{"id":611,"date":"2026-05-02T21:46:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T21:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/lil-jon-recalls-final-trip-with-late-son-nathan\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T21:46:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T21:46:31","slug":"lil-jon-recalls-final-trip-with-late-son-nathan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/lil-jon-recalls-final-trip-with-late-son-nathan\/","title":{"rendered":"Lil Jon recalls final trip with late son Nathan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/126866341.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Lil Jon looked back on his last trip with his late son Nathan Smith in an emotional social media upload. <\/p>\n<p>In the clip, the father-son pair took on Japan, trying out various foods, exploring shopping malls, modeling traditional garb, checking out the Fuji Speedway, and even sketching anime characters, among other activities. <\/p>\n<p>The rapper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DXxJrBtP2A5\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">noted in the caption<\/a> that he\u2019d asked Nathan \u2014 who went by DJ Young Slade \u2014 what he wanted to do for his birthday two years ago. Lil Jon wrote he wanted to \u201cgo to Japan.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had no idea that trip would become our final father-and-son trip\u2026 or his favorite one ever,\u201d the \u201cGet Low\u201d hitmaker continued in part. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe did everything\u2014from museums and food tours to Michelin-star sushi spots. We even watched samurai swords being forged\u2026 and got to use them.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Lil Jon looked back on his \u201cfinal\u201d trip with son Nathan in an emotional social media post (above.)  <span class=\"credit\">Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The rapper noted that he and late son Nathan spent time together in Japan for his birthday. Nathan is seen above in an Instagram montage from the trip.  <span class=\"credit\">Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Lil Jon noted that Nathan was \u201ca big anime fan,\u201d so the pair took a drawing class with an anime book author, and that he \u201ceven got to learn how to drift and drive on the streets where the drift culture began.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>While admitting that the trip was \u201cexpensive,\u201d Lil Jon \u2014 born Jonathan Smith \u2014 said he \u201cdidn\u2019t care.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI saw how happy it made him,\u201d he wrote. \u201cHe told me it was the most fun he\u2019d ever had on any trip. It hits different now, knowing we won\u2019t get to make memories like that again.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The rapper urged \u201canyone reading this\u201d not to \u201cput your family off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t say \u2018I\u2019ll see them later\u2019 or \u2018We can do that later,&#8217;\u201d he wrote. \u201cDon\u2019t skip the long hugs dont be frugal. Make long lasting memories when you can.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The rapper noted that they \u201cdid everything\u2014from museums and food tours to Michelin-star sushi spots.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Lil Jon wrote that they \u201ceven watched samurai swords being forged\u2026 and got to use them.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe all think we have time\u2026 but we don\u2019t know Allah\u2019s plan,\u201d he wrote in the heartfelt caption. \u201cLove your people hard. You never know when it\u2019s the last hug.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLove you, son,\u201d he concluded the post, signing off as \u201cDad.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of our son, Nathan Smith.\u00a0His mother [Nicole Smith] and I are devastated,\u201d Lil Jon, 55, said at the time, calling Nathan \u201cthe kindest human being you would ever meet.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>They also took an anime drawing class, since Nathan (seen above in the video) was a fan of anime.  <span class=\"credit\">Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The rapper and his son also tried out various foods in the Instagram video (above.)  <span class=\"credit\">Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Milton, Georgia Police Department confirmed that day that a body was <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/06\/celebrity-news\/lil-jons-missing-son-believed-to-be-dead-after-body-found-in-georgia-pond\/\">recovered from a Mayfield Park pond <\/a>near Nathan\u2019s residence. <\/p>\n<p>Prior to his disappearance, he\u2019d last been seen at his home on the morning of Feb. 3, when he ran out of the residence. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe may be disoriented and in need of assistance,\u201d police said at the time, noting that they were \u201cconcerned for his safety.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>\u201cMake long lasting memories when you can,\u201d  he wrote.  <span class=\"credit\">Lil Jon\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Nathan Smith (seen above with his father in 2016) died in February after an accidental drowning.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His cause of death was <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/27\/celebrity-news\/lil-jons-son-nathan-smiths-cause-of-death-revealed\/\">revealed on Feb. 27<\/a>, with People revealing that Nathan perished of \u201cdrowning in the setting of psilocybin use.\u201d\u00a0The manner of death was ruled accidental. <\/p>\n<p>The rapper\u2019s eldest child was <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/19\/celebrity-news\/lil-jons-son-nathan-laid-to-rest-2-weeks-after-death\/\">laid to rest <\/a>two weeks after his death. Jonathan wrote at the time that \u201cLife will never be the same without\u201d his son. <\/p>\n<p>The \u201cCelebrity Apprentice\u201d alum welcomed Nathan with estranged wife Nicole in 1998. He\u2019s also dad to daughter Nahara, whom he welcomed in 2024 with girlfriend Jamila Sozahdah.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/02\/parents\/lil-jon-recalls-final-trip-with-late-son-nathan\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lil Jon looked back on his last trip with his late son Nathan Smith in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/126866341.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}