Lil Jon has revealed the final words he exchanged with his son Nathan Smith before the 27-year-old DJ was found dead in Georgia – recalling how he reassured him that his efforts to overcome personal difficulties had not gone unnoticed.
The 55-year-old rapper and producer, best known for the hits Get Low, Turn Down for What and Yeah!, has described the conversations in his memoir, I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, according to excerpts published by USA Today.
Nathan, who performed under the name DJ Young Slade, was found dead on 6 February 2026, three days after being reported missing.
His death was subsequently ruled an accidental drowning associated with psilocybin use.
Recalling one of their final telephone conversations, Lil Jon wrote: “He’d called to say, ‘I love you’. I told him I loved him, too.”
He continued: “I was always encouraging him to take care of himself. On the call, I leaned into him a bit. ‘I’m on you because I love you’, I said. ‘I care about you. I want you to get better’.”
Nathan responded by explaining that he was attempting to work through difficulties in his life.
According to the memoir, Nathan said: “I’m getting there. I’ve been going through a lot. I’m working through it. Give me some credit.”
Lil Jon recalled the conversation ended on good terms, although he was concerned his son might have felt he was being too demanding.
He wrote: “It felt like something was left unsettled.”
The musician said Nathan subsequently sent him a message in the early hours of Saturday morning.
He wrote: “He must have felt the same way, because at 12.48am Saturday morning, he sent me a message: ‘Love you dad, got so much love for you. I’m gonna try communicating better and stop letting fear hold me back’.”
Lil Jon replied with a message expressing his concern and confidence in his son’s future.
He wrote: “I do care a lot. You are my only son, and I worry about you a lot. You are so talented and extremely smart. “Nothing should be holding you back. I pray for the days you have no more discomfort and no more fear. Those days are coming. Love you.”
Lil Jon said he then called Nathan again to make sure his son understood how much he valued the progress he was making.
According to the memoir, Nathan had been experiencing “intense” physical pain, which his father believed was connected to stress, trauma and anxiety.
Recalling the final telephone call, Lil Jon wrote: “‘I see that you’re trying, and I want you to know that you are seen.’”
He continued: “‘All the effort you’ve been putting in – I see it. And I see you’. Little did I know that was the last time I would talk to him.”
Nathan, a graduate of New York University, had been pursuing his own career in music as DJ Young Slade, following his father into the entertainment industry.
Lil Jon, real name is Jonathan Smith, became internationally known through his work with Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz and his role in popularising crunk music during the early 2000s.
His collaborations include Yeah! with Usher, 48, and Ludacris, 49, and Turn Down for What with DJ Snake, 40.
He also performed during Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show in February 2024.
Following Nathan’s disappearance, a search was launched in Georgia before his body was discovered in water near his home on 6 February.
Lil Jon and Nathan’s mother, Nicole Smith, subsequently issued a statement through Page Six confirming the death.
He said: “I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of our son, Nathan Smith. His mother [Nicole Smith] and I are devastated.”
He added: “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.”
The Fulton County Medical Examiner later determined Nathan had died from “drowning in the setting of psilocybin use”.
Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in certain hallucinogenic mushrooms, was detected in his system.
The medical examiner classified his death as accidental.
Nathan was laid to rest approximately two weeks after his death, with Lil Jon sharing a series of photographs documenting his son’s life on Instagram.
The funeral took place at the beginning of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.
Writing alongside the photographs, Lil Jon said: “On the first day of Ramadan yesterday, We laid my only son to rest.”
He added: “I love you, son. Life will never be the same without you. Allah, give me strength.”