photo by: Amy Harris/Invision/AP

Lil Jon performs at the Essence Festival on Saturday, July 1, 2023, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

The word “yeah” is certain to be uttered a record amount of times at Allen Fieldhouse on Oct. 18, as Kansas Athletics has revealed rapper Lil Jon as the new headliner for the 2024 edition of Late Night in the Phog.

Lil Jon replaces Nelly, who had previously been announced as the featured artist in July. KU’s press release said the change was made “due to extenuating circumstances.”

Beyond his featured role on Usher’s Grammy-winning song “Yeah!”, which he helped perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in February, Lil Jon is also well known for the 2013 hit “Turn Down for What” and as a producer on a variety of early-2000s rap hits.

Along with the artist change, KU revealed more details about this year’s edition of Late Night, the annual celebratory preseason debut of the KU men’s and women’s basketball programs. Following Phog Fest in the afternoon, Late Night will begin in earnest at 6:30 p.m., and the women’s scrimmage (7 p.m.) and men’s scrimmage (7:55 p.m.) will be available to watch on ESPN+ and the KU Athletics website and Facebook page.

Late Night is free to attend, but tickets must be secured in advance via a reservation process that begins on Sept. 18 with a window for student combo pass holders and Hall of Fame-level donors and continues until the general public gets access on Sept. 24.

This year’s Late Night in the Phog will be the first opportunity for the public to see the newly renovated Allen Fieldhouse, which has received several technical and quality-of-life changes while also reducing its capacity by 1,000 seats.

The KU men’s and women’s basketball teams will experience their first game action in Allen Fieldhouse in exhibitions against Washburn on Oct. 29 and Nov. 1, respectively.