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    When it comes to whipping a crowd into a frenzy, there are few as skilled as Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz. Most club hoppers in the group's hometown of Atlanta, Georgia have witnessed firsthand how the trio can liven up a party with the spin of one record. As a matter of fact, one record was all it took to influence a whole movement of southern hip hop artists. It wasn't long ago that Lil Jon took an old southern slang word and attached it to the type of music he produced. That word, "crunk," describes the essence of the party vibe that permeates the late night scene in Atlanta and its surrounding areas. It wasn't long before being crunk, getting crunk, and sounding crunk were the goals of every southern hip hop junkie. Although Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz have received little national recognition until recently, one listen to their music, past or present, is proof enough that their style set the groundwork for a slew of platinum acts that followed. Their usage of 808 drums, heavy bass lines, rowdy lyrics, and hook-laden songs has become the foundation of what the hip hop world now knows as the "dirty south."
Lil Jon: A lot of the Georgia acts that are out are definitely influenced by us, because before us there wasn't really anybody hollering on records trying to get rowdy and crunk like we were. All the way from Lil Troy, Outkast, to Dirty, our records were the anthems for Georgia at the time they were released.
Musictoday: How did you go about developing that style?
Lil Jon: Well, I am a DJ, so everything comes from the DJ aspect of me. When we make a record, we want to make a record that is going to rock the party and the DJ's are gonna love. The records come from the fact that me and the Eastside Boyz are those cats that show up ten-deep in the club, drunk, rowdy, and chanting s**t. We actually take what we do in the club and put it on the record for real. That's why I think it works, because it is something that everyone can identify withbecause it is real. When we record, there are three of us on the mic at one time just like we are in the cluball rowdy, elbowing each other, and jumping up and down just like we would be doing in the club. That's just how we do it; that is why I think it works so well.
Mt: Prodigy of Mobb Deep described rap music as "heavy metal for the black people." Elaborate on that statement, because it seems to me as if you make your music to express that aggressive nature of people, so they can let it out in a controlled environment.
Lil Jon: I definitely agree with that statement, because of the energy in the musicwhat we call crunk. We call ourselves crunk artists, preaching the gospel of crunk music to the world. Crunk is all about the energy and heavy metal has the same type of energy that makes you want to lose control and just get rowdy. With the records that we do, especially southern music, it makes you get rowdy and gets you that energy.
Mt: Speaking of crunk, how did you come up with that word?
Lil Jon: It is actually a word that has been used in the South for years. When we were making this record "Who You Wit?" we wanted a word we could use to go with the hook. I would yell, "Who you wit?" They would yell back, "Get crunk!" It was just that. We had to use that word to get our point across. We were the first ones to use that word on a record, to get up there and tell people to get crunk, get buck-ass wild, get off-the-hook, you know what I'm saying!
Mt: That word has gone on to describe a vast majority of southern hip hop music. As the originator of the word, do you feel that you receive the respect of other artists who have come along in the wake of your sound?
Lil Jon: Oh yeah, definitely. Especially [from] the southern rappers, because they have been listening to our records for so long. They all give us a lot of respect. Even the artists that may not give us the respect, I still feel it, because you have artists like Jay-Z, Missy [Elliott], and Timbalandthey all use the word crunk. That makes us feel good that we influenced big artists like them.
It is not uncommon for originators to be overlooked as imitators come along and popularize their technique. But, after being tightly stitched into multiple aspects of the music industry, Lil Jon understands what has to be done to get his work recognized, regardless of how many artists have followed suit with a sound similar to his own. Whereas many of his early records may have influenced a single region of the U.S., to take an act national is a different deal altogether.
Lil Jon: I haven't worked this hard in my life. I have done a lot of records, but this is the first time I have had to work this hard.
Mt: Why are you putting so much effort into this record versus the other albums that you released?
Lil Jon: This is the first time that Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz had an album that was a national release. We have good money and good marketing dollars behind it. This is our break. I look at it like if I don't make it this time, then I ain't gonna make it. We are putting everything into this shit.
Mt: Do you feel that the market is right for you now?
Lil Jon: I feel the market is definitely right. There are not many records out right now that sound like our record. It is perfect timing. With the radio pitches, people have been getting a taste of the music in different markets and the record is really taking off in different areas that we never thought we would play. Right now, it is the hottest shit in the clubs in Oakland, and we never thought we would be playing in Oakland. It's getting out all over the country just like that.
Mt: You are not new to the business of selling records. Previous to this release you worked as an A&R rep for So So Def, Jermaine Dupri's record label. After being in the clubs and moving on to an executive position, how much does knowledge of both sides of the game help you in your own endeavors?
Lil Jon: Being an A&R taught me how to really put records together. Some cats, when they do records, they do what they think sounds good to them, but when you are an A&R, your job is to make a hit record, put albums together, and distinguish what is good from what is great. I was at So So Def when it first started and I stayed on board for seven years, and, in that time, I did about five albums. From that, I gained a lot of knowledge about the scene behind the scenes and how to put records togetherfrom what producers should go with what artists, even down to using studio time wiselythe big stuff to the small stuff. That helped us out a lot when it came down to making our record, because it taught me how to make a hit. If we had a hook for a song that didn't strike me, we would have to go back in the booth and do it over. Anything that we do, it has to move me, or if I play the song for someone else it has to move them. If it doesn't, then we might have to scrap that song and do another. That A&R experience really helped out a lot.
Mt: How does that affect your artistic side, being so conscious of making a hit? As an artist, it is hard to say that a certain song that you have spent X-amount of hours on can't be used on your own album.
Lil Jon: Yeah, but you have to look at it like, "sure you spent a certain amount of money on a song, but is this song going to be a good representation of who I am?" The A&R side of me says, "we aren't going to put that out, because it is wack, no matter how much time was spent on it. We just have to spend some more money, work a little harder, and come up with some better s**t." Usually, that is when you come up with the hit, when you are under some kind of pressure
It is apparent from the first single of Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz' third and most recent album, Put Yo Hood Up, that they know exactly how to create hit records. The song, "Bia Bia," falls directly in line with the current methodology for getting national recognition in the hip hop world. Not only does it have an unforgettable hook and a heavy track custom-made for clubs and radio, but Lil Jon also enlisted guest appearances from some of the hottest artists around, just to insure his record gets through the front door and on the decks of disk jockeys across the country.
Mt: On "Bia Bia" you have some prominent figures making guest appearances: Too Short, Ludacris, Chyna White, and Big Kap. Did you just make some calls and they came right away, because they had heard your music?
Lil Jon: Originally, "Bia Bia" was called "Just a Bitch." But, when we decided we wanted to record a radio friendly version of "Just a Bitch," we had to change it to "Bia Bia." There wasn't much else you could do with those words as the hook for the song. The song was doing really well in Georgia, where we had released it, and Ludacris heard it and came up to me and asked me if I did a remix of the song to let him be on it. When it was time to do a remix, I called him and he came down to the studio. Before I even got down to the studio, he had done his rapin like ten minutes. That was how I got 'Cris down, and Too Short, well I've been down with Short since when we first put "Who You Wit?" out in 1996. He was a fan of the record. He called and wanted us on his compilation. We ended up doing a record together called "You Couldn't Be A Better Player." That song is an anthem to this day in the South. That is how we got locked in with Short. We actually came up with the record on tour. We were touring with Too Short a while back and that is how the concept came up. I don't know how me and Big Kap got together, but we just hooked it up. I think he was coming into town to DJ a party right when we were in the studio, so we just laid it down. Chyna is one of my artists that I have been pushing, so I had to throw her up on there, because she spits for that New Orleans sound and she really puts it down. I don't think anyone can really touch her style right now.
It takes more than a few hot singles to be a crunk artist. The true test comes in the live arena, a place where Lil Jon is no stranger. His knack for getting crowds hype at shows has earned him the reputation of being the dirty south's original crunk artist. Although the southern regions of the U.S. are familiar with the rowdy music Lil Jon provides, he faces a challenge recreating those vibes outside his own stomping grounds. Mt: What is the key element to get a crowd jumping in a club? There are a lot of DJs that play hot songs and scream into mics, but can't get the people off the wall.
Lil Jon: A lot of rappers don't know how to get a crowd crunk. A lot of acts don't even get the crowd involved in their show. The main aspect of our show is to get the crowd involved and get them hyped even before we start performing our actual songs. We get them so hyped up by asking them questions like, "Where y'all from, up in here?" Sometimes we just have a shouting contest. When you go to a concert, you want to feel like you left with something. If you are just performing the songs, then what the f**k did they pay money for? It is important to make the crowd a part of the show. We hype them up. After they are hyped, then we hit them with the hits. We have done a lot of concerts where at that end of the show the people in the audience are ready to pass out. There were times when we did shows and the headliner didn't show but the crowd didn't care because we had worn them out already.
Mt: You are touring on the Budweiser tour this summer, doing a group of club dates. Taking the sound that you created in the studio and bringing it back to the live club element probably won't be that difficult for you.
Lil Jon: When we do a new record, it is funny to get the initial reaction from people when we do it. For instance, when we did "Put Your Hood Up," we would perform it in areas where people had never heard the song and they would go bananas like they already know the song. We could perform all our old songs, but when we get to that song, it is the rowdiest of the whole show and people don't even know it.
Mt: It seems to me that you could put out a live record.
Lil Jon: That would be incredible. As a matter of fact, that would be a good idea.
Mt: You worked as a DJ for a while and through that you met up with Jermaine Dupri and he landed you the A&R job at So So Def. After being a DJ and learning the hot sounds to get a club hyped and then getting on the industry side, what do you look for in an artist that tells you that this song or that person is the next hot s**t?
Lil Jon: Going back to the A&R stuff, it just takes hot hooks. It is about the hooks and the hot tracks and distinct voices. Those are the things that I think dictate what is going to be a hit. If you hear a song one time, and you remember that hook, then most likely that is going to be a hit record right there.
Mt: Looking to the future, where do you see yourself in four or five years?
Lil Jon: Man, I don't know [laughs]. Hopefully, I will still be making hit records. I want to do more movies. I did a lot of underground, ghetto, 'hood movies like Big Ballers. I want to keep producing videos and directing videos. I got into that by co-directing the "Bia Bia" video. I just want to keep exploring different avenues. Most importantly, I want to keep making hit records for the DJs and get my artists out there poppin'. I want my artists to be just as hot in the clubs as I am.
Mt: There comes a time when you get so much notoriety that you become influential. Do you feel like you have any moral obligation with your music?
Lil Jon: I think everybody does to a certain extent. Then again, everyone does their own thing. Our thing is to get the crowd crunk, get the clubs off the hook. I look at it like, yeah, we have moral obligation, but that might be someone else's thing and they will do it better. Everybody has their own purpose in the music business. Our purpose is to make people get rowdy. I don't think that anyone should be judged, because they don't do one thing or another; that might not be you, and you shouldn't do something that isn't you.
 
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