Jonathan H. Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American DJ, record producer, and rapper. He was instrumental in the commercial breakthrough of the hip hop subgenre crunk in the early 2000s, and is often credited as a progenitor of the genre. He was the frontman of the crunk group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, with whom he has released five albums. In addition, Lil Jon served as a record producer for most recordings by artists of whom popularized the genre; these include Miami-based rapper Pitbull, Bay Area-based rappers Too Short and E-40, and fellow Atlanta-based artists Ludacris, Ciara, and Usher.