{"id":2290519,"date":"2026-02-20T05:41:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2290519"},"modified":"2026-02-20T05:41:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:41:33","slug":"lil-jon-says-final-goodbye-to-27-year-old-son-nathan-reveals-he-was-laid-to-rest-life-will-never-be-the-same","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/lil-jon-says-final-goodbye-to-27-year-old-son-nathan-reveals-he-was-laid-to-rest-life-will-never-be-the-same\/","title":{"rendered":"Lil Jon Says Final Goodbye to 27-Year-Old Son Nathan, Reveals He Was Laid to Rest: &#8216;Life Will Never Be the Same&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"content-figure flex justify-center mb-[1em] mx-auto\">\n<div style=\"max-width:1242px\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><i>Lil Jon and son Nathan <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"heading\">NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"content-list\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"\">\n<p>Lil Jon&#8217;s son, Nathan Smith,\u00a0was reported missing on Feb. 3 and found deceased in a pond on Feb. 6<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"\">\n<p>The musician confirmed his son&#8217;s death in a statement to PEOPLE later that same day<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"\">\n<p>Nathan was laid to rest on Wednesday, Feb. 18, Lil Jon shared the following day<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/lil-jon-8704176\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Lil Jon;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Lil Jon<\/a>\u00a0is remembering his son, Nathan Smith, days after his <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/lil-jon-son-nathan-smith-believed-to-be-dead-as-body-found-in-area-pond-police-11899854\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:death;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">death<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The rapper, born Jonathan Smith, confirmed his son&#8217;s death in a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/heartbroken-lil-jon-breaks-silence-on-death-of-son-nathan-smith-11901690\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Feb. 6 statement to PEOPLE;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Feb. 6 statement to PEOPLE<\/a>, the same day <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiltonGAPoliceDepartment\/posts\/pfbid0dg9FLnD7jwkJz6TQz6dwXCo3k2q87LvRAv7hvREuUqyHzNxKatqethwwA2fdVrNcl\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:the Milton, Ga., police said;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">the Milton, Ga., police said<\/a> they recovered a body they believed to be Nathan&#8217;s from a pond.<\/p>\n<p>Lil Jon, 55, posted an <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liljon\/reel\/DU81WPQDwLy\/?hl=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Instagram tribute;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Instagram tribute<\/a> to his son, also known as DJ Young Slade, on Thursday, Feb. 19, featuring photos of Nathan throughout his life, from his days as a newborn to performing on stage.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"content-figure flex justify-center mb-[1em] mx-auto\">\n<div style=\"max-width:399px\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><img alt=\"Lil Jon and son Nathan Lil Jon\/Instagram\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"399\" height=\"480\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/bd0lYXVWTW_528..L2Hlbw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTg0OA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_people_articles_471\/fd67a6bfbf4b2a1d54245af8ecfd0255\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><i>Lil Jon and son Nathan <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Lil Jon also revealed that Nathan was laid to rest on the first day of Ramadan, Wednesday, Feb. 18.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In this holy month, I\u2019m asking for extra du\u2019a for him and for our family. Please pray that Allah grants him Jannah and grants us sabr, mercy, and strength,&#8221; Lil Jon wrote. &#8220;I love you, son. Life will never be the same without you. Allah, give me strength.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;Damn I Love Miami&#8221; musician expressed gratitude for those who &#8220;reached out with condolences,\u00a0love,\u00a0and prayers,&#8221; adding, &#8220;I will make sure the world knows your talent and never forgets your name. Nathan Murray Smith.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"content-figure flex justify-center mb-[1em] mx-auto\">\n<div style=\"max-width:309px\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><img alt=\"Lil Jon and son Nathan Lil Jon\/Instagram\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"309\" height=\"480\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/UFmQPWeyr6lUTPMEDHICeQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTQyMDtoPTY1Mg--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_people_articles_471\/5baa8c9f456607b7b18d9ac3f14421d1\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><i>Lil Jon and son Nathan <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cNathan was the kindest human being you would ever meet,&#8221; Lil Jon said in his Feb. 6 statement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He was immensely caring, thoughtful, polite, passionate, and warmhearted &#8211; he loved his family and the friends in his life to the fullest,&#8221; the statement continued. \u201cHe was an amazingly talented young man; a music producer, an artist and engineer, and graduate of NYU.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe loved Nathan with all of our hearts and are incredibly proud of him. He was loved and appreciated, and in our last times together we\u2019re comforted in knowing that we expressed that very sentiment to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"content-figure flex justify-center mb-[1em] mx-auto\">\n<div style=\"max-width:310px\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><img alt=\"Lil Jon and son Nathan Lil Jon\/Instagram\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"310\" height=\"480\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/XwGhSvg87ax_3nanCkG5GQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTQyMDtoPTY1MA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_people_articles_471\/59089f2c258e209bf97e7c07fd1b7179\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><i>Lil Jon and son Nathan <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Nathan reportedly ran out of his house without his phone and was last seen at 6 a.m. on Feb. 3. Three days later, the &#8220;Cherokee County Fire Department located and recovered a body from the pond,&#8221; the Milton Police Department (MPD) said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>There is &#8220;no indication of foul play,&#8221; but it remains an &#8220;open and active investigation,&#8221; MPD said. The Fulton County Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE&#8217;s <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-news-daily-newsletter-sign-up-8692701\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:free daily newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\"><strong>free daily newsletter<\/strong><\/a><strong> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We extend our deepest condolences to the Smith family during this difficult time,&#8221; MPD said on Feb. 6. &#8220;The department respectfully asks the community and members of the media to honor the family\u2019s request for privacy as they grieve and navigate this tragedy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/lil-jon-says-final-goodbye-son-nathan-reveals-he-was-laid-to-rest-11910364\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:People;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">People<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.aol.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lil Jon and son Nathan Lil Jon\/Instagram NEED TO KNOW Lil Jon&#8217;s son, Nathan Smith,\u00a0was reported missing on Feb. 3 and found deceased in a pond on Feb. 6 The musician confirmed his son&#8217;s death in a statement to PEOPLE later that same day Nathan was laid to rest on Wednesday, Feb. 18, Lil Jon [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2290520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[351628,443787,443788],"class_list":["post-2290519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-lil-jon","tag-nathan-smith","tag-son-nathan"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lil-Jon-Says-Final-Goodbye-to-27-Year-Old-Son-Nathan-Reveals.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2290519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2290521,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290519\/revisions\/2290521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2290520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2290519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2290519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2290519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}