Rapper Lil Jon encouraged his fans to “love your people hard” while looking back on the final father-son trip he took before his son DJ Young Slade’s death at 27.
“To anyone reading this — don’t put your family off,” Lil Jon (real name Jonathan H. Smith) wrote via Instagram on Saturday, May 2. “Don’t say ‘I’ll see them later’ or ‘We can do that later.’ Don’t skip the long hugs dont be frugal. Make long lasting memories when you can. We all think we have time… but we don’t know Allah’s plan.”
Lil Jon, 55, confirmed in a statement to Us Weekly on February 6 that his son Nathan Smith (a.k.a. DJ Young Slade) was found dead three days after going missing in Georgia. An autopsy revealed that Nathan died from an accidental drowning in the setting of psilocybin use. (Psilocybin is an alternative name for magic mushrooms, which can elicit hallucinogenic effects due to a psychoactive compound.)
In Saturday’s post, Lil Jon reflected on how much it meant to bond with Nathan during a birthday trip to Japan in 2024.
“Two years ago, I asked Slade what he wanted to do for his birthday. He said, ‘go to Japan,’” he recalled. “I had no idea that trip would become our final father-and-son trip… or his favorite one ever.”
The musician went on, “I gave him options for everything, and he chose it all himself. We did everything — from museums and food tours to Michelin-star sushi spots. We even watched samurai swords being forged… and got to use them.”
The birthday trip included Lil Jon and his son taking an anime drawing class together and gaining some experience in “drift culture.”
“It was expensive, but I didn’t care — I saw how happy it made him. He told me it was the most fun he’d ever had on any trip,” he remembered. “It hits different now, knowing we won’t get to make memories like that again.”
He closed his tribute with some crucial advice for fans, writing, “Love your people hard. You never know when it’s the last hug.”
When news broke about Nathan’s death in February, Lil Jon told Us in a statement that he was “extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss” of his son.
“His mother [Nicole Smith] and I are devastated,” he said. “Nathan was the kindest human being you would ever meet. He was immensely caring, thoughtful, polite, passionate and warmhearted — he loved his family and the friends in his life to the fullest.
His statement went on, “He was an amazingly talented young man; a music producer, an artist and engineer and graduate of NYU. We loved Nathan with all of our hearts and are incredibly proud of him. He was loved and appreciated, and in our last times together, we’re comforted in knowing that we expressed that very sentiment to him.”
On February 20, Lil Jon shared that his son had been laid to rest two weeks after his death.
“On the first day of Ramadan yesterday, We laid my only son to rest. In this holy month, I’m asking for extra du’a for him and for our family,” he wrote alongside a memorial video. “I love you, son. Life will never be the same without you. Allah, give me strength.”
Georgia police announced on February 6 that they’d recovered Nathan’s body at Mayfield Park pond near his home. He’d reportedly run out of his home “disoriented and in need of assistance,” according to the Milton Police Department.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the Smith family during this difficult time,” police said in a statement. “The department respectfully asks the community and members of the media to honor the family’s request for privacy as they grieve and navigate this tragedy.”
Lil Jon is also a father to daughter Nahara, whom he welcomed with his girlfriend, Jamila Sozahdah, in 2024.
