CHICAGO — Lil Jon’s show-stealing performance during the Georgia delegation’s roll call was eight years in the making. A kernel of the idea can be traced to a performance by another rap star at another Democratic National Convention.
Kevin Olasanoye, the executive director of Georgia’s Democratic Party, didn’t attend that four-day bash in Philadelphia that culminated with Hillary Clinton’s nomination in 2016.
But long after the delegates went home, many were still buzzing about an exclusive party headlined by Snoop Dogg on the final night of the convention.
When Olasanoye got a job running New Jersey’s Democratic Party a few months later, he wondered whether he could pull off something similar. As the 2020 convention neared, he set aside a $2 million budget that included cash for buzzy parties.
The pandemic scuttled those plans, sending the proceedings virtual. But it didn’t end Olasanoye’s vision. When he landed the job last year as executive director of Georgia’s party, party officials loved the idea.
“Let’s tell a story about battleground Georgia and how we can win,” he said. “Let’s use our delegates to do it, and let’s use our events to do it. Let’s not just go there, sit on the floor and just go through the motions.”
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It turned out U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, the party’s chair, had the inside track on Lil Jon, the Atlanta-based hip-hop artist behind megahits such as “Yeah,” “Salt Shaker” and “Get Low.”
Four years earlier, she received a call out of the blue from the rapper, whose real name is Jonathan H. Smith. He heard about Georgians who faced obstacles at the ballot box and wanted help from the then-state senator.
“He wanted to know if I could meet him to go and vote, so that if he had any problems he would have somebody there with him when he early-voted,” Williams said.
Although Lil Jon had identified himself as a constituent of Williams, whose district was based in Atlanta, she quickly realized he wasn’t. But she still agreed to drive out to meet him at his precinct in north Fulton County.
“I have the pictures of us going to vote with him that day and standing in front of the Black Voters Matter bus,” Williams said. “And we went in, and he had no problems.”
The two kept in touch over the years as Williams became a member of the U.S. House and Georgia solidified its battleground status with President Joe Biden’s close 2020 win.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
And when planning began months ago for the 2024 convention, the delegation set its sights on making Lil Jon its featured guest in Chicago.
In the three weeks leading up to the convention, party officials worked with the rapper’s team to flesh out details and work out a contract. For party officials used to negotiating agreements with campaigns and candidates, this was a bit different.
“What is he willing to do? What is he not willing to do?” said Olasanoye, who didn’t disclose the terms of their agreement. Lil Jon declined an interview request.
Part One was a party for the Georgia delegation — and plenty of special guests — the first night of the convention that quickly became one of the most buzzed-about events of the DNC.
Lines stretched out the door of Chicago’s Prysm nightclub by 1 a.m. on Tuesday as delegates fresh from Biden’s emotional speech danced to Lil Jon’s jams.
A photo wall was emblazoned with “Window to the Walz” — a reference to the lyrics in “Get Low,” Lil Jon’s best-known banger and a nod to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the newly minted running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris. Before the club closed, Williams took the stage as a guest DJ, spinning her own soundtrack.
But it didn’t stop there. Lil Jon agreed to a surprise appearance on the convention floor during Georgia’s turn in the normally humdrum roll call vote tradition.
Olasonaye kept Georgia’s delegates in the dark, telling them only to “go crazy” when they see the TV cameras airing the ritual to millions of viewers facing their way. They also were handed large cutouts of Harris’ and Walz’s faces to wave.
“Queen Nikema was so secretive about this,” delegate Seth Taylor said. “I mean, I didn’t know she had this in her back pocket.”
Even Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens was out of the loop. He looked up from his seat and ...
“He was going full Lil Jon in the United Center,” Dickens said, still gushing a day later. “And the crowd went bananas. Fifty states and all the territories were on their feet. That was a moment.”
That’s one way to put it. All states had an intro song, but Georgia’s roll call broke the mold, with a camera panning to a spotlight at the arena that illuminated a lone figure.
”YEAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Lil Jon burst down the stairs of a side aisle at the United Center singing parts of his song “Turn Down for What” and “Get Low.” The crowd roared in surprise, then excitement, as he led chants of: “We’re not going back.”
Then he joined the Georgia delegation as Williams delivered her nominating remarks, punctuating it with a quote from Outkast’s Andre 3000: “The South got something to say.” Behind her, Lil Jon high-fived U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and two-stepped with delegate Vivian Creighton, the wife of U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop.
Other states also had celebrity cameos — Spike Lee with New York, Eva Longoria with Texas — but none had topped Georgia.
“Georgia is the place to be,” was delegate Pinkie Farver’s takeaway as the rapper emerged. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson needed but one word to describe the experience: “Epic.”
“I mean, no one anywhere will be able to roll out like Georgia rolled out,” he added. “Our own theme music, our own celeb and, of course, Georgia doing it’s thing, making sure we deliver. The road to the White House goes through Georgia.”
Olasanoye and Williams were besieged by well-wishers who congratulated them on setting a new standard. And they said they hoped Lil Jon’s appearance will accomplish more than just electrifying the crowd inside the United Center.
“The intersection of culture and politics helped Barack Obama win. It helped him build a movement,” Olasanoye said. “This was a singular, iconic moment. And it also brought attention to Georgia politics.”
Staff writer Caroline Silva and “Politically Georgia” producer Natalie Mendenhall contributed to this article.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
