Lil Jon Opens Up on Sons Tragic Death

Lil Jon says putting his thoughts on paper, , have helped him in the four months since the tragic death of his son DJ Young Slade at 27.

The Atlanta native, 55, chat on Tuesday with TMZ at LAX, where he was asked about how he's coping in the wake of the tragedy.

The body of DJ Young Slade, whose real name was Nathan Smith, was recovered from a pond near his family's Milton, Georgia home on February 6.

Fulton County medical examiners said in an that the death was ruled accidental, with toxicology reports indicating he had psilocybin (which is found in hallucinogenic mushrooms) in his system.

The Get Low artist said that penning his memoir I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me - which includes a memorial to his late son - made for a cathartic process.

'It's really just everything about my life, how I got my start, all the ups and downs of the music industry, and then my son's passing happened when we were done,' he said.

The rapper continued, 'So we went back in and included me talking about my experiences with that and how it was processing and dealing with all of that in the book as well.'

The body of DJ Young Slade, whose real name was Nathan Smith, was recovered from a pond near his family's Milton, Georgia home on February 6. Pictured 2025 in Georgia