Lil Jon reveals grisly childhood eye injury is the reason he wears his signature sunglasses

Lil Jon has revealed the very personal reason behind the dark sunglasses that have become a defining part of his signature look.

In his new memoir, I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, the 55-year-old rapper explained he has constantly worn the shades since childhood because of a freak eye injury.

Lil Jon, whose real name is Jonathan Smith, stated that he was six years old and playing with one of his diabetic mother's insulin syringes when he accidentally stabbed his eye.

Doctors told him he had a 'traumatic cataract from the needle.' The injury required multiple surgeries including a corneal transplant, ultimately leaving him with a lazy eye later in life.

Lil Jon, who recently shared heartbreaking final texts with his son, Nathan, 27, before he met his death in a pond, was just a child when he began wearing eye protection to hide the damage, starting with a metal eye patch in school which led to bullying.

'I definitely was teased in school,' the rapper told People. 'At that age if somebody's different, they're going to pick on you.'

Being a shy boy in Atlanta and one that was 'different' from others fueled Lil Jon's drive to succeed and 'always prove people wrong.'

Though he had surgery to help the lazy eye, Lil Jon still wears sunglasses all the time.

'Whenever people have put me down, I used that as fuel in my fire to excel,' he told the outlet.

Lil Jon had already learned to play the drums and knew he what he wanted to be before the injury.

In the book, he wrote about taking his music to nightclubs and performing for the crowds, per People.

'I got to figure out how to pave my way no matter what. I got to prove people wrong,' Lil Jon revealed. 'I’m the type, if an obstacle is put in front of me, I'm going to figure out how to go through it, over it, under it, around it.'

The release of Lil Jon's memoir - out on October 21 - comes months after the tragic death of his son, Nathan Smith, who was also a rapper known as DJ Young Slade.

Nathan's body was recovered from a pond on February 6 just days after he was reported missing. His cause of death was 'drowning in the setting of psilocybin use,' People reported at the time.

Lil Jon shared Nathan with estranged wife Nicole Smith, who he wed in 2004. They announced their split in February 2024, revealing that they had broken up nearly two years before.

In a statement to People, Lil Jon expressed: 'I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of our son, Nathan Smith. His mother and I are devastated. 

'Nathan was the kindest human being you would ever meet. He was immensely caring, thoughtful, polite, passionate, and warm-hearted — he loved his family and the friends in his life to the fullest. 

'He was an amazingly talented young man; a music producer, an artist and engineer, and graduate of NYU.

'We 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’re comforted in knowing that we expressed that very sentiment to him.

'Thank you for all of the prayers and support in trying to locate him over the last several days.'

On February 3, Nathan was reported missing 'under unusual circumstances' from his home in Milton, Georgia, per CBS News.

After a search that lasted several days, divers found his body in a retention pond near his residence.

Police said there was no sign of foul play and the medical examiner's ruling supported that conclusion.

Lil Jon also has a daughter, Nahara, who was born in 2024, with girlfriend Jamila Sozahdah. 

The rapper and Sozadah have been together three years.

They began dating following his separation from Smith.