AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
I am actually into meditation. It helps quiet my thoughts and calm my anxiousness. And this week I attempted a brand new guided meditation.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “MINDFUL BREATHING”)
LIL JON: Take a deep breath in by your nostril, then breathe out slowly by your mouth.
RASCOE: However are you questioning who that’s? Let me provide you with one other clue.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “TURN DOWN FOR WHAT”)
LIL JON: (Singing) Flip down for what? Flip down for what?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “GET LOW”)
LIL JON: (Singing) Now cease. Then wiggle with it. Cease. Then wiggle with it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “YEAH!”)
USHER: Usher, Usher.
LIL JON: Lil Jon.
RASCOE: Sure, that’s the similar individual (laughter). It is rapper and DJ Lil John, and he now desires you to show it means down. His newest undertaking is a guided meditation album known as “Complete Meditation.” And Lil Jon joins me now. Welcome to the present.
LIL JON: Hey. Hey, thanks for having me. Thanks for having me.
RASCOE: All proper, so like I discussed, I follow meditation after I’m feeling anxious and overwhelmed, which is lots, and it helps calm me down.
LIL JON: Yeah.
RASCOE: Is that what began you along with your follow? Was it anxiousness?
LIL JON: Yeah, it was anxiousness and a bit stress from lots hitting me on the similar time, turning 50, my life, my, you recognize, marriage and numerous issues and coping with addressing and making an attempt to maneuver on and get by these issues. And I’d meditate, you recognize, earlier than I am going on stage, or right here and there, I take a bit – you recognize, a bit breath right here, or I simply take a while for myself. However I actually discovered at this explicit level in my life, I actually need to enter it a bit deeper. And so I’d meditate day-after-day, and I’d say my affirmations day-after-day, and all of that may quiet me, calm these loopy ideas and feelings that I’d have, and calm me and provides me some peace.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “RELIEVE ANXIETY”)
LIL JON: Your thoughts is obvious and calm.
RASCOE: You possibly can have simply gotten into meditation and simply hearken to different folks. Why did you are feeling like I ought to take the lead on this, it needs to be my voice?
LIL JON: I realized to hearken to the universe, and the universe by no means guides me within the fallacious route. And one factor I realized right now, too, was having an acceptance to what the universe brings you as a result of with acceptance, you may have peace. However I additionally went by understanding that that is what I am purported to be doing subsequent. It simply – an epiphany came to visit me, and it is such as you’re supposed to assist lots of individuals, and that is how you are going to have the ability to do this.
RASCOE: Lots of people would, after all, have this notion of you as this social gathering man, the DJ within the membership screaming, you recognize, OK and all – did you need to additionally inform folks that there’s extra to you that you just, that you’re a well-rounded individual, to present folks one other aspect of you?
LIL JON: I do not simply stroll round screaming, yeah, what, OK all day…
RASCOE: (Laughter).
LIL JON: …And day-after-day. And you bought to show down typically. You bought to get relaxation. You bought to get sleep. You bought to drink numerous water. You bought to care for your well being. You understand, individuals are having coronary heart assaults and strokes. I do know this one man who had a triple bypass. And that influenced me, you recognize, initially to start out getting wholesome as a result of I checked out him and was like, he is 10 years youthful than me. In order that began me on my well being journey about 2010, 2012-ish.
RASCOE: You continue to DJ on the the membership, you recognize, regularly. And I imply, I learn that you’ve got lower down lots in your your consuming. And clearly, you are meditating. However I used to be studying that, pondering, like, being on the membership – like, that is not precisely probably the most centering expertise. So, like…
(LAUGHTER)
RASCOE: …How do you stability that? Like…
LIL JON: You need to take a look at the membership as a launch, although.
RASCOE: Oh, OK.
LIL JON: It’s a launch.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “SHOTS”)
LIL JON: (Singing) Pictures, pictures, pictures, pictures, pictures, pictures. Everyone.
Some folks have to launch. Some folks have to be in social settings round others. Some folks have to be with their family and friends. Music is therapeutic, as nicely.
RASCOE: Yeah.
LIL JON: Dancing is therapeutic, as nicely. It is good for the soul, good for the thoughts. All of that’s good. Connecting with others is nice for the thoughts, physique and soul. All of that’s nice. So it really works out for me. You understand, like, I can nonetheless do it. And I am, I am spreading good power to folks. I am giving them good instances with the meditation and with the membership.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “BOOST FOCUS”)
LIL JON: Now let’s actually expertise the current.
RASCOE: Your music is, like, actually tremendous excessive power. And you’ll inform the way it impacts folks’s moods. Like, that is again within the day. Like, you play a music like “Head Bussa.” A music like that – folks go loopy on the dance ground. I keep in mind, you recognize, all the ladies would depart the dance ground as a result of the lads would go so loopy. And so they’d be throwing their bows and stuff like that.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “HEAD BUSSAS”)
LIL JON: I am Lil Jon. OK. (Singing) We some head bussas. We some head bussas. We’ll knock a hater out. We some head bussas.
RASCOE: However now you’re clearly doing a really calming sounds for this meditation album. I suppose are you able to speak to me about how you employ sound to convey out totally different feelings?
LIL JON: Each time I do a music, I’ve to seek out the correct – I name them characters. It is actually like discovering the correct voice that form of connects you with the correct temper and the correct vibe for the music or what you are speaking about. So it took me a short while to seek out the correct voice, the correct tone. One factor that folks have instructed me is that my voice – they had been shocked at how soothing and calming my voice was.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “RELIEVE ANXIETY”)
LIL JON: Let’s flip our consideration to the breath.
RASCOE: With regards to meditating, like, what’s the hardest a part of meditation for you?
LIL JON: I feel the toughest half for anyone is to disconnect from the Matrix. It was at all times arduous for me to, like, actually formally meditate as a result of I am at all times pondering sooner or later. However you be taught you could take a pause. After which once you come again, you are extra level-headed. Your thoughts is obvious. You have got your artistic processes, even, you recognize, sparked much more since you took a break.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “IMAGINE NATURE”)
LIL JON: However the solar is shining down in your face. You are simply there, reclined on planet Earth.
RASCOE: I imply, what you are speaking about, this sort of – this degree of acceptance, this additionally – when you concentrate on caring for the physique, Black males on the whole are dying at greater charges from issues like most cancers and issues like that. So many Black entertainers, particularly Black male entertainers, have died at a comparatively younger age.
LIL JON: Yeah.
RASCOE: You’ve got leaned into issues like meditation and remedy. And, I imply, I learn you bought a colonoscopy (laughter)…
LIL JON: Yeah, yeah.
RASCOE: …Like, not too long ago. Like, are you making an attempt…
LIL JON: I imply, you flip 50. You bought to get it.
RASCOE: Yeah. You bought to do it. Are you making an attempt to ship a message to Black males particularly to care for themselves and that there is not any disgrace in doing that?
LIL JON: 100%. And I feel releasing this album, too, can be – you recognize, psychological well being is basically necessary to me as a result of males, particularly Black males – we endure, and we have been raised to simply endure in silence. And, you recognize, no matter – you recognize, you recover from it. You will be high-quality. You understand, and simply take care of our issues ourselves.
RASCOE: Simply man up, you recognize?
LIL JON: Yeah, man up. So it is like with this album, it is displaying, like, hey, hearken to this meditation. It’s going to assist to present you a unique perspective on issues. It’s going to calm you. And check out it with an open thoughts and see the way it helps.
RASCOE: That is rap artist and meditation information Lil Jon. Thanks a lot for speaking to me.
LIL JON: Oh, no worries. Thanks.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “FEEL GRATITUDE”)
LIL JON: Now I need us each to take a number of extra deep breaths collectively.
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