10 Great Hip Hop Artists Who Changed Their Names

Over the years there have been many great hip hop artists, but did you know that most of them were born with a different name? Did they hate their original names or did they just change them to something that sounded a little cooler?

Most people, myself included, would love to have a different name than the ones we were given at birth. When you hear big celebrities past and present with names like Vin Diesel, River Phoenix, Nicholas Cage, Tom Cruise, or even Hulk Hogan, you can’t help but feel like your own name is a bit inappropriate, or maybe it’s just me. . Anyway………

Here are 10 of my favorite hip hop artists with their real names revealed:

1.) Jay-Z: Born on December 4, 1969 as Shawn Corey Carter

2.) Chuck D (Public Enemy): Born August 1, 1960 as Carlton Douglas Ridenhour

3.) The Notorious BIG: Born May 21, 1972 as Christopher George Latore Wallace

4.) 2Pac – Born on June 16, 1971 as Lesane Parish Crooks, later changed to Tupac Amaru Shakur by his mother.

5.) Grandmaster Flash: Born January 1, 1958 as Joseph Saddler

6.) Ice Cube: Born June 15, 1969 as O’Shea Jackson

7.) Dr. Dre: Born February 18, 1965 as Andre Romelle Young

8.) LL Cool J: Born January 14, 1968 as James Todd Smith

9.) Eminem: Born October 17, 1972 as Marshall Bruce Mathers III

10.) Ice-T: Born February 16, 1958 as Tracy Marrow

So there you have it. 10 of the biggest names of the past few decades, all with cooler, more imaginative names than they were originally given at birth. Of course, there are many more hip hop artists that could have been mentioned, but there wasn’t enough space for this small space.

These artists have amassed a fortune through their creativity and skill in providing some of the best hip hop music ever written.

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