Jonathan Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Douglass High School in 1989. He worked for So So Def between 1993 and 2000.

Lil Jon is best known as a pioneer of the sub-genre of hip hop known as "crunk". He has his own energy drink, called CRUNK!!!, and has his own line of Oakley Sunglasses. He also has the World Record for the 'Largest Diamond Pendant' which consists of the words “Crunk Aint Dead”. The dimensions of the pendant are as follows: 7.5 inches tall, 6 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. It weighs 5.11 pounds with a total 73 carats of diamonds.

Lil Jon released his album, Crunk Juice, featuring contributions from protégé Lil' Scrappy and Bo Hagon, Grammy Award-winning record producer Rick Rubin, R. Kelly Ice Cube, Timbaland Usher, Three 6 Mafia, Gangsta Boo, and Ludacris, and one of Lil Jon's punk heroes, Bad Brains. The double-CD Crunk Juice includes remixes of Daddy Yankee's Reggaeton hit "Gasolina", Terror Squad's "Lean Back", and others. The biggest hit from this album was the Usher/Ludacris collaboration "Lovers & Friends", which reached #3 on the Hot 100. Lil Jon worked with KoЯn for a track on their album released later in 2005.

Lil Jon's first solo album 'Crunk Rock' is scheduled for release in 2008 and has already boasted 2 hit singles; 'Snap Yo Fingers' which features fellow BME artist E-40 and Sean Paulof YoungBloodZ' as well as 'Act A Fool' which features Three 6 Mafia.

Lil Jon’s songs have a strong relation to Miami Bass, in that they share the avid use of the Roland TR-808 kick, high dance tempos, and explicit lyrical content, usually dealing with sexual themes and expressing the language of the Miami streets. He also samples various Disco sounds in his songs, especially in "What U Goin' Do".