About

DJ Lethal, is a Latvian-American turntablist and producer and is best known as a member of the groups House of Pain and Limp Bizkit.

Leor Dimant was born to a Latvian-Jewish family in Riga, when it was part of the Soviet Union. His first contact with music was through his father Grigory Dimant (1951–2007),[1] who, along with his friends, played guitar in a rock band.

In 1976 when Dimant was four, he and his family emigrated to Italy, where they remained for a year until they obtained a visa. His parents chose to move to the New York area. There, his father performed in various Russian clubs and restaurants, mostly in Brighton Beach.

Dimant and his parents lived in Jersey City, New Jersey for some time. They moved to Los Angeles in 1987, where his father got a job at a new Russian restaurant. His first introduction to hip-hop was in Jersey City, when his school held a talent show with several students performing a rap song, and Dimant was amazed. Once he moved to Los Angeles, he quickly became interested in hip hop culture, including breakdancing and graffiti. Before learning to DJ, he started off as a beatboxer. He later practiced DJing using his friend's turntables and mixer.

In the late 1980s, Dimant became friends with a rapper who, at that time, dated rapper Everlast. When Everlast was about to go on a European tour with Ice-T and Rhyme Syndicate, he mentioned that he would like to hear Dimant beatbox, and they met. Everlast was impressed by his beatboxing skills, and he invited Dimant to be his DJ on the upcoming tour. Dimant, who was only 16 at the time, decided to do so and dropped out of school.

Following that, Everlast and Dimant, now known as DJ Lethal, decided to start a group, and with the addition of Everlast's high school friend Danny Boy, House of Pain was formed. The group's 1992 self-titled debut album went multi-platinum and is best known for the DJ Muggs-produced hit single "Jump Around" and the DJ Lethal-produced "Shamrocks and Shenanigans". A second album was released in 1994.

On House of Pain's final tour, Limp Bizkit, an up-and-coming band from Jacksonville, Florida was hired as a supporting act. DJ Lethal and the band became friends, and later, Limp Bizkit hired him to do some work on their recordings, eventually asking him if he wanted to join them. DJ Lethal accepted the offer, and the band became one of the most popular nu metal groups during the late 90s and early 2000s, selling over 40 million records worldwide.