Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz

Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz說唱組合是近兩年來逐漸走入主流市場的一支美國南方說唱組合。Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz最初成立于1996年，當時在美國南部的佐治亞州首府亞特蘭大市，在Lil Jon的帶領(lǐng)下，Big Sam和Lil Bo與他一起組成了這個說唱三人組合，歌手兼制作人的Lil Jon就成為了樂團絕對的領(lǐng)導者。在組織樂團之前，Lil Jon的發(fā)跡是在亞特蘭大的一家知名夜總會里開始的，90年代初，作為那里的DJ，Lil Jon經(jīng)常受到人們的稱贊，而在光臨這家夜總會的人中也經(jīng)常包括一些頗有名氣的說唱歌星和制作人，著名流行音樂制作人Jermaine Dupri就是其中之一，他不僅對Lil Jon的技藝非常贊賞，還讓他到So So Def唱片公司供職，擔任A&R的執(zhí)行副總裁，這個工作從1993年持續(xù)到2000年，同時Lil Jon又開始在亞特蘭大電臺主持節(jié)目。在唱片公司里，他參加了一些列大牌歌星作品的錄制工作，其中包括著名流行歌星Whitney Houston，Usher，以及說唱組合112，Too $hort。這些工作為Lil Jon音樂事業(yè)的發(fā)展奠定了堅實的基礎(chǔ)。
組建了Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz說唱三人組合之后，1997年，Lil Jon開始了自己的音樂生涯，他和他的說唱組合在這一年發(fā)行了首張專輯《Get Crunk, Who You Wit: Da Album》，可惜這張專輯并沒有在更大范圍內(nèi)造成影響。2001年，Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz又發(fā)行了第二張專輯《Put Yo Hood Up》，這張專輯取得了突破，不僅名列獨立專輯榜榜首也在Billboard 200排行榜上位居第43位。隨后又在2002年發(fā)行了第三張專輯《Kings of Crunk》，在發(fā)行首周就名列Billboard 200排行榜的第15位，這張專輯最終銷量超過了220萬張。不過之后2003年的專輯《Certified Crunk》在發(fā)行之后銷量平平，僅在獨立專輯榜上排名第九。在這期間，Lil Jon經(jīng)常參加一些大牌明星的專輯錄制，并且屢有獻聲，這也為他積累了人氣。2004年Lil Jon和Ludacris一起與Usher錄制了《Yeah!》，這首單曲在單曲榜冠軍寶座上連續(xù)保持了12周之久，成為2004年最成功的單曲。隨后，2004年11月16日，Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz樂團發(fā)行了樂隊第五張專輯《Crunk Juice》。
Exuberant, loud-mouthed, and regularly adorned with a bejeweled pimp chalice at hand, Lil Jon was the charismatic figurehead of the Dirth South crunk movement that arose from the Atlanta area around the turn of the century. Born Jonathan Smith on January 27, 1971, in Atlanta, GA, the producer/rapper began his rap industry ascension as part of Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label, for which he worked from 1993 to 2000. In the mid-'90s Lil Jon began making a name for himself as a producer with a knack for club remixes. Before long he formed his own group, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, comprised of Big Sam and Lil Bo, in addition to himself.
Essentially a means of showcasing his production talent, and profiting from it as well, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz signed to Mirror Image Records, an Atlanta-based label distributed by Ichiban Records. In 1997 the label released Who U Wit?, a CD single, and Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album; a second CD single, Shawty Freak a Lil Sumtin', followed in 1998. The regional success of "Who U Wit?" brought with it plenty of outside production opportunities for Lil Jon, and so it wasn't until 2000 that he returned with another East Side Boyz album, We Still Crunk, this one released independently by BME Recordings. A contract with TVT Records followed, as did the group's label debut, Put Yo Hood Up (2001), which boasted some previously released material (e.g., "Who U Wit," "I Like Dem Girlz"), as well as "Bia' Bia'," the first Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz single to get national airplay, thanks in part to the song's guest features (i.e., Ludacris, Too Short).
Led by the single "I Don't Give a @#&%," Kings of Crunk (2002) capitalized on Lil Jon's breakthrough, spawning the Top Five hit "Get Low." Featuring the Ying Yang Twins, "Get Low" was a club phenomenon throughout 2003; Part II, a CD/DVD EP released toward the end of the year, featured dancehall and merengue remixes of the song, along with additional material. Lil Jon's production style became ubiquitous on urban radio thereafter, as "Salt Shaker" (a production for the Ying Yang Twins), "Goodies" (Ciara), "Yeah!" (Usher), "Freek-a-Leek" (Petey Pablo), "Shorty Wanna Ride" (Young Buck), "Damn!" (YoungBloodZ), "Let's Go" (Trick Daddy), "Culo" (Pitbull), "Head Bussa" (Lil Scrappy), "Neva Eva" (Trillville), and "Shake That Monkey" (Too Short) all garnered significant airplay in 2003-2004.
By this point, the celebrity of Lil Jon was such that comedian Dave Chappelle was memorably satirizing him (especially his signature "yeaaah!" and "whaaat!?" expressions) on a couple episodes of The Chappelle Show. Toward the end of 2004, "What U Gon' Do," a Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz single featuring Lil Scrappy, announced the release of Crunk Juice, a star-studded album featuring guest features on nearly every song. "Friends & Lovers," featuring Usher and Ludacris, became the most successful single, reaching the Top Three of the Billboard 100. In the wake of Crunk Juice, Lil Jon receded from the spotlight somewhat, enjoying his celebrity while continuing to produce hits for others: "I'm a King" (T.I., 2005), "Touch" (Amerie, 2005), "Girlfight" (Brooke Valentine, 2005), "Okay" (Nivea, 2005), "Presidential" (YoungBloodZ, 2006), "U and Dat" (E-40, 2006), "Gangsta Gangsta" (Lil Scrappy, 2006), and "Dime/Tell Me" (Pitbull, 2006), among others.