Lil Jon Pushes ‘Crunk Rock’ Back

'Crunk Rock,' the long-gestating opus from Lil Jon, was supposed to come out Nov. 24, but has been pushed back to early 2010. Jon started work on the record as a follow-up to 2004's 'Crunk Juice', but found it difficult to naturally merge his patented crunk style with straight rock music for an entire album. After some experimentation, he returned to his roots and hit the clubs as a DJ in order to find the current pulse of the people. Now, with 'Crunk Rock' finally in its final stages, Jon is excited to reclaim his airwave dominance throughout 2010.

"We moved the date, because we got so many songs that's club bangers and gonna run the summer," said Lil Jon in an exclusive interview with The BoomBox. "It's gonna come out in probably February or March. We don't have the exact date yet. We just want to set it up properly and do all the right things so we take over the summertime completely."

As Jon explains it, the original rock elements on the record have evolved into a lifestyle rather than genre. He knows "there are many Lil Jons that people love" and is trying to reach all of them simultaneously with tracks tailored to different styles of fans, clubs and radio stations.

"Cruck rock would have been the album, but now we're looking at it like a lifestyle," he explains. "Living super crunk and high energy and partying like a rock star... That sort of energy... It's a lifestyle thing now. We're gonna have an urban single, a pop rock single and some international tracks. We're gonna have three records going at once in different styles, formats and even different areas of the world."

Part of that international expansion comes from the already-popular single 'Give It All U Got.' While the track leaked in America, it's been a hit in England and Australia due to a guest verse from UK Grime rapper Tinchy Stryder. The next single, 'Hips & Ass,' features R. Kelly and tries to appeal to American hip-hop fans. Other potential collaborators come from all corners of the music world and include Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Lil Wayne Game, Soulja Boy and Swizz Beats among many, many others.