{"id":328587,"date":"2026-05-03T18:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T12:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=328587"},"modified":"2026-05-03T18:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T12:39:09","slug":"lil-jon-details-final-father-son-trip-before-his-sons-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/03\/lil-jon-details-final-father-son-trip-before-his-sons-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Lil Jon Details Final Father-Son Trip Before His Son\u2019s Death"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Rapper <strong>Lil Jon<\/strong> encouraged his fans to \u201clove your people hard\u201d while looking back on the ultimate father-son trip he took before his son <strong>DJ Young Slade<\/strong>\u2019s death at 27.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo anyone reading this \u2014 don\u2019t put your loved ones off,\u201d Lil Jon (real name Jonathan H. Smith) wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DXxJrBtP2A5\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">via Instagram<\/a> on Saturday, May 2. \u201cDon\u2019t say \u2018I\u2019ll see them later\u2019 or \u2018We will do this later.\u2019 Don\u2019t skip the long hugs dont be frugal. Make long lasting memories when you&#8217;ll be able to. All of us think we now have time\u2026 but we don\u2019t know Allah\u2019s plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lil Jon, 55, confirmed in a press release to <em>Us Weekly<\/em> on February 6 that his son Nathan Smith (a.k.a. DJ Young Slade) was found dead three days after going missing in Georgia. An autopsy revealed that Nathan died from an accidental drowning within the setting of psilocybin use. (Psilocybin is an alternate name for magic mushrooms, which may elicit hallucinogenic effects on account of a psychoactive compound.)<\/p>\n<p>In Saturday\u2019s post, Lil Jon reflected on how much it meant to bond with Nathan during a birthday trip to Japan in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"wpcom-iframe-cc2a9eb5aaee71f61ee11835acd40002\" width=\"900\" height=\"700\" scrolling=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.usmagazine.com\/protected-iframe\/cc2a9eb5aaee71f61ee11835acd40002\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"wpcom-protected-iframe\"><br \/>\n\t\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo years ago, I asked Slade what he desired to do for his birthday. He said, \u2018go to Japan,\u2019\u201d he recalled. \u201cI had no concept that trip would develop into our final father-and-son trip\u2026 or his favorite one ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The musician went on, \u201cI gave him options for all the pieces, and he selected all of it himself. We did all the pieces \u2014 from museums and food tours to Michelin-star sushi spots. We even watched samurai swords being forged\u2026 and got to make use of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The birthday trip included Lil Jon and his son taking an anime drawing class together and gaining some experience in \u201cdrift culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was expensive, but I didn\u2019t care \u2014 I saw how glad it made him. He told me it was probably the most fun he\u2019d ever had on any trip,\u201d he remembered. \u201cIt hits different now, knowing we won\u2019t get to make memories like that again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He closed his tribute with some crucial advice for fans, writing, \u201cLove your people hard. You never know when it\u2019s the last hug.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-related article link-related__with-thumb\">\n<figure class=\"article__figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:56.25%;\" class=\"ratio-based-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"article__content\">\n<h3 class=\"article__title\">\n<p>    <span class=\"related-badge\">Related: <\/span><span class=\"related-title\">Rapper Lil Poppa\u2019s Explanation for Death Revealed<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n\t\t\tUPDATE \u2014 2\/19\/26, 3:28 p.m. ET: Lil Poppa\u2019s explanation for death has been revealed. The Fulton County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office in Georgia told TMZ on Thursday, February 19, that the rapper died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His death was ruled a suicide. Original story below: Rapper Lil Poppa is dead at age 25. The [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>When news broke about Nathan\u2019s death in February, Lil Jon told <em>Us<\/em> in a press release that he was \u201cextremely heartbroken for the tragic loss\u201d of his son.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis mother [<strong>Nicole Smith<\/strong>] and I are devastated,\u201d he said. \u201cNathan was the kindest human being you&#8217;ll ever meet. He was immensely caring, thoughtful, polite, passionate and warmhearted \u2014 he loved his family and the chums in his life to the fullest.<\/p>\n<p>His statement went on, \u201cHe was an amazingly talented young man; a music producer, an artist and engineer and graduate of NYU. We loved Nathan with all of our hearts and are incredibly pleased with him. He was loved and appreciated, and in our last times together, we\u2019re comforted in knowing that we expressed that very sentiment to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On February 20, Lil Jon shared that his son had been laid to rest two weeks after his death.<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-related article link-related__with-thumb\">\n<figure class=\"article__figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:56.25%;\" class=\"ratio-based-placeholder\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-50902373-EthanBrowneCauseofDeathRevealed.jpg?crop=0px%2C158px%2C1331px%2C753px&#038;resize=400%2C225&#038;quality=40&#038;strip=all\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 400px, (max-width: 770px) calc(100vw - 6em), 200px\" alt=\"Jackson Browne\u2019s Son Ethan Browne\u2019s Cause of Death Revealed\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" data-fallback-img=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-50902373-EthanBrowneCauseofDeathRevealed.jpg?quality=40&#038;strip=all\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"article__content\">\n<h3 class=\"article__title\">\n<p>    <span class=\"related-badge\">Related: <\/span><span class=\"related-title\">Jackson Browne\u2019s Son Ethan Browne\u2019s Explanation for Death Revealed\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n\t\t\tActor and model Ethan Browne\u2019s explanation for death has been revealed.\u00a0 The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed on Tuesday, January 13, that Ethan, the son of songwriter Jackson Browne, died from the \u201ceffects of fentanyl, methamphetamine and lidocaine,\u201d per documents obtained by Us Weekly.\u00a0 The medical expert ruled that the way of death was [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cOn the primary day of Ramadan yesterday, We laid my only son to rest. On this holy month, I\u2019m asking for extra du\u2019a for him and for our family,\u201d he wrote alongside a memorial video. \u201cI really like you, son. Life won&#8217;t ever be the identical without you. Allah, give me strength.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"news-block\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form  \">\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-narrow.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"newsletter-form__background background-narrow\" loading=\"lazy\"><br \/>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-wide.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"newsletter-form__background background-wide\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup__success\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<h3>Thank You!<\/h3>\n<p>You&#8217;ve gotten successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Georgia police announced on February 6 that they\u2019d recovered Nathan\u2019s body at Mayfield Park pond near his home. He\u2019d reportedly run out of his home \u201cdisoriented and in need of assistance,\u201d in line with the Milton Police Department.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe extend our deepest condolences to the Smith family during this difficult time,\u201d police said in a press release. \u201cThe department respectfully asks the community and members of the media to honor the family\u2019s request for privacy as they grieve and navigate this tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lil Jon can be a father to daughter Nahara, whom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DRksBMKDqyC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">he welcomed<\/a> along with his girlfriend, <strong>Jamila Sozahdah<\/strong>, in 2024.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rapper Lil Jon encouraged his fans to \u201clove your people hard\u201d while looking back on the ultimate father-son trip he took before his son DJ Young Slade\u2019s death at 27. \u201cTo anyone reading this \u2014 don\u2019t put your loved ones off,\u201d Lil Jon (real name Jonathan H. Smith) wrote via Instagram on Saturday, May 2. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":328588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[2497,539,31419,1499,3335,721,2809,1084],"class_list":["post-328587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-death","tag-details","tag-fatherson","tag-final","tag-jon","tag-lil","tag-sons","tag-trip"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328587"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328590,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328587\/revisions\/328590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}