20 Rappers Who've Changed Their Names (LIST)

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What’s really in a name?  Back in 2013, Gucci Mane changed his name to “Guwop,” but changed his mind 20 minutes later when his fans rejected the idea.

On Wednesday, Kodak Black‘s lawyer revealed that the rapper officially changed his name to Bill K. Kapri.

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Almost all rappers have an alias or an alter-ego, but only a few dozen rappers have actually officially changed their monikers or stage names.

From J. Cole. to Diddy, find out which rapper has changed their name the most.

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Snoop Dogg decided to go Rasta and change his name to Snoop Lion. 

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Before the Pretty Girls Like Trap Music rapper became 2 Chainz, he was once known as Tity Boi. 

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When the copyright patrol came a’knocking, Biggie was forced to change his name from Biggie Smalls to the Notorious B.I.G. 

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Young Jeezy used to be known around Atlanta as Lil J, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t always like the name “Lil,” so he changed his name to Young Jeezy. Good call on Jeezy’s behalf. 

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The Game decided to drop the “The” from his moniker and just go by “Game.” 

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Before he was 3 stacks, Andre 3000 was just Dre. 

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Diddy is a man of many names.  He started off his career as Puff Daddy, then changed his name to P.Diddy, and only a few years later after that, he decided just plain old Diddy would do. 

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Shyne is probably the only rapper to legally change his name. After spending 10 years in prison and converting to Judaism, Shyne changed his birth name from Jamal Barrows to Moses Levi. 

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Like Notorious B.I.G., Chicago rapper Common had a run in with the copyright police. The “Be” rapper once went by the moniker Common Sense, but the copyright patrol made him drop the “sense” from Common. 

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Cash Money CEO Bryan Williams used to go by the rap alias Baby, but after gaining wealth and status, Baby got super fly and changed his moniker to Birdman. 

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Before there was T.I. there was TIP. The Atlanta rapper was given the name “Tip” by his grandfather, but out of respect for his label mate Q-Tip, T.I. decided to drop the “p” and stick with T.I. 

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Now, who doesn’t love Easy Mac?  When Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller began rapping, he adopted the tasty sounding alias Easy Mac, but eventually decided to go with Mac Miller. 

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Toothless rapper Danny Brown was once known as Dee Luciano. 

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Kendrick Lamar used to go by the stage name K.Dot, but in 2009, the “Poetic Justice” rapper decided to return to his roots and use his birth name, Kendrick Lamar. 

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Mos Def announced he would be retiring his name in 2011. When 2012 rolled around, Mos Def made it official by requesting that the world refer to him as “Yasiin Bey.”

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Shimmy shimmy ya!  Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard has had many monikers over the years, but the ones that stick out the most are his “Big Baby Jesus” moniker and “Dirt McGirt.” 

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Student Of The Game rapper N.O.R.E. began his career as Noreaga, but decided to change his name to “Niggaz On The Run Eatin.” Twenty years later, N.O.R.E. made the announcement that he was changing his name once again to P.A.P.I, which is an acronym for “Power Always Proves Intelligence.” 

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When  J.Cole began rapping as a teenager, he began posting his music under the moniker “Therapist.” He eventually changed his name to J.Cole and the “therapist” is now out of a job. 

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Bow Wow used to go by the moniker Lil Bow Wow, but he grew up, and decided to drop the “Lil.” 

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