Lil Jon says a childhood eye injury shaped his sunglasses
His memoir traces the familiar look to an accident at six, several operations and school teasing.
File photo: Lil Jon at the Halo 3 Exclusive Preview in Atlanta, September 15, 2007. It is unrelated to the childhood injury described in the memoir. Gamerscore Blog · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Resized for display.
The sunglasses Lil Jon has worn throughout his career have a childhood story behind them. Complex reported Oct. 19 that his memoir recounts an accident at age six: curious about how air from his diabetic mother’s insulin syringe would feel on his eye, he accidentally injured it.
A childhood accident behind a signature look
Complex says doctors later identified a traumatic cataract and that he underwent several operations, including a corneal transplant. He wore a metal eyepatch to school and recalled being teased; in the memoir, he connects those experiences to becoming shy and determined to prove people wrong.
He has also explained that superstar shades influenced his look as his career grew, so the injury is one part of the story rather than the whole explanation. His memoir, I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, co-written with Paul Cantor, was published Oct. 20 by Atria/Black Privilege Publishing, according to the publisher.
