Aisha Rascoe, host:
I’m really into meditation, it helps quiet the mind and relieves anxiety, and this week I tried out a new guided meditation.
(Audio of “Mindful Blessing” song)
LIL JON: Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth.
Rascoe: But you’re wondering who it is? Here’s one more hint.
(SOUNDBITE OF “TURN DOWN FOR WHAT”)
LIL JON: (Singing) What you gonna put down? What you gonna put down?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “GET LOW”)
LIL JON: (Singing) Come on, stop. And then rock with me. Come on, stop. And then rock with me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG “YEAH!”)
Usher: Usher, Usher.
Lil Jon: Lil Jon.
RASCOE: Yes, it’s the same guy (laughs). This is Lil Jon, the rapper and DJ. He wants you to turn the volume down a lot right now. His latest project is a guided meditation album called “Total Meditation.” Lil Jon joins us now. Welcome to the show.
LIL JON: Hey. Thanks for inviting me. Thanks for inviting me.
RASCOE: Well, like I said, I meditate when I’m feeling anxious or overwhelmed, which is often, and it helps calm me down.
Lil Jon: Yeah.
RASCOE: Is that the beginning of your practice? Was it out of anxiety?
Lil Jon: Yeah, anxiety and stress hit me at the same time. I was turning 50 and I was really looking at my life, looking at my marriage and a lot of other stuff and trying to move on from that. I was meditating before I went onstage and here and there, taking a break, taking time for myself. But I felt like at this point in my life I needed to dig deeper. So I was meditating every day, I was doing affirmations every day. It helped me calm down, it helped calm the weird thoughts and feelings I was having, it helped me calm down, it helped me feel at peace.
(Audio of song “Easy Anxiety”)
Lil Jon: Your mind is clear and calm.
Rascaux: I could have just started meditating and listened to other people. Why did I feel like I should take the lead and speak with my own voice?
Lil Jon: I learned to listen to the universe. The universe won’t lead me wrong. And one of the things I learned in this time is to accept what the universe brings to me. With acceptance comes peace. But I also had the understanding that this is what I should do next. It was like an epiphany that I should help a lot of people and this is the way to make it happen.
RASCOE: Obviously a lot of people see you as this party guy, this screaming DJ in the club, but did you want to show a different side of you and let people know that there’s more to you than that and that you’re a well-rounded person?
LIL JON: I’m not walking around screaming “YEAH, WHAT, OK” all day…
Rascoe: (Laughs).
LIL JON: …and every day. And sometimes you have to slow down. You have to rest. You have to sleep. You have to drink a lot of water. You have to take care of your health. Some people have heart attacks and strokes. I know a guy who had triple bypass surgery. That’s when I started getting healthy. Because I looked at him and I thought, 10 years younger than me. So that’s when my health journey started, around 2010 or 2012.
Rascoe: You still DJ in clubs regularly. And I’ve read that you’ve cut down a lot on alcohol. And you’ve apparently started meditating. But I was thinking as I was reading that, being in a club is not a very focused experience. So, for example…
(Laughter)
Rascoe: …How do you balance that? Like…
LIL JON: But you have to look at the club as a place of liberation.
RASCOE: Oh, I see.
LIL JON: It’s liberating.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “SHOTS”)
Lil Jon: (Singing) Shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot. Everybody.
Some people need a release. Some people need to be social with others. Some people need to be with friends and family. Music can be therapeutic.
Rascoe: That’s right.
Lil Jon: Dancing is therapeutic. It’s good for the soul, it’s good for the mind. All of that is good. Connecting with other people is good for the mind, body and soul. All of that is great. So it’s good for me. I can still dance. And I’m spreading good energy to people. I’m giving people a good time through meditation and through clubbing.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “BOOST FOCUS”)
LIL JON: Come on, let’s really experience the moment.
Rascoe: Your music has such a high energy. I can see how it affects people’s moods. For example, and this is an old story, you play a song like “Head Bussa,” and people go wild on the dance floor. I remember, all the women left the dance floor because the men were going crazy. And they were throwing bows and stuff.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “HEAD BUSSAS”)
Lil Jon: I’m Lil Jon. OK. (Singing) We’re smart. We’re smart. Knock the haters out. We’re smart.
RASCOE: But on this meditation album, you’re obviously creating very calming sounds. Can you talk about how you use sounds to evoke different emotions?
LIL JON: Whenever I write a song, I have to find the right character. I call it a character. It’s literally like finding the right voice that connects with the right mood and atmosphere for the song and what I’m talking about. So it took me a while to find the right voice, the right tone. One of the things people have said to me is that they’re surprised that my voice is so pleasant and soothing.
(Audio of song “Easy Anxiety”)
Lil Jon: Pay attention to your breath.
RASCOE: In terms of meditation, what is the most difficult part of meditation for you?
LIL JON: I think the hardest thing for anybody is to step away from the matrix. For me, it’s always been hard to do a proper meditation because I’m always thinking about the future. But I’ve learned that I can take a break, and when I come back, I’m calmer. My mind is clearer. And I’m more creative because I took a break.
(SOUNDBITE OF “IMAGINE NATURE”)
Lil Jon: But the sun’s shining on your face and you’re just lying there on planet Earth.
RASCOE: So when you think about this level of acceptance that you’re talking about and also taking care of your body, black men in general are dying at higher rates from diseases like cancer, and a lot of black entertainers, especially black male entertainers, are dying relatively young.
Lil Jon: Yeah.
Rascoe: You’ve turned to things like meditation and therapy. And I read that you had a colonoscopy (laughs)…
Lil Jon: Yeah.
Rascoe: …recently. Like, I was trying to do something…
Lil Jon: When you turn 50, you’ve got to figure that out.
RASCOE: Yes, we have to. Are you trying to send a message to black men in particular that they should protect themselves, that there’s nothing shameful about doing so?
LIL JON: 100%. And I think releasing this album also means that mental health is really important to me because men, especially black men, suffer and we’ve been raised to just suffer in silence. And no matter what, we’ll get through it. It’s OK. And we just deal with our own issues.
Rascoe: Be a man, you know?
LIL JON: Yeah, be a man. So this album is kind of like saying, listen to this meditation, it’s going to give you a different perspective on things, it’s going to calm you down. Give it a try with an open mind and see how it helps you.
RASCOE: Rap artist and meditation guide Lil Jon here. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
LIL JON: Oh, don’t worry. Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF “FEEL GRATITUDE”)
Lil Jon: Now, let’s both take a few more deep breaths together.
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