We’ve all probably asked our parents, at one point or another, how we got our names. We’ve also probably seen the name of a rapper and thought, “How did they get their name?” While some names are self-explanatory, others require a deeper investigation. Here’s how 15 rappers got their names.
YBN Nahmir
View this video on YouTube
The first part of the Alabama rapper's name owes to his crew: Young Boss N***as. Nahmir, he's explained in interviews, was inspired by brothers named Nassir and Shamir he met through gaming. 'They always treated me like the little bro, so I was just like, 'I want to be like these n***as,'' he told Complex. Which is why he combined their names to form his.
Wifisfuneral
View this video on YouTube
Wifisfuneral went through a series of monikers before he arrived at his current name. There was Mozart LaFlare, when he was part of a 'wack-ass f**king group,' he told Complex's Pigeons & Planes. Then there was Izzy Kills, the first half of which was inspired by his government name, Isaiah. Wifisfuneral just hit him one morning. 'I was like, 'Oh, this kind of sounds cool.''
Kodak Black
View this video on YouTube
The artist born Dieuson Octave has rapped that his stage name owes to the fact that he stays flashing. But, as he told Passion of the Weiss, it actually stems from a childhood nickname, Lil Black. Kodak Black became his IG handle. 'When I started rapping, they liked that name better,' said Kodak, who's currently facing a series of troubling charges.
Lil Uzi Vert
View this video on YouTube
'I was rapping one day, and some guy was like, 'Man, you rap fast, man—like a machine gun, like a little Uzi or something,' the rapper born Symere Woods told 'Vibe.' 'Vert,' he told E!, actually came first. 'It was, like, vertical—like, straight up.'
Cardi B
View this video on YouTube
The Bronx native has a sister named Hennessy, so, naturally, her nickname became Bacardi, which she adapted for her Instagram name. When that became an issue—perhaps, she told Jimmy Fallon, on account of the liquor brand—she cut her moniker down to Cardi B.
Lil Yachty
View this video on YouTube
In high school, Miles McCollum was part of a group called the Yacht Club. 'They were all, like, a lot older than me,' he told Hot 97, 'and I was kind of the baby, so I just called myself Lil Yachty.'
XXXTentacion
View this video on YouTube
XXXTentacion's name may be hard to pronounce, but its meaning is straightforward. X signifies the unknown, while 'tentacion' is Spanish for temptation. 'XXXTentacion means unknown temptation,' he told Miami's 103.5 The Beat. The Florida rapper is facing a litany of charges, including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman and multiple counts of witness tampering.
Ski Mask the Slump God
View this video on YouTube
Ski Mask, the rapper told 'XXL,' is 'literally what it stands for: by any means, even if it's the fast way or the slow way.' 'Slump God' is a product of Ski's former Xanax use. 'I don't take Xanax no more, but that definitely was a factor at the time.'
Lil Xan
View this video on YouTube
Diego Leanos was dubbed Lil Xan by a friend who noted his consumption of his namesake drug. Since then, though, he's given up Xanax, and he calls 'Xanarchy' a movement against it. Eventually, he'd just like to be known by his first name.
Rich Brian
View this video on YouTube
In 2015, Brian Imanuel started releasing music on YouTube under the name Rich Chigga. When the satirical 'Dat $tick' blew up the following year, his name drew controversy. He expressed regret afterward, and became Rich Brian at the top of 2018.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
View this video on YouTube
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden began his rap career as NBA YoungBoy, the first part of which stood for 'Never Broke Again.' A cousin came up with it, and he ran with it—until he started going by YoungBoy Never Broke Again, a name less likely to draw copyright suits. He spent most of March locked up on aggravated assault and kidnapping charges before he was freed on $75,000 bail.
6lack
View this video on YouTube
6lack (pronounced 'black') was a name Ricardo Valdez Valentine got in middle school. The 6 came into play because he grew up in Atlanta's Zone 6 and was born in June, the sixth month of the year. 'And black was just always the color that I was wearing,' he told D.C.'s 93.9 WKYS. 'It was a simple name at first. It got different meanings as I got older, and I just stuck with it.'
Post Malone
![You can credit the internet with giving Austin Richard Post his stage name. 'I ran [my real name] through a rap generator,' he's told TMZ, among other outlets. Post Malone was what came out.](https://img.youtube.com/vi/au2n7VVGv_c/mqdefault.jpg)
View this video on YouTube
You can credit the internet with giving Austin Richard Post his stage name. 'I ran [my real name] through a rap generator,' he's told TMZ, among other outlets. Post Malone was what came out.
Pusha T
View this video on YouTube
Terrence Thornton has said that Pharrell gave him the name Pusha before his rapping days, when he'd be in and out of the studio, handling business. On 'Comedy Central,' from Clipse's 'Lord Willin'' debut, Pusha explained that the T stands for a 'ton of that s**t that make ya nose run.'
Gucci Mane
View this video on YouTube
Radric Davis immortalized the name Gucci Mane, but it was his grandfather, James Dudley Sr., who first earned the nickname Gucci when he fell in love with the brand while serving in Italy during WWII. He gave the name to a nephew, who passed it on to a cousin. That cousin was Gucci's dad, Ralph, who became the 'Gucci Man,' Gucci wrote in his 2017 memoir.
