Last week, Lil Jon's 27-year-old son Nathan Smith, who went by the stage name DJ Young Slade, was reported missing after he ran out of his house without his phone. On Friday (Feb. 6), his body was found in a pond in Georgia.
Smith was last seen around Milton, approximately 30 miles north of Atlanta, around 6 a.m. on Tuesday. At the time, authorities said that he "may be disoriented and in need of assistance."
The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office will confirm the person's identity and the cause of death. Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play in his death, and that he had left his home on foot "under unusual circumstances."
Lil Jon shared Nathan with estranged wife Nicole Smith. In a statement shared with Billboard, he said, "I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of my son, Nathan Smith."
"His mother and I are devastated," he continued. "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 added that his son was "an amazingly talented young man; a music producer, an artist and engineer and graduate of NYU." "We loved Nathan with all of our hearts and are incredibly proud of him," he concluded. "He was loved and appreciated, and in our last times together we're comforted in knowing that we expressed that very sentiment to him."
