Earlier this yer Lil Jon experienced a father’s worst nightmare when his 27-year-old son, Nathan Smith a.k.a. DJ Young Slade, tragically passed away in a drowning accident this past February.
Now it seems like Lil Jon is ready to open up about the heartbreaking tragedy as People is reporting that in his new book, I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, Lil Jon writes about the last conversation he had with his son before he disappeared and was ultimately found days later. Telling People that he “needed to share everything I was going through,” Jon says that the book that he had been working on for years is now dedicated to the memory of his first-born son.
In an excerpt from his book, Lil Jon explained how his son was dealing with both mental stress and physical distress which led to Jon sending him to get “all kinds of tests” to see what kind of treatment he could get him in order to help him get better. Unfortunately it seems like it all became too much to bare for the young man as things took a horrible turn in February. Days after Nathan had gone missing, Lil Jon received a call from the police that they might’ve found his son’s body in a lake. Rushing to the scene, Jon had to endure the worst news any parent could ever receive about their child.
Per People:
The officer looked at me with a serious expression painted across his face. “I’m sorry to inform you, but we found your son.”
My head dropped. My heart broke. I was shell-shocked, overwhelmed with pain.
Just as nothing can prepare you for the moment your child enters the world, nothing can prepare you for the moment your child leaves the world.
Sobs filled the air. Then, quickly, I picked my head up and spoke with the officer more. People who were there told me later they felt like I held it together, all things considered. That while I was receiving the worst news of my life, I somehow kept my composure.
It was unthinkable, still. I knew Nathan was in indescribable physical discomfort, that it was debilitating. I knew he was also dealing with emotional pain. A lot of his pain stemmed from fear. That’s why I’d written those text messages after we talked a few days earlier. I hoped he could find relief from the pain and fear that was weighing on him so heavily.
Our hearts go out to Lil Jon and his family.
Though the family was heartbroken that Nathan had passed away, they found comfort in knowing the young man who felt the weight of the world on his shoulders was no longer having to deal with the mental anguish and physical struggles that had plagued him for so long.
The morning of the funeral, though, I woke up with a sense of peace in my heart, in my spirit, and in my soul. I later spoke to Nathan’s mother, and she reiterated the same thing: He is at peace now. His best friend told me he felt the same thing when he woke up that morning. Nathan was no longer in pain.
Lil Jon’s I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me is set to release on October 20th. Will you be checking the book out? Let us know in the comments section below.