is about the club, so I don't really care about the person who's listening on an iPod.
Well, you've got to learn how to make fun of yourself - you know what I mean?
When you're with somebody for some years, sometimes you need a break from 'em. You grow in different directions. That's kind of what happened with me and the Eastside Boyz. They wanted to do different things than I wanted to do, so we separated.
In high school I was the guy all the girls came to with their problems.
I guess certain kinds of jazz music could be Crunk. But the average jazz song, no, it's not Crunk.
When you're living the Crunk Rock lifestyle, you don't let anybody tell you what to do. You live your life to the fullest, you live every day like it's your last, and you party like a rock star. It's just a crazy lifestyle.
If you are having a hard week, turn on one of my songs. Some people are here for different things in life. My job is to make you forget about your troubles.
