Rapper Lil Jon (real name: Jonathan H. Smith) and his family are mourning the loss of their son Nathan Smith, a.k.a DJ Young Slade, after the 27-year-old went missing in Georgia in early February 2026.
“The family is asking for privacy at this time,” a statement from Lil Jon and his family read, obtained by E! News.
Find out what we know so far about Nathan’s disappearance here.
Lil Jon has two children: his son, Nathan, and daughter, Nahara. The “Turn Down for What” hitmaker shares Nathan with his estranged wife, Nicole Smith. Nathan was born in 1998. In 2024, Jon welcomed Nahara with his girlfriend, Jamila Sozahdah.
Nathan followed in his father’s footsteps in the music industry, which Lil Jon beamed about during a 2017 interview with Paste magazine.
“I remember changing his diapers, he couldn’t even talk yet, couldn’t walk yet, crawling around and coming in the back when I’m making music and hitting on the drum pads, and now he’s producing his own music in the Clive Davis program at NYU,” Jon said. “He really knows how to engineer, and his stuff sounds really good. So, with him and these kids, it’s amazing to see those ideas and see people grow.”
