Crunk Call

When historians look back at turn-of-the-century music at the dawn of Y2K, Jonathan Smith’s name will surely be mentioned. How could it not? He’s a composer, producer, and musician who has been perfecting his craft for more than a decade. He’s even a monarch with powers to bestow royal titles...

By Jose D. Duran

May 31, 2012

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When historians look back at turn-of-the-century music at the dawn of Y2K, Jonathan Smith’s name will surely be mentioned. How could it not? He’s a composer, producer, and musician who has been perfecting his craft for more than a decade. He’s even a monarch with powers to bestow royal titles like the Princess of Crunk&B to acts such as Ciara. His Midas touch turned Pitbull into hip-pop’s king. And he even made a man out of Usher when the crooner uttered his words, “Peace up, A-town down.” You probably know Smith best by his nom de plume, Lil Jon, the godfather of crunk music and one of Southern hip-hop’s most fervent pushers. And while his days of yelling, “Yay-uh!” and calling out, “To windows, to the wall!” might be behind him, Lil Jon is still writing music for bubbling acts such as Yelawolf and getting behind the decks for a DJ residency at Wynn in Las Vegas. He’ll show off some of those skills when he gets the party rockin’ at LIV (4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach) along with resident DJs Ruen, Jessica Who?, and Contra. The sweat starts dripping at 11 p.m. Tickets are available for $40 at wantickets.com. Call 305-674-4680 or visit livnightclub.com.
Wed., June 6, 11 p.m., 2012

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Jose D. Duran is associate editor of Miami New Times where he primarily oversees the arts and culture and music beats. Jose joined the New Times staff in June 2008 but has been covering Miami culture since 2005. His work has also appeared in publications likeVice, Billboard, and Spin. He’s earned numerous accolades including placing first for Weekly Newspaper Contest: Business Reporting from the Florida Press Association in 2020; placing third for the Writing: Light Feature from the Florida Press Club in 2019; and placing third in Weekly Newspaper Contest: Best Obituary from the Florida Press Association in 2015. Jose holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida.

Contact: Jose D. Duran

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