What's Lil Jon Wants to Do What? About?

Rapper Lil Jon offers unconventional design ideas to homeowners looking to liven up their spaces, then leaves his business partner Anitra Mecadon to execute his elaborate plans.

Who's involved?

• Rapper and music producer Lil Jon, aka Jonathan H. Smith, reveals his passion for home renovation as the show’s star and creative center. In each episode, Jon helps homeowners find their design wild side by maximizing features they may have overlooked.
• Atlanta-based designer and expert builder Anitra Mecadon (DIY Network’s Mega Dens) functions as liaison between Jon, the contractors, and the clients. Mecadon often serves as a reality check for some of Jon’s more outlandish ideas, but they share a love of bold, out-of-the-box concepts.
• NorthSouth Productions — the company behind Impractical Jokers, 100 Day Dream Home, and Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta — produces for HGTV.

Why (and to whom) do we recommend it?

Lil Jon Wants To Do What? is unlike anything else on HGTV, a network that has long been criticized for its lack of diversity. Apart from the clients, there’s nothing vanilla about this show, which promises to bring some much needed “crunk shui” to Atlanta’s tamest (read: whitest) homes. And boy, does it deliver: in the premiere, Lil Jon and Mecadon convert a drab basement into a “concrete and cognac” themed entertaining space, complete with a full stage set-up, a wood-toned lounge with tin ceiling, and a wet bar. The redesign goes beyond what the Atlanta-area homeowners could have imagined — probably because they’ve spent years in the neutral-toned, shiplap-filled world of Fixer Upper and Flip or Flop.

But it’s not just a bold design style that makes Lil Jon Wants To Do What? stand out among its peers. Jon’s creative eye is genuinely impressive, and squaring his rap persona with his love of Etsy is endless amounts of fun. (In the first episode, Jon, who’s just finished DJing a set in Las Vegas, wakes up Anitra to inform her that he’s “just found these really cool barstools” online). There’s also the added bonus of watching Jon interact with clients, who invariably seem to become even dorkier in his presence. As homeowner Joy says in the premiere, “Torn down for what!”

Pairs well with

• Celebrity IOU (HGTV), in which stars surprise their friends and families with heartwarming home renovations.
• Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party, the VH1 reality series that showcases a different side of Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg.