As one of crunk music’s high-energy pioneers, no one could have foreseen that Lil Jon would use that rambunctious genre as a jumping-off point to teach Peloton classes, compete in weightlifting competitions, make three meditation albums, or appear on an NBC game show about IDing music.
Lil Jon is the latest guest to appear on Celebrity Name That Tune, which airs on Monday night (Oct. 6) at 8:00 PM ET. He’ll face off against Chord Overstreet, and Lil Jon’s appearance serves as the latest unexpected twist in the rapper’s career. He’s emerged as one of hip-hop’s most talented renaissance men, from performing on the Super Bowl stage to touring Australia with Mariah Carey and Pitbull. Lil Jon tells Billboard he’ll do just about anything to keep his spirit happy these days.
“When I turned 50, I started looking at my life and reevaluating things in my life,” Jon says over Zoom, “and I just chose mental health and my physical health over everything else, and that’s super important, as well as family. We only got one life to live, and especially if you’ve worked a long career like I have and accomplished so many things, why not have fun? It’s time to do what makes you happy and put yourself first.”
Lil Jon talks with Billboard below about his time on Celebrity Name That Tune, shares his thoughts on Bad Bunny ahead of his Super Bowl Halftime Show, and discusses his new remix meditation album dropping Oct. 29.
When did you realize you had such a deep knowledge of being able to name that tune?
I have a DJ ear, then, being a musician and a producer, I have a musical ear. It’s easy to do it on the couch, but it’s harder to do it in person! But even listening to the radio, I could tell what song was coming in, I could tell before too much of it played. I love Name That Tune, I loved being a part of the show and doing the show. It worked out; it was so much fun. It was a lot of people in there too! I was surprised it was such a big studio audience, and they had a lot of energy. It was a really competitive show. It was fun.
What were some ways you locked in to help you against Chord Overstreet?
I was being silly a lot, and I was kinda just breaking the ice by laughing and interacting with the crowd. That helps me to relax, just being at home on the stage. Then it’s just listening, really listening intently and catching it as soon as I can.
Speaking of which, you’re going on tour in Australia with Mariah Carey & Pitbull. How did that opportunity come about, and what are you most excited for?
Man, me and Pit go back 20-plus years. We were just on tour together; he took me to Europe. We had a great time and spent a lot of time together just laughing and talking music. So whenever we get together, it’s amazing; it’s like we picked up where we left off like it was 20 years ago. The same energy, the same kind of relationship and respect and admiration for each other. So whenever I can go, hang out, and wild out with my homie? That’s amazing.
Then, you know, the last time I did [an Australian] tour, I did it with Usher. That was the first time Usher called me and said, “Hey, I want you to be my music director.” So from that tour, he was like, “Hey, I’m doing this Vegas residency. I want you to be my music director for my Vegas residency.” And the Vegas residency led to Super Bowl! So Australia started some good things for me last time I went on tour.
This time I got my own set, and, you know, I haven’t seen Mariah live! So looking forward to Mariah live!
I feel like there’s a very divisive conversation about Pitbull’s GOAT status. What’s your take on it?
People that are [hating on Pitbull] have not been to a show because when you go to a Pitbull show, the energy of the crowd and energy as soon as he sets foot on stage to when he goes off the stage is high energy. Every Pitbull song he performs is uptempo! There’s no slow songs. He’s jumping the entire show. I hadn’t seen his show in a while, and he’s tightened it up a lot. So when we went on tour in Europe, I was like: This is the best show out there, period. It’s him interacting, giving his motivational quotes; it’s just high energy. There are no boring parts of the show whatsoever. I rate him up there as one of the best tours and shows you can see.
How has the reception been to your meditation albums? I heard your next one is gonna be a bunch of remixes?
The reception has been amazing to both albums. So many people were like, “Wow, thank you! I’ve never meditated before or tried before, but your albums helped me meditate.” I even had school teachers say they played it for their schools to help kids go down for nap time. This third album is called Remixed Meditation, and basically, my attorney had the idea of, “Why don’t you take your own songs, remix those, and turn them into meditation?”
So the same time we recorded Total Meditation, we recorded this one, but I didn’t want this one to come out first because I wanted people to take me seriously. I didn’t want people to be like, “Ah, this guy’s a joke.” So now that I’ve been in the space for a while, we can release this project, and it’s basically like we take “Yeah!” and “Turn Down For What,” and all the music is reproduced and redone. So just imagine: “Yeah!” is no longer this hype song. It’s more laid back, and I’m like, “Say yeah, to life!” Like, “Get Low” is like, “Get low and ground.” So it’s a really cool project, and I think it’s probably gonna do well on TikTok, because people are gonna be making jokes of it.
Are you worried at all that people might see that as a gimmick?
Nah, I’m cool now —because I had two projects and the interactive workbook too, where you can kinda write down what you’re trying to manifest. So a book, two meditation albums, I did a retreat. I showed I’m serious in this space — but now we can have a little fun. And it also shows that meditation can be fun! It doesn’t have to be so stiff and serious.
As 2025 comes to a close, curious what your album of the year pick is so far and why?
The thing that got the most talk was Kendrick, really. The hype around music is not like it used to be. I saw debates about, “There’s no song of the summer.” When “Turn Down for What” came out, that was one of the songs of the year, not just the summer, and there hasn’t really been something that’s crossed all the different lanes. It’s just that songs are big in their particular area, and it just hasn’t been everywhere like it used to be.
I think also, people are streaming and not listening to the radio. Back in the day, you’d listen to the radio, and that’s how you’d know what the song of the summer was because everyone was bumping it in their car on the radio! The radio dictated a lot of what was hot, and radio isn’t where it used to be because there are other ways of listening to music. Coming off Super Bowl, all you heard was Kendrick, Kendrick, Kendrick, so I think he’s had the most hype this year.
As someone who popped out at the Super Bowl Halftime Show last year, do you have any advice for Bad Bunny?
I don’t even think he needs any advice. He’s such a seasoned performer and artist. I don’t think he looks at things in a regular way; he’s very deliberate in the way he does things and the way he puts his shows together. I think he’s probably gonna put on the best show he’s ever done in his entire life, and I think he’s also probably gonna open his audience up where he’s gonna bring in people who weren’t necessarily Bad Bunny fans of that nature. I think he’s gonna win some people over with his show. Of course, he’s gonna bring some special guests out, so I think it’s just gonna be a great show.
I saw you were in a weightlifting competition? What was that experience like?
I got in shape initially to look good for the Super Bowl, on that stage. The competition I did was Venice Muscle Beach, and [my trainer] had gotten into it the year before, and he told me, “If we got you right, you could win this.” So we started training after Super Bowl, and for me, I just had a daughter in November. So it’s not just about me, it’s about being here for her. Health was already a lifestyle change, but more so now it’s a goal for me because I wanna be here for her first day of school. I wanna be here for her high school graduation. I wanna walk her down the aisle.
So the only way I can do that is to take care of myself and my health. I also wanna be a role model to other people who try to make excuses that they can’t get healthy or work out. I did all of this while performing every weekend, jumping on planes, hard to find good food in certain cities, in the studio — I’m doing all this other stuff where I was able to transform my body and transform it enough where I could enter a bodybuilding competition and come in third. And I’m the first entertainer ever to enter in that competition. I think I’m the first entertainer to do bodybuilding, period. It’s pretty awesome; a lot of people had already come to me and said I inspired them to get their health in order. I try to share knowledge as much as I can.
