Lil Jon has made quite a few changes in his life lately, and one of those changes included a conversion to Islam.
In a Facebook video posted on Friday (March 15), the “Turn Down For What!” rapper can be seen taking the shahada (that is, the Muslim declaration of faith) at the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City, CA.
Lil Jon took the shahada during the month of Ramadan, which takes place in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is a month marked by fasting, prayer, reflection, and community.
Check out the video below.
HipHopDX has reached out to the mosque, and to Lil Jon’s publicist, for a statement.
Last month, in an interview with XXL following his recent appearance at Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show, the crunk legend shed light on his latest project, which is called Total Meditation.
Jon explained how divorcing his wife and turning 50 — both of which happened in the last few years — led him down a different path, both personally and professionally.
“I’ve always kind of meditated a little bit. But when I turned 50, started going through a lot of things,” he said before dropping the bombshell news that he and his wife are no longer together. “Started going through a divorce, I’m separated now.
“And all the emotions from the divorce and all that process was really getting to me. So, I found I had to start to go within to calm myself.”
After news of his divorce broke, a rep for Lil Jon told PEOPLE: “Nearly two years ago, Lil Jon and his wife Nicole decided to separate. This is an amicable split, and while Lil Jon is a public figure, his family matters will remain private at this time.”
The former couple tied the knot back in 2004 and have a son named Nathan who is now 26. They got married six years after first meeting and had largely kept their relationship out of the public eye.
As for his guided meditation album, news of Lil Jon’s drastic sonic (and spiritual) direction change emerged earlier this month.
The 10-track project, which arrived on February 16, aims to help listeners “relieve anxiety, boost focus and find peace,” Jon told XXL.
The initial announcement caught fans by surprise, with some likening it to André 3000’s New Blue Sun, which found the OutKast luminary swapping the bars for ambient flute instrumentals.
“DAWG WHAT IS IT WITH ICONIC RAPPERS AND MEDITATION ALBUMS NOWADAYS LMAO. FIRST ANDRE 3000 NOW LIL JON WHAT IS GOING ON,” one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Another said: “Okay but let’s get into Black men doing mindfulness work! First 3K and now Lil Jon? Will be putting this in my rotation.”
yeah
To each his own. If it works for him, more power to him. To me organized religion is just another way to control people and hustle money and power.
I don’t know about other religions but I have to tell you that I’ve been a Muslim for more than a 40 years now and I’ve never paid a single cent to any clerk or any religious figure or institution ever.
I can’t help but feel sorry for Lil Jon and other black Africans who convert to or follow Islam, a religion that considers females second hand citizens, not to mention it being stated in the holy texts that the Arab prophet referred to black people as ,”raisen heads”. The black community should follow their real indiginous faiths and not what was forced on Africans by colonial Arabs through conversion and the Arab slave trade. Peace.
If you are going to make a statement ensure that it’s based on fact or else u look like a fool. Our beloved Prophet never referred to black people that way, nor is any such thing in the Quran. He raised the status on black people, read up in Bilal whom he freed from slavery and persecution and raised to a high status in the society. There are many examples. On his last sermon he said the following:
“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black, nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.”
Further the Quran states:
“O mankind! We…made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other).” (The Qur’an 49:13)
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You do know the quran really is make-belief horseshiat, right? For 35 years I’ve been wiping the shid off my azz every single day with pages from the quran. If that punk Allah really existed he would have zapped me 20 years ago but I’m doing fine. Great actually. Money is sweet, marriage is good, health is amazing. All because I don not pizz away my time on religious garbage and do USEFUL stuff with my life. BYE BYE, say hi to Bilal for me, sucka!
This s nonsense, watch the malcom x movie that helps you to understand why all people are brothers and sister if they accept islam. İ am turkish by the way. We love african people they are all are our brothers and they are not slave.
To every single day. If you were so please with your life, it’s highly unlikely you would spend your time antagonize randoms on the internet. We don’t believe you. You need more ppl. Choose peace.
It is mentioned in the holy texts, the hadith’s are holy text of Islam: Allah’s Messenger said, “You should listen to and obey, your ruler even if he was an Ethiopian (black) slave whose head looks like a raisin.” Sahih al-Bukhari 7142 : Book 93, Hadith 6
Speak for youself Alice, shows how much you know about Islam. He is referring to a quote from one of the hadith’s. Looks like we found the real fool here. But keep worshiping your warmongering pedophile prophet. The same guy who married Aisha at age 6 and cosumated the marriage when she was age 9.
Bad move lil jon
No is not bad move, because you have not idea
Eat pork for what?!
Lil Jons next single. Eat pork for what?!