Lil Jon is opening up about the childhood accident that led him to wear sunglasses throughout his career.
The legendary rapper and producer shares the story in his upcoming memoir, I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me. In an interview with PEOPLE published on Friday (Oct. 16), Jon reflected on how the incident influenced his life and musical journey.
Growing up in Atlanta, Jon watched his diabetic mother, Carrie, administer insulin injections. When he was around 6 years old, he picked up one of her syringes, hoping to see what air would feel like on his eye. However, he accidentally stabbed himself in the eye with the needle, and doctors later diagnosed him with a traumatic cataract.
The injury required several surgeries, including a corneal transplant, and forced him to wear a metal eye patch to school. It also exposed him to bullying from his classmates.
“I definitely was teased in school,” he told PEOPLE. “At that age if somebody’s different, they’re going to pick on you. I became shy. But somehow I turned it into, ‘I want to always prove people wrong.'”
Jon had learned to play the drums shortly before the accident and eventually found an outlet for his energy through music. As he grew older, he developed a lazy eye associated with the childhood injury. Although he later underwent another surgery to address the condition, he still wears sunglasses.
“Whenever people have put me down, I used that as fuel in my fire to excel,” he added. “I got to figure out how to pave my way no matter what. I got to prove people wrong. I’m the type, if an obstacle is put in front of me, I’m going to figure out how to go through it, over it, under it, around it.”
I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me is set to arrive Oct. 20.
