Lil Jon Reveals The Man Who Raised Him Wasn’t His Biological Father

For Lil Jon, expressing his life experiences in writing has involved revisiting significant personal memories, including an unexpected revelation about his past.

In advance of the release of his memoir, “I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me,” the rapper and record producer disclosed that he recently discovered that Willie, the man he believed to be his biological father, is not related to him by blood. “You never think that will happen to you. And when it happens to you, it just knocks you back, and you got so many questions,” Jon shared in an exclusive interview with People.

This unexpected information emerged after a cousin took a DNA test to explore their ancestry. When the results were returned, they did not match Jon’s expectations. “He shared his map with me,” Jon recalled. “We weren’t matching for some reason.”

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Although his relative reassured him that their relationship remained unchanged, Jon found himself in search of answers from those who can no longer provide them. “Neither one of my fathers are here anymore, nor my mother, so I can’t get answers,” he explained. “And that drives you crazy as well, until you get to the point where you have to accept that you will never get answers.”

Willie passed away from bone marrow cancer during Jon’s rise to fame in the early 2000s, and his mother, Carrie, died in 2013 after a stroke related to complications from diabetes.

The “Snap Yo Fingers” artist also mentioned that siblings from his biological father’s side have reached out to him. However, he feels unprepared to engage in those relationships at the moment. “I have had my brother and sister reach out on my biological dad’s side, but I haven’t been ready to process that yet and have that conversation, because it’s just so heavy, man. It’s just hard to process. It takes time,” he explained.

In his upcoming memoir, Jon also touches on the loss of his son, Nathan Smith, who passed away in February at the age of 27.

An excerpt from the book highlighted the final conversations between Lil Jon and Nathan, who was building his own music career as DJ Young Slade. Jon recalled offering encouragement during personal struggles and their last exchange before Nathan went missing. “I’m sorry,” he remembered telling Nathan. “I see that you’re trying, and I want you to know that you are seen. All the effort you’ve been putting in — I see it. And I see you.” He added, “Little did I know that was the last time I would talk to him. The next day, I got the call that he was missing. My mind went into overdrive.”

Nathan was later found in a pond near his Georgia home. His death was ruled accidental, with drowning in the context of psilocybin use determined as the cause.

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