- 5 months ago
Lil Jon sits down with 'The Morning Mess' to talk about getting his start, meeting Pitbull, and more.
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00:00So me and John have proposed something for our second anniversary of the New Morning Mess
00:04for the interview. We propose that we dip from this interview
00:07because we want to go to the party. And we propose that Sienna interview
00:12little John by only saying three words, JD.
00:15What? Yeah. Okay.
00:19There's no way I can do it without him asking the question.
00:22I'll do it. But you guys need to ask him the question.
00:25You will. You will. What?
00:26Say less. Yeah.
00:27I'll do it. I'll do it.
00:29The After Mess.
00:37Hi, After Mess Podcast. Morning Mess here. All the way live.
00:41Joey Boy, JD, Sienna, and ladies and gentlemen, all ready.
00:45You got a little job. Hey, let's go.
00:48How you doing? I'm good, man. You busy? You busy?
00:51Hey, man.
00:53I need to sleep.
00:56It's all good, man.
00:57Yeah, man. I appreciate you carving out time. I know you got a busy schedule here.
00:59You're in the AZ.
01:01Why is it so damn hot?
01:02I know. I was going to say.
01:04Come on, man. What are you talking about? Atlanta is crazy hot right now. I was just there.
01:07It's 108, bro.
01:09No, it's not.
01:10How do y'all live out here?
01:11This is a dry heat, John. Come on.
01:13Yeah, but it's still hot.
01:14You know what I was asking my girl?
01:15I was wondering if artists, when they see Phoenix on your schedule during summer, you know, outside, yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:22Do you like, damn it?
01:23No, I do Vegas.
01:25Ah, that is true.
01:26Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:26Okay.
01:27108.
01:28I've done 115 in Vegas before.
01:30I think I've been in Arizona. It was like 120.
01:32Yeah, I remember last summer, 50 Cent had a concert out here. He canceled.
01:36Very fast.
01:38It was going to be 118 that day.
01:39He canceled that day.
01:40Wow.
01:40At what degree does John cancel a gig?
01:46I don't.
01:47Never.
01:47What?
01:48118.
01:50122.
01:51Well, yeah.
01:52AC's broken inside.
01:54I want nobody to die.
01:56Would you cancel that concert?
01:58Yeah.
01:58Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:003 o'clock in the afternoon, 122. Nah, we're not doing it.
02:03I got some here that I was a music director back in the days.
02:06Now, when you see this, while you're looking at this, what is, I'll show you, this is, I was a music director for many years, and obviously you're the king of crunk.
02:15When you see this photo here, it's plaque, how do you feel about this? What does this bring back?
02:20First of all, being from the South and to sell 2 million records in the early 2000s is like selling 10 million records right now.
02:28Right.
02:292 million records, and this was an independent record company.
02:33This was not Def Jam, this was not Warner Brothers, this was TVT, and we sold 2 million, not singles, albums.
02:44Okay.
02:44I don't think people, if you weren't around, if you weren't in your 20s or 17 in the 2000s, you don't understand what I'm saying.
02:53Yes.
02:53Because streaming was not around.
02:55Yes.
02:55Somebody had to go in their pocket and pull out that $20 to buy that CD.
02:59Or, yeah, that's what they really, you really spent the $20, we didn't put it on a credit card.
03:05Your story, as a music director, I remember your story and E-40's story were very similar.
03:09E-40 was very independent.
03:11Yeah.
03:11Out of the back of a car selling CDs and stuff like that.
03:16And everybody doesn't know, he saw like Def Jam, Interscope, Atlantic, TVT was a small, and you were selling.
03:25Yeah.
03:26And then you were, and you were like, it was a new genre of hip hop at that point.
03:30Yeah.
03:31And the South, when we started to come out and try to break through, the South wasn't respected like all the way.
03:37Right.
03:37Like it is now.
03:39Yes.
03:39So it was a little harder.
03:40So, I mean, like, before I got to deal with TVT, I was, like, literally mailing the records to DJs myself.
03:48What?
03:48Calling the program directors, music directors on Music Day.
03:53They not picking up the damn phone from me.
03:55I was one of them.
03:55You know.
03:56Even though, like, my record was charting and everything, but, you know, trying to get new markets, you know, it was tough going to the music seminars with boxes of records.
04:09You know, I was a DJ, so I know how to talk to DJs.
04:12Yeah.
04:13I know when you show the DJ love, they're going to show you love because people would, the artist was, you know, some artists were too big to come and talk to the DJ, even though the DJ's breaking your damn record.
04:22Yeah.
04:23And when we were in Phoenix, you know, it was, I mean, obviously it was a new sound and it was with you and the Ging Gang and then it's a Latino.
04:29Then you started rocking my boy to this day, I still keep in contact, Pit.
04:32Yeah.
04:32When you got with Pitbull, that was next level.
04:35Was it on this one here?
04:37Yeah, Kings of Crump.
04:37Yeah.
04:38He says it in the rap, Kings of Crump track 18 or something like that.
04:42Yeah, he was on this album.
04:43And I think that's when, I feel like the sound of everyone was respected, but then when you got Pit, it was like, oh, he rock with Latinos.
04:49That was like another level.
04:50The reason, the reason I even got with Pit was because when I would go to Miami, a lot of Latino fans would come up to me and be like, yo, we love your shit.
04:59We love, we love your stuff.
05:00Yeah.
05:01And so I wanted to show that the Latinos, I messed with them too.
05:05So when I met Pit through just randomly on the beach, what's crazy story is I remember being in the car, going to the beach and I'm hearing his song Oye on the radio.
05:15I'm like, I don't know what he's saying, but he jamming, but he, but he's kind of spanglish.
05:19He was speaking, he was spanglish, but I hadn't heard nobody like that except for like, you know, not nobody from the South, you know, you know, you had big pun, you know what I mean?
05:27But nobody from the South was doing this.
05:30So I was like, he kind of dope.
05:32And so I'm on the beach walking on the strip and a guy that I know from when I was doing So So Deft Bass All Stars, his name was Rob Hernandez, who's still with Pit right now.
05:42Right.
05:43So he was, him and Pit were walking together and I'm like, Hey, what's up, Rob?
05:46And he was like, yo, this is my boy Pit.
05:47And I was like, I just heard your song on the radio.
05:50It's pretty fire.
05:52And so I said, come by the studio.
05:54Let's do something.
05:55Because I wanted, like I said, I wanted to show my Latino fans that I had love for the Latino community too.
06:01Okay.
06:01And once me and him clicked up, we never were not together.
06:05Like we, he was, we, after that, we was always together.
06:08Whenever I was in Miami, he was, we were together.
06:10Yeah.
06:10And that's still family.
06:12My brother, we just, he took me on tour with him to Europe earlier this year.
06:15That was great.
06:16It was just like, whenever we click up, it's like, if we haven't seen each other in 10 years, it's like the last time we saw each other.
06:23Yeah.
06:24You know what I mean?
06:24We pick right back up where we left off.
06:26Every time we go out, you go crazy with that.
06:28Yeah.
06:30Right, right, right.
06:31Right, right.
06:32You have a Lil Jon story.
06:34Well, first of all, I have multiple.
06:36I don't know if we can do, did you all know?
06:38We only have a couple minutes.
06:39But first of all, Lil Jon was my designated driver in Boston.
06:42He was there to see Vice, our good friend, DJ Vice.
06:44He gave me the crazy ass right there.
06:46What?
06:46Yeah, no, Lil Jon, no, you were my DD.
06:50We were at the club, and our buddy Vice goes, hey, you're going to be performing at the casino I lived by in Boston.
06:56And he was like, can you give him a ride home?
06:58And you were like, of course.
07:00Hop on in.
07:01And that's when you became a fan.
07:03And that's when I became a fan.
07:04Because Vice is family.
07:05So he's not going to ask me to bring a random person that's not cool home.
07:09So thank you.
07:11Thank you for getting me home safe.
07:12I'm a good friend with Vice.
07:15When I did radio in L.A., I put him on, and he was like 17.
07:18I worked at Power 106.
07:19He was 17.
07:19I brought him on.
07:20And I just interviewed him.
07:21I used to call Mr. Chalk, used to be the MD.
07:24Mr. Chalk.
07:24And he would not answer my fucking call.
07:26From the Roughnecks, Mr. Chalk, yeah.
07:28Wasn't he the MD at Power 106 at one point?
07:30I believe he was, yes.
07:31He was helping out your power, yeah.
07:32I used to try to call him, and he would not pick up the phone.
07:35And I used to curse him out.
07:37Like, yo, motherfucker, my record is true.
07:40Like, don't be a fucking hater, bro.
07:42Mr. Chalk.
07:43Yeah.
07:44Mr. Chocolate.
07:45Anyway, sorry.
07:46Didn't mean to kick off.
07:46No, no, no, you're good.
07:47I was talking to Vice, and he was telling me how he was on his sober, and he was telling
07:52me he's been sober for quite a long time.
07:54He's like, there's one celebrity that made me break my sobriety.
07:59And I was like, wait, who got you to drink?
08:02He's like, Little John.
08:04Well, that's because we used to drink.
08:06We used to, I've known Vice probably since the early 2000s when I used to go to Vegas.
08:10Yes.
08:10Like, he was one of my favorite DJs to watch because, like, he just knew how to just tear
08:16a Vegas crowd up.
08:17Oh, okay.
08:18So, early on, we became friends, and yeah, we always drank together.
08:23You know, for people that don't know, when DJs get together, we would just get drunk.
08:28That's what we do.
08:29Yeah.
08:29Because we, it's a part of, it's a part of the job, you know, you're drinking shots.
08:33So, one night, he was, like, not drinking, and I was, like, I was heavily on his own.
08:39Was he bowing his head?
08:41Was he going like this?
08:42I was like, man, come on, man, come on.
08:44Peer pressure.
08:45He's a bully.
08:45Little John's a bully.
08:47Bully.
08:48You know what's crazy?
08:49I don't drink anymore.
08:50It's like two years.
08:51What?
08:52Two years.
08:52Yeah, like, crazy.
08:53You know.
08:54Boring.
08:55We got to get your husband in here really quick.
08:58We got to play a quick game with John before we wind it up because we know we got to,
09:00this is called Did John Know, okay?
09:02Yeah.
09:02It's JD, but his real name is John.
09:05John, yo, the edible is hitting right now, so we're just going to do.
09:08So, what we're going to do is we're going to ask random questions.
09:10You guys are a team, and you guys are a team.
09:12Okay.
09:12Okay, here we go.
09:13All right, who wants to go first?
09:15We will.
09:16We'll set the tone.
09:16All right, first question is, all right, how many times is the word, yeah, said in the
09:22classic song, yeah, by Usher, Little John, and Luda?
09:25You have one job.
09:25You kind of have to do this.
09:27How many times is it said?
09:28Over a hundred.
09:29We have to choose a number.
09:31An exact number.
09:32So, okay, so we'll take everything over.
09:36Take a number, JD.
09:37All right, we'll go.
09:38For the Johns.
09:39At least a hundred.
09:40Okay, we'll go a hundred.
09:42A hundred.
09:43All right.
09:44Easily.
09:45A hundred and two.
09:45A hundred and two.
09:46Yeah.
09:46Answer is 54.
09:49Okay, we up.
09:50Point for the Johns.
09:51Point for the Johns.
09:52My G.
09:52My G.
09:53Did you know it was 54 times?
09:54No, I did not.
09:55All right, all right.
09:55Here we go.
09:57There's not yet.
09:57I feel like there would be a blog.
09:59Basically, this count includes both the instances where the word is sung individually and whose,
10:04and those where it is part of the longer phrase.
10:07So, it goes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:08I trusted you on that one.
10:09Yeah.
10:09Okay.
10:10All right.
10:10Here we go.
10:11Second question.
10:12Over to you.
10:12Sienna and Babe.
10:14Atlanta is the birthplace to a witch soft drink.
10:18ATL.
10:18Oh, he got this.
10:20Uh-oh.
10:20You got to get this right because he knows it.
10:22That's crazy.
10:23All right.
10:24Atlanta is the birthplace to a witch soft drink.
10:27What's your answer?
10:28What are we going to go with?
10:28What are we going to go with?
10:29Sex on the Beach.
10:30Sex on the Beach.
10:30Soft drink.
10:32A soft drink.
10:32A soft drink.
10:36John?
10:36Coca-Cola.
10:37Coca-Cola is correct.
10:38Let's go.
10:39Let's go one time, baby.
10:41All right.
10:41Here we go.
10:42All right.
10:43Last question.
10:44All right.
10:44Here we go.
10:45We won anyway.
10:47Little John, I hope this is right.
10:49Little John's first job was at a skateboard shop when he was around 17 years old.
10:52Is that correct?
10:53Yeah.
10:54Yeah.
10:54Okay.
10:55Nardwarr.
10:55Let's go.
10:56The world record for most consecutive kickflips was how many consecutive kickflips?
11:02How many kickflips in a row?
11:05World record, John.
11:06In a row?
11:07In a row.
11:07I'm on John's team, too.
11:08Don't just choose him.
11:09Okay.
11:09I said John's.
11:10I said John's.
11:10I'll let you go with that.
11:11Let's go with, I feel like it's going to be high.
11:14I think like 203.
11:17203?
11:18Yeah.
11:19100.
11:21100 for sure.
11:23All right.
11:23Answer is 1,546.
11:25Let's go, baby.
11:26That's a sweep.
11:27That's a sweep.
11:28That is a sweep of right.
11:33Sienna, you okay with that?
11:34Yeah.
11:37All right, John, man.
11:38We know you got to hit the stage.
11:39We appreciate you so much, family.
11:41Yes.
11:42Vice.
11:43There you go.
11:45We're going to try to make it.
11:46Easy dove.
11:47Easy dove.
11:47You have to miss.
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