Lil Jon Talks ‘Celebrity Name That Tune,’ Pitbull’s GOAT Status & How He Feels About Bad Bunny’s Upcoming Super Bowl Performance

As 1 of crunk music’s high-energy pioneers, nary 1 could person foreseen that Lil Jon would usage that rambunctious genre arsenic a jumping-off constituent to thatch Peloton classes, vie successful weightlifting competitions, marque 3 meditation albums, oregon look connected an NBC crippled amusement astir IDing music.

Lil Jon is the latest impermanent to look connected Celebrity Name That Tune, which airs connected Monday nighttime (Oct. 6) astatine 8:00 PM ET. He’ll look disconnected against Chord Overstreet, and Lil Jon’s quality serves arsenic the latest unexpected twist successful the rapper’s career. He’s emerged arsenic 1 of hip-hop’s astir talented renaissance men, from performing connected the Super Bowl signifier to touring Australia with Mariah Carey and Pitbull. Lil Jon tells Billboard he’ll bash conscionable astir thing to support his tone blessed these days.

“When I turned 50, I started looking astatine my beingness and reevaluating things successful my life,” Jon says implicit Zoom, “and I conscionable chose intelligence wellness and my carnal wellness implicit everything else, and that’s ace important, arsenic good arsenic family. We lone got 1 beingness to live, and particularly if you’ve worked a agelong vocation similar I person and accomplished truthful galore things, wherefore not person fun? It’s clip to bash what makes you blessed and enactment yourself first.”

Lil Jon talks with Billboard beneath astir his clip connected Celebrity Name That Tune, shares his thoughts connected Bad Bunny up of his Super Bowl Halftime Show, and discusses his caller remix meditation medium dropping Oct. 29.

When did you recognize you had specified a heavy cognition of being capable to sanction that tune?

I person a DJ ear, then, being a instrumentalist and a producer, I person a philharmonic ear. It’s casual to bash it connected the couch, but it’s harder to bash it successful person! But adjacent listening to the radio, I could archer what opus was coming in, I could archer earlier excessively overmuch of it played. I emotion Name That Tune, I loved being a portion of the amusement and doing the show. It worked out; it was truthful overmuch fun. It was a batch of radical successful determination too! I was amazed it was specified a large workplace audience, and they had a batch of energy. It was a truly competitory show. It was fun.

What were immoderate ways you locked successful to assistance you against Chord Overstreet?

I was being silly a lot, and I was kinda conscionable breaking the crystal by laughing and interacting with the crowd. That helps maine to relax, conscionable being astatine location connected the stage. Then it’s conscionable listening, truly listening intently and catching it arsenic soon arsenic I can.

Speaking of which, you’re going connected circuit successful Australia with Mariah Carey & Pitbull. How did that accidental travel about, and what are you astir excited for?

Man, maine and Pit spell backmost 20-plus years. We were conscionable connected circuit together; helium took maine to Europe. We had a large clip and spent a batch of clip unneurotic conscionable laughing and talking music. So whenever we get together, it’s amazing; it’s similar we picked up wherever we near disconnected similar it was 20 years ago. The aforesaid energy, the aforesaid benignant of narration and respect and admiration for each other. So whenever I tin go, bent out, and chaotic retired with my homie? That’s amazing.

Then, you know, the past clip I did [an Australian] tour, I did it with Usher. That was the archetypal clip Usher called maine and said, “Hey, I privation you to beryllium my euphony director.” So from that tour, helium was like, “Hey, I’m doing this Vegas residency. I privation you to beryllium my euphony manager for my Vegas residency.” And the Vegas residency led to Super Bowl! So Australia started immoderate bully things for maine past clip I went connected tour.

This clip I got my ain set, and, you know, I haven’t seen Mariah live! So looking guardant to Mariah live!

I consciousness similar there’s a precise divisive speech astir Pitbull’s GOAT status. What’s your instrumentality connected it?

People that are [hating connected Pitbull] person not been to a amusement due to the fact that erstwhile you spell to a Pitbull show, the vigor of the assemblage and vigor arsenic soo...