And Lil John's most successful song of all time. Watch. this was this about He says 12 words total In his second most successful song of all time, he says just 19 unique words. but truthfully, most people would associate him with the three most basic words in the English language.

Yeah, what? Okay, now people often criticize rappers for having small vocabularies on the basis that less words equals less talent. but Lil JN isn't a rapper and some would argue that being able to build a legacy as iconic as his such few words is actually more difficult. especially when you consider he kind of did this all by accident. Stay hydrated.

Lil JN is known for his energy, hype, and love for partying with iconic lines like if you ain't getting drunk, get the out the club He carried that same energy throughout his early years in high school. He loved punk rock music spending his weekend St Holy Chad holy and mosh pits at Agent Orange shows and considering his love for partying, what's more important to a party than a DJ At age 16, Lil John taught himself how to DJ and his parents basement. They used to let him throw his own parties under their supervision rather than let him be in the streets somewhere and that proved to be the right decision because as little John got into his 20s, his skills would impress someone who would change his life forever. Jon Landed a regular DJ Gig at Club Phoenix in downtown Atlanta It was at Club Phoenix where he was scouted by rapper producer and executive Germaine Dpri.

Although Dupri was impressed by his dejing, he actually wanted him to be an Anr When it came to Anr, all I could think about was Lil JN Because he was the person in the clubs, he knew people DJs knew him I had to hire him and an Anr's job is essentially to recruit and discover talent for the labels to sign. But So So Deaf was not even close to a well-established label and Lil JN didn't see this as a promising career Pth path. He actually was considering enrolling in Georgia State University and even took some courses at Fort Mcferson through Georgia Military College. But Dupri green lit an album for $100,000 and gave Lil John full creative control.

So music career was on the horizon with that money. Lil John Linked with some of the best producers DJs and artists in the underground Atlanta scene to create the So So Deaf Bas Allstar album. As you can imagine, it was an album full of Dancy fun bangers perfect for the club you probably recognize. Track 2: wait, chat that sounds like a shake That Ass for Drake Now shake that Ass for me My Boo By Ghost Town DJs became known for the Running Man Challenge, a viral dance that absolutely dominated the internet in 2016, bringing it to number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 12 years later, Lil John produced that song two decades earlier.

However, in 1996, the album was also pretty popular. It climbed to the ninth spot on the R&B in hip-hop in came known you probably recognize track 2 my yeah yeah it has a fast BPM but it's it's sampled the loop the it yo I yo I'm I'm I'm a musical genius brother guys guys, if you want to hire me, chat guys I don't give a hi boo by Ghost Town DJs Known for the running a viral dance that absolutely dominated the internet in 2016, bringing it to number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. 20 years later, Lil John produced that song two decades earlier. However, in 1996, the album was also pretty popular.

It climbed to the ninth spot on the R&B in hip-hop chart, solidifying Lil John's presence and influence in the music industry. JN was known all around the country for turning up clubs with the songs he produced. Now it was time for him to jump on the mic. The group Lil John and the East Side boys was formed with him and his two childhood friends Big Sam and Bo.

We'd be the rowdy crowd in the club so Lil John told me and we were going to do a song. who you wh I was like okay we'll do a song and that'll be it And a couple weeks later they came back and said we want you guys to do an album So we did an album I don't know why he chose us I'm just glad he did. Lil John In the Eastside Boys put out their first record independently starting with Get Crunk Who You Wit The Album in 1997, the album was jam-packed with records that talked about shaking ass and getting lit, complimented by production containing simple synth Melodies repetitive claps and lots of B Bounce That ass, Shake Your booty Who You with Intro: Who You With Shouty A Little Son something Intro: Shouty Freak A Little something B They ended up selling 100,000 singles and 40,000 albums on their own. They had The Underground in a choke hold.

because their records were fun, they reduced the idea of having intricate verses to fun chance that everyone in the club would memorize before the song was over. Put Yo Hood Up Move and Beia were perfect examples of this. but even still, by this point, Lil John Never considered himself a rapper, which is ironic because this was arguably the most rapping he ever did and would ever do in his career. Grunk music was about a hot beat, a hot hook, and something people could chant along with.

crunk is best defined as a fusion of Miami base and Memphis Buck rough neck chants backed with 808 beats and humming bass. L John was able to fuse the energy of Bass music with street rap and came up with Crunk, but most of us were introduced to Lil John in 2002 with the track Get Low alongside the ying-yang twins on the album Kings of Crunk in the early 2000s, the music video was more important than ever. Many of you probably remember the days of turning on MTV and just seeing what new songs would pop up. The video forg low showed Lil J's over-the-top outfit cane and signature Iced Out cup full of knows what.

This video sent the song all the way to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Lil JN became the most requested artist for radio DJs and since he was a DJ himself, they were more than happy to play his tracks. Shake That Monkey peaked at 84 on the bill. Salt Shaker peaked at number n Damn peed at number four which was an Anthem to taunt your Ops in the club 2003 Lil John was on fire and everyone in the industry wanted him on their song if they wanted it to go crazy in the club and Usher was the first artist to truly capitalize on that.

at the time, Usher was an R&B sensation who had slow and sensual songs topping the charts, but he wasn't exactly being played in the clubs. Well, Jon was about to change that when they linked up and made a song called Yeah with the Hook focusing on one of Jon's iconic adlibs repeating 12 times, But they needed a rapper to certify this as a club smash, so they sent it over to Ludicrous. Lil John sent me the record you know, with Ushers lyrics on there another record instantly as soon as I heard it I was in my house in Atlanta instantly I was like this is out of here It took me no time to write my verse for it and I I was like this is such a smash I got to be on more than just a verse Yeah spent an astonishing 12 weeks at the number one spot on the Billboard. H 100 Yeah is a true anthem of the early 2000s and at every awkward Middle School Dance It was on every list of the top songs of the decade and is easily one of the most iconic hip-hop club records of all time.

From there, he had even more billboard success with songs named after his ad libs: let's Go and okay. He also had KOLO with pitbull lovers and friends and what you going do whether it was a song to get the gangsters hype or the ladies to dance Lil JN had the music industry in the palm of his hands, but it wasn't technically his music that solidified Lil John as a cultural phenomenon. it was Dave Chelle On season 2, episode 6 of the Chappelle show, Dave premiered a skit called a Moment in the Life Of Lil John Are you checking any luggage today, sir? Did you pack the bags yourself? Y And the bags have been in your possession the whole time? What? I'll never forget. The morning after this episode aired, it seemed like everyone in my school was mimicking the skit yelling what? yeah and okay because of Dave Chappelle People who had no idea who Lil JN was knew him as the guy who said what? yeah and okay a moment in the life of Lil JN became a go-to recurring bit for Dave's show.

He reimagined the skit in season 2, episode 7 and episode 13 alongside the real Lil John Keep in mind the Chappelle show averaged 3.1 million viewers per episode in 2004 just shy of Saturday Night Lives 3.7 million. but his cultural impact reached Far and Beyond that at the time Dave Chappelle was comedy. whatever he thought was funny America thought was funny and Lil John was one of the most successful bits he ever did. John even says Dave changed his life I was talking about it to him that night.

you know every time I um see him I tell him you know like that night I was like you ruined my life Now the reason why Lil John jokingly says Dave ruined his life is because of well this what you sound like a bird like what you sound like a dying bird. Is there anything that you say that you get so annoyed with that fans scream to you what? What is the most annoying ever Lil John was kind of turned into a meme which definitely helped his brand recognition, but was likely very annoying over the years to have random people Shout At You obnoxiously when you're at the airport or dinner with your family. To make things even worse, the Crunk Arrow was dying quickly for the next few years. Lil John had some popular songs in rotation such as Girl Fight, Snap Your Fingers and Go To Church.

Although the songs made during the Snapc Crunk era are nostalgic to look back on, the sub genre was very one-dimensional and it's honestly surprising how long it remained. Popular songs were repetitive with basic call and response. Chance the Beats all started to sound the same and artist lacked the versatility necessary to maintain a fan base. and although Lil JN was a pioneer of the genre, he needed to Pivot or he would get left behind.

Since Jon was a producer, he was able to stay in the mix with people who were pushing the next sound And as we approached the 2010s, we got this new wave of Feelgood Rap, pop, dance, and cheesy electronic sounds coming from the likes of Flower, Pitbull and LMFAO. These iconic songs became Timeless Wedding and Prom Bangers and Lil John's iconic ad libs and hype energy fit right into these. Tunes Crazy The Anthe do you remember and you can't forget the legendary shots I Bet most of you watching Remember Lil John from this era of his career and if you think the Crunk Arrow went fast, these came and went even faster. One homecoming, one prom and a wedding and you never want to hear Pitbull ever again.

Music was changing faster than ever as we approached the internet age. As we passed 2010, EDM festivals started becoming bigger and bigger. EDM DJs were often playing Lil John and Pimple song's crazy in the chat. Pimple got on my nerves but you got to give it to him chat his song.

we're all hits guys. they get annoying really fast right? but they're generic but they kind of hit hard bro an you also have to remember John At his core is a DJ so he was very curious to enter the new wave of open format DJs which is basically just a DJ who plays any in all genres rather than just sticking to one. In 2011, he collaborated with Laidback Luke and Steve Aoki on the trat track Turbulence which was a huge Anthem. That year he started going to massive festivals and performing alongside the DJs he knew plus many upcoming EDM producers in all subg genres from dubstep to Dirty Dutch house to EDM Trap would often sample Lil John His three iconic adlibs were the perfect vocal chops to complement the energy that these EDM sub genres display.

People often use this vocal shot from the song I'm The is by DJ class. Put your hands up! This was the go-to sample right before the beat drop in like 50% of EDM songs that year, but the one EDM track that changed his life was one sent over from DJ Snake Snake sent Lil John a track that had a sample from Red Man that said the count bangr He wanted Lil John to just resay this phrase but Jon didn't think the sample fit the energy of the track on his first listen. He just blurred it out Turned Down For What and knew it was a smash. Only Lil John can say four words into a M and know that it's going to be a hit record.

He had oh Man cat that took over the Internet for so long I I can't I got know that it's going to be a hit record. He added eight more words that most of you probably don't even care about. Fire up that loud. Another round of shots but DJ Snake didn't like it John asked Snake to just trust him.

They started playing the song at their DJ sets and the crowd would go nuts. It was one of the few records I've ever had that when I played it in my sets every time another DJ came up to me like yo, what is that? Let me get that. Let me get that. this song's popularity was also accelerated by Vine users with the first lady even making a video theat video Turn Up For What 10 years after his first number one song with Usher Lil John went number one on the Billboard Hot Dance and Electronic chart for 12 weeks one week.

For every word he said on the song, Lil John was already an icon in hip-hop. This Record made him an icon in EDM and these days he has a much bigger presence there than in hip-hop EDM DJs will send him a record to scream one of his iconic phrases before the drop and he takes 50% of the the revenue for the song. and he deserves it because a Lil John sample will always get people. Rowdy Today Lil John's life is pretty unpredictable.

He's become a big fan of the Side Quest. He has a successful TV show on HGTV where he showcased his unique vision and design expertise, surprising the world with his eye for interior. Aesthetics He created his own wine label little Jonathan Winery that reflects his Unique Style and brought a touch of sophistication to his brand. Okay, might even catch him lecturing at prestigious universities such as Oxford in Music the less words.

it's all dog, but just it's just marketed. Package Dog it's just America and that is what it is John Said he was and he secured a well-deserved Legacy from that. but these days he's got a lot more to say and we owe it to him to listen. They going to say that at my funeral they going to be like he was a good man.

Yeah, I said he was a good man. What man he rest in peace. Okay that dud dude. how is D so good Man he rest in peace.

Okay that okay is dude that okay that's something else I know he made it but still may he rest in peace. Okay, it's almost harmonious.