Nathan Smith, the 27-year-old son of rapper Lil Jon known as DJ Young Slade, has died from an accidental drowning. The incident followed his disappearance in early February 2026 in Milton, Georgia. His family is mourning the loss and requesting privacy.
Hold onto your crunk cups, because this one's heartbreaking. Nathan Smith, Lil Jon's son and aspiring DJ Young Slade, was reported missing on February 3, 2026, after bolting from his home in Milton, Georgia, on foot—without his phone, no less. The Milton Police Department noted he might have been disoriented and in need of help, with family and friends worried sick. His last known spot? The vicinity of Baldwin Drive and Mayfield Road.
Search teams ramped up, diving into a pond at Mayfield Park near his place. On February 6, at 11:53 a.m., Cherokee County Fire divers pulled a body from the water—believed to be Nathan, pending official ID from the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office. And now, the cause is out: accidental drowning in the setting of psilocybin use, per the autopsy. That's the hallucinogenic stuff from mushrooms, found in his blood.
Lil Jon, real name Jonathan H. Smith, shares Nathan—born in 1998—with his estranged wife, Nicole Smith. The "Turn Down for What" king also has a daughter, Nahara, born in 2024 with girlfriend Jamila Sozahdah. Back in 2017, Jon gushed to Paste magazine about his boy's talent: “I remember changing his diapers... now he’s producing his own music in the Clive Davis program at NYU... his stuff sounds really good.” More recently, Lil Jon remembered Nathan as an “immensely caring, thoughtful, polite, passionate, and warmhearted” young man.
The family’s statement to E! News? Straight-up: “The family is asking for privacy at this time.” Nathan was following dad's musical footsteps, but this tragedy cuts deep. So, in a world of beats and bass, how do we process a silence this loud?
