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Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz: They Wants To Get Crunk'd Up
interview Page 2
Page 1 of interview
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 rap—in 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.
by Damani
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