Key Takeaways
- A relative's DNA test revealed Willie, who raised Lil Jon, wasn't his biological father.
- With his mother and both father figures deceased, the artist told People he has no one to turn to for clarity.
- His memoir recounts Lil Jon's final conversations with his late son, Nathan Smith.
For Lil Jon, putting his life into words has meant revisiting some of his most personal memories, including a revelation about his past he never saw coming.
Ahead of the Tuesday (Oct. 20) release of his memoir, “I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me,” the rapper and record producer revealed that he recently learned Willie, the man he grew up believing was his biological father, wasn't 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 told People in an exclusive interview published Monday (Oct. 19).
The unexpected news surfaced after one of his cousins took a DNA test to learn more about their ancestry. When the results came back, something didn't add up. “He shared his map with me,” the Atlanta native recalled. “We weren’t matching for some reason.”
Although the relative reassured him that their bond remained unchanged, the revelation left Jon searching for answers from people who are no longer around to 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 died of bone marrow cancer during Jon’s rise to fame in the early 2000s, while his mother, Carrie, passed away in 2013 following a stroke related to complications from diabetes.
The “Snap Yo Fingers” hitmaker also disclosed that siblings from his biological father's side have contacted him. However, he's not ready to pursue those relationships just yet. “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 told People.
Lil Jon also reflects on losing his son, Nathan Smith, in upcoming memoir
This unexpected family discovery isn't the only deeply personal experience Jon opens up about in his upcoming memoir. He also reflects on the heartbreaking loss of his son, Nathan, who died in February at the age of 27.
As previously reported by REVOLT, an exclusive excerpt from the book detailed the final conversations between the Grammy Award winner and Nathan, who pursued his own music career as DJ Young Slade.
Jon recalled encouraging his firstborn through personal struggles and their last exchange before Nathan disappeared. “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 continued, “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.”
The young artist was later found in a pond near his Georgia home. His death was ruled accidental, with the cause determined to be “drowning in the setting of psilocybin use.”