Lil Jon Says 'Celebrity Apprentice' Contestants Discounted Him Because He's a Rapper

By Jo Piazza Posted Feb 3rd 2011 07:00PM

Lil Jon may be a rapper, but he's also been an entrepreneur, a record exec and a marketer. He thinks the rapper stigma made him seem like less of a threat to his 'Celebrity Apprentice' competitors on the upcoming round of the Donald Trump reality competition, which airs in March.

"People think, 'Oh, I don't need to worry about him,' and they underestimate me because I am a rapper," Jon told PopEater. "They're not realizing I have a vast knowledge in all types of business and I am a real threat."

During our chat Jon revealed his business strategy for the show, how he plans to blow up that rapper stigma and why he is a little afraid of Star Jones.

Celebenomics: So people discount you because you're a rapper. Why are they wrong?
Lil Jon: I'm not just a rapper, and the music business has made me built for the kinds of challenges we do on the show. The hours we have to keep -- I am in the studio from noon until 5 in the morning. I am used to working long hours with no sleep. Everyone on the show looked at me like, "He isn't going to be able to do this," and I proved them wrong.

What was your biz strategy going into the competition?
What I told my teammates is that we just can't lose. We had to win and keep it real with each other. If someone f**ked up, they needed to admit to f**king up.

Who were you scared of?
Richard Hatch because he was on 'Survivor' and Star Jones because she is a lawyer and it is hard to beat a lawyer at anything.

Was there anyone you just hated?
I'm a people person. I can get along with the biggest a**holes in the world so I got along with pretty much everybody.

How did you prepare for the show?
I watched past seasons. I watched two seasons straight of 'Celebrity Apprentice' to see what I was getting my damn self into and to make sure I was mentally prepared for this journey.

Are there any past contestants you tried to emulate?
I liked Bret Michaels a lot because he just kept it real and wore his heart on his sleeve.

Why did you decide to do the show?
There's a bunch of reasons. I definitely wanted to help out people in need. [Jon's charity is the United Methodist Children's Home.] But I also wanted to dispel the rumor that rappers are blunt-smoking ignorant people.

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Tags: Lil Jon

Comments

(18)

Thursday 03 February

By stu

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

whoopie golberg needs to cut dem nasty locks.

By KR

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What's a Lil Jon? He doesn't look little...so it must be short for Lily.

By Will

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WHAT!?!?

OKAY!!!!!

YEAH!!!!!

By Ed

Who the Hell is this Freak?

By Carter

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I is a rap fan . I b likin da rap music . Folks b hatin on Lil Jon cuz he a real NI**a . He b rappin good . Even da Pol-lese mans like him . I call mi baby moma and I ax her if she thank yall hatin she say " show do ". Well I fenna go peace owt .

By Carter's wife

Oh how colorful, white boy

By Julie

F U C K you Punk

Saturday 05 February

By SAMURAI36

LMAO, that's a good one. He can't possibly fathom that his bafoonery is what got him discounted. And since when was Lil Jon ever a "Rapper"? I musta missed that one.

By lita

They likely discounted him because it's CELEBRITY Apprentice. While he may be a rapper, he isn't really a celebrity. How many people new his name before this article appeared? My guess is, not that many. If he keeps working and gets recognition, then he may eventually qualify for a place on the show. But for the life of me, I can't figure out why anyone would want to be [on that show].

By Michele

I'm a 45-year-old white teacher from middle America and I have heard of Lil Jon! You don't have to be a rap fan to know some of his music and just because YOU don't recognize his name doesn't mean there are plenty of people that DO!! I hope he does well on Apprentice - I can't wait to watch!!

Friday 04 February

By Javon

lita, a celebrity is someone who is widely know. Even if you didn't know him before reading this article, all you have to do is google search Lil John and there you have it. He's a celebrity, hence the reason he's a celebrity on, yep, you guessed it, CELEBRITY apprentice. :-D

By Afroes for armpits

Only 'apprentice' this schmuck could win would be Janitors apprentice. Well, probably not even that.

LOL - should have said "doesn't mean there AREN'T plenty of people that do"!

By taiken888

I have never watched this show before, I really don't watch much tv to being with actually...but I like what Lil' Jon said about how he wants to dispel the rumor that all rappers are, are just blunt smoking thugs, b/c truth be told, they aren't...and they actually do have to have talent in order to do the music they do. And also they have to have knowledge of business, lots of rappers have other business ventures other than their music, so I think that this might show all those ignorant people out there that rappers are more than just "thugs"...

By Ted Bundy

LOL....I may watch this just for the laughs. Always love to hear this retard try to sound smart.

Sunday 06 February

By B

Lots of racist bastards in this blog. That's right... I said racist bastards. And no I don't care if you have black friends neither.

Wednesday 09 February

By tyrepusher

For all you racist white bastards on this site. I just want you to know that he graduated from Ohio State University.

Sunday 24 April

By Ernie D.

Well, he proved those people wrong and still on the show.

I see a different side of Lil Jon. He is not just a black rapper but a smart guy as well.

Richard Hatch was fired and as far as Star Jones is concerned, I hope that he takes her down.

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