So… last week Lil Jon was in town and we got the chance to actually watch him perform, live!
The ‘King of Crunk’ was in town for his forth time, in commemoration of the grand launch of Play, the main room at brand-spanking new night spot; The Roof Kuala Lumpur. Yet another successful event put together by KC & Friends…Kuala Lumpur’s up & coming events/party promoter, PLAY saw at least 300 people flock out to the night spot to witness a performance by arguably the world’s best hype man rapper, on home soil.
Lil Jon is no alien to Malaysian music listeners as he is probably best known for his work on songs like ‘Yeah’, where he was featured by Usher,
Or perhaps on ‘Krazy’, where he stars alongside Pitbull that became a world wide massive hit which co-incidentally was the soundtrack for the smash hit feature film, Fast & Furious 4.
Or even ‘Turbulence’ with Steve Aoki & Laidback Luke, that the took the electronic music world by storm & made it cool for rappers to crossover.
Or possibly his biggest hit thus far, ‘Get Low’ with his original break out crew, The East Side Boyz.
Talented John Smith AKA Lil Jon had his humble beginnings as a night club DJ in his native Atlanta, later taking a job with famed So So Def Recordings which was owned by the great Jermaine Dupri for 7 years. It is after that when he rose to glory with a string of hits from albums with his crew, The East Side Boyz as well as other high profile music features & collaborations.
The Lil Jon you know today has had his influence set on quite a bit not just in regards to Hip-Hop, but also pop culture. And when he is not busy making music that makes the people go crazy on the dance floor, he juggles his time between DJing, producing, acting & being an active entrepreneur.
Here’s his latest offering, ‘overnight hit’ of a collaboration with DJ Snake, ‘Turn Down For What’ that has the world STILL going mad to Lil Jon.
So as you can see and hear, there was a lot to be excited about Lil Jon being in town & we were there in attendance early. As we got to PLAY at The Roof, which is located on the Sky Level of First Avenue right beside One Utama old wing, we were treated to the smooth blend of sounds by DJs Ashy Ash & Nazkimo of the Kartelhitmen. These guys proved why they were undoubtedly the best crew in the country, taste making the finest in R&B and Hip-Hop music. By the time they got the bouncy, soulful mood out of most the crowd in attendance, it was time to switch it up.
And that was exactly what DJ Biggie, Joe Flizzow’s official DJ & Kartelhitmen head honcho as well as MC Syze, undoubtedly one of Malaysia’s finest rappers & club hype man did. They wasted absolutely no time in dropping some of the hottest joints, getting almost all the ladies present, gyrating on the dance floor. Also in attendance was the president of Malaysia Hip-Hop himself, Joe Flizzow.
Then it happened. At about 1 AM, Lil Jon appeared on stage after his tour DJ Turbulence came on to set up. Greeting his fans with the customary ‘WHAT!’ and ‘YEAH!’, he then started taking everyone on a musical medley tour around America & the world. First stop was his home, Atlanta where he gave us a snippet of ‘Get Low’ & ‘Yeah’ and the moving on to Cali, where he rapped along to Dre & Snoop’s ‘The Next Episode’. Next to follow was New York & he threw on Jay Z & Kanye’s ‘Ni**as In Paris’, rapped along & then moved on to perform all his hit songs for the rest of the night, including ‘Krazy’, ‘Turn Down For What’, ‘Turbulence’ and many others. DJ Turbulence took over right after Jon’s performance, and exact hour after to keep the momentum going & kept on party rocking. Check out some pictures we took below:
Yes, he may have been to Malaysia 3 times before & yes, his set may have only lasted for an hour. Yet, in Hip-Hop royalty deprived Malaysia it was something you wouldn’t have wanted to miss. Because he came through with the same amount of energy & hype you would expect from an international rap superstar. And he’ll probably do it again. With the same amount of finesse. It only makes sense for man who keeps asking us ‘Turn Down For What?’