Lil Jon’s son, Nathan Smith, died from accidental drowning, an autopsy report from the Fulton County Medical Examiner revealed weeks after the body of the 27-year-old was pulled from a Georgia pond earlier this month.
The report obtained by People listed his cause of death as “drowning in the setting of psilocybin use.” The report added that his blood tested positive for psilocybin, described as a naturally occurring hallucinogen produced by more than 100 species of mushrooms worldwide.
It also stated that Smith’s body was recovered from a retention pond and was found to have had water-immersion wrinkling in his hands.
Smith, who made music under the name DJ Young Slade, was found dead February 6 in a pond north of Atlanta, just three days after being reported missing.
The Milton Police Department had initially issued a missing persons report for Smith after he “ran out of his house.”
“Subject left on foot and does not possess a phone,” the MPD’s report said. “He may be disoriented and in need of assistance. Family and friends are concerned for his safety.”
They later released an update, saying: “After being unable to locate Mr. Smith during that time, teams expanded the search to include a pond in Mayfield Park near Smith’s Milton residence.
“On February 6, 2026, at approximately 11:53 a.m., divers with the Cherokee County Fire Department located and recovered a body from the pond. The individual is believed to be Nathan Smith, pending official confirmation by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office.”
Following the news, Lil Jon, real name Jonathan Smith, shared a statement with The Independent. “I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of our son, Nathan Smith. His mother [Nicole Smith] and I are devastated,” the “Yeah!” rapper said.
“Nathan was the kindest human being you would ever meet. He was immensely caring, thoughtful, polite, passionate, and warmhearted — 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,” he added.
“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.”
Smith was the only child of the Grammy-winning rapper and his estranged wife, Smith. The couple married in 2004 and Lil Jon announced their breakup in February 2024, saying that they had split nearly two years earlier.
The rapper, 55, best known for early 2000s club hits like “Get Low,” “Snap Yo Fingers,” and, later, “Turn Down For What,” also has a daughter, Nahara, with his girlfriend Jamila Sozahdah.
