Lil Jon is known for many things such as his signature chants (“Yeeaah!” “Okaayyy!” & “What?”), Crunk music, and producing, among other things. However, rapping isn’t one of them. But if you dig a little deeper – or perhaps go back a little further, you’ll find that there was a time when Jon actually spitted some decent bars. “Shawty Freak a Lil Sumtin'” is a great example.
“I was deep in the cut at Club 559,” Jon spits. “Lookin at this gul that was oh so fine. What’s up lil red bone? Just in tights and herringbone was — around her neck. She was shakin’ that thang and getting wet.”
This came as a shock to some.
“So there was a time Lil Jon actually rapped?” one commenter questions in the YouTube’s comment section.
But not to all.
“Boy dis back when Atlanta only had 2 rap radio stations Hot 97.5 n V103,” rashaud8032132 writes, reliving the past time.
Of course, I felt some nostalgic of my own. I grew up in Alabama and had been a fan of Lil Jon and The Eastside Boys since “Who U Wit,” which was around ’98. Shout out to DJ Rockin’ Ron, a local legend, for playing this at the softball games in my hometown.
And for the record, the College Park-native would rap here and there during his group’s hey day. How could we forget his verses on “Play No Games” and “Lovers and Friends” from Kings of Crunk and Crunk Juice albums, respectively?
With that being said, Lil Jon’s name would probably never get mentioned in the same conversation with Andre 3000, Big Boi, Ludacris or T.I. in terms of an Atlanta lyricist. However, there was a time when he actually rapped though.