Lil Jon to Shoot “What?”
“I’ve been thoroughly amazed,” Jon says of the success of his latest album, Crunk Juice, which has moved two million copies since its November release. Riding this wave, the King of Crunk is set to tour with blockbuster rappers Eminem and 50 Cent this summer and star in an upcoming feature film.
The Anger Management 3 tour kicks off July 7th in Indianapolis. “I think it’s going to be the biggest tour of the summer,” says Jon. “We haven’t even done any shows off this new album, and the same with 50 and Em. People want to see all of us — and seeing us together? Forget it.
“We’re gonna do a lot of planning and really try to make our show incredible,” he promises. “By the end of the show, people are gonna be ready to go home and take a shower because of all the energy.” Jon also says to expect special effects and specially designed stage props. “Even though crunk music don’t really need no props. We just go out there and hit them so hard — so with the effects on top of that, it’s going to be crazy!”
With G Unit, D12, Obie Trice and newcomer Stat Quo also on board, Jon anticipates some surprise tracks will be born along the way. “Being on tour with all those characters, we might end up doing some records together,” he says. “I’m going to have a studio on my bus, and we’ll probably collaborate back and forth.”
Along with planning Anger Management, Jon has also been in the studio producing the upcoming single for fellow Atlanta rappers Youngbloodz and getting ready to work on Whitney Houston’s next record. He’s also been dedicating as much time as possible to producing the Dirty South artists on his own BME label — including Lil Scrappy, E40 and Chyna White. Jon plans to head out on another tour, with BME talent, in the fall.
As if that’s not enough, Jon, perhaps taking a tip from his superstar tourmates, is also currently working on the script for a feature film, What?, in which he is set to star. “It’ll probably be like [the 1995 Ice Cube hit] Friday,” he says. What? will start shooting next January.
But don’t think this means Jon is cleaning up his act. This month, he and the Eastside Boyz will release a video through porn production company Vivid (home to Jenna Jameson), called Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz Vivid Vegas Party, with another installment on the way. (Jon MC’s the films, but does not star in them.)
“We’ve never been squeaky-clean from the jump,” he says, laughing. “We’ve never been Disney or Sesame Street, you know. You can listen to the records and know: We’re really street.”