There is no one perfect reason behind having rap names. Most rappers that you know in today’s industry, they all have a stage name by which they go. And the rapper’s real names are pretty different from that. However, there are certain possibilities as to why celebrities and artists prefer to use a stage name or a pen name.
Usually, when a performer decides to take up a stage name, it is mostly because they believe that their real name is difficult to pronounce or spell, or is unattractive, dull, un-amusing and also associates them to a particular place, region, and religion they come from. That puts them in a box and also might subject them to be stereotyped by the audiences and masses at large. Another reason why a person is using a stage name could be that their real name is already being used by another notable individual.
When we talk about rappers, most often a rapper’s stage name is a variation of a nickname that they were called when growing up. Some rappers got their creative rap names from their street names. Another reason rappers use creative or funny rapper names is that their real names aren’t as catchy and easy to remember. It’s also easier to market the stage names. It helps in building the celebrities’ persona because today it is the artists’ personality that sells after their music (sometimes even before). However, unsurprisingly, there are rappers who use their real names. For example, Tupac Shakur, DJ Khaled (added DJ before the real name), Talib Kweli. Khaled’s real name has 2 ‘Khaled’s. He knew he couldn’t escape that one! Other rappers simply shorten their real names; like Nas is just a short form of Nasir, his real name. Eminem did something similar to his real name is Marshall Mathers with 2 ‘M’s. Hence, M and M; eventually Eminem!
Yet another reason why artists use a different name is that they feel that different on stage while performing, and different in real life when not performing. They also want to separate their stage lives from their day-to-day life so that they don’t lose sight of where they came from. This also acts as a divider and people who believe this also believe that it keeps them grounded.
Rappers tend to use Big, Lil, MC, DJ, Young, and other such suffixes and prefixes in their rap name. However, this has become a very common trend in today’s world and people do like to have quirky, cool, and funny names to make themselves noticed and told apart. Generating a rap name is also becoming a craze among rap lovers. People often use a random rap name generator available online to create such cool and creative names for themselves and their friends.