Losing anybody in life is hard, but perhaps only few things are as soul crushing as losing a child. In this terrible time of grief, our prayers go to Lil Jon, who recently shared an emotional message after the passing away of his son, Nathan Smith aka DJ Young Slade.
According to the police, it is unlikely that foul play had much to do with Nathan’s passing, but the cause of death is yet to be determined. The police had already put out a call to search for Nathan as early as Feb 3, which is when he’d left home and not returned.
The news of this tragedy was later revealed on Feb 6th by the Milton Police Department, who found the body in a local pond after Nathan went missing. Lil Jon then confirmed the news by writing in a statement to XXL.
“I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of our son, Nathan Smith. His mother [Nicole Smith] and I are devastated,” says Lil Jon. “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.”
Lil Jon even revealed an insight into a heart-to-heart that the family had had with Nathan prior to this incident. He says, “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.”
While words will never be enough, we send our deepest, heartfelt condolences to the family.
