The mention of Kanye West in the comments to an earlier thread reminded me of a question: How many well-known rappers record (or recorded) under their government name? I can only think of four.
* Kanye
* Tupac Shakur
* Missy Elliott
* Will Smith
And even Will Smith, of course, started out as the Fresh Prince.
plus Keith Murray (the 1994 hit, "The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World") and Mark Morrison (the 1997 hit "Return of the Mack").
ReplyDeleteand Rodney Dangerfield.
Plus Lauryn Hill. And Wyclef -- it's his middle name, but that's his name.
ReplyDeleteI don't ordinarily think of Lauryn Hill as a rapper, but I guess she counts. I suppose we could throw in Deborah Harry as well (but not Joe Strummer).
ReplyDeleteI think Dave Chappelle's friend Talib Kweli qualifies.
ReplyDeleteHis birth name was Talib Kweli Greene. Your call.
ReplyDeleteMike Jones!
ReplyDeleteMike Jones -- of course. The man's career rests on his name!
ReplyDeleteLauryn Hill not a rapper? Wow -- that MTV Unplugged must have made a pretty big impression on you. Because otherwise she spent most of her time on record rapping.
Hello, nice post.
ReplyDelete