Gangsta Luv! 10 Rappers Who Named Themselves After Infamous Gangsters
The Rapper: William "Rick Ross" Roberts
The Gangster He Named Himself After: "Freeway" Ricky Ross
Good For Business? YES! We know, we know. We made such a big stink in the intro about how rappers who name themselves after infamous gangsters have a harder time selling records than those who use variations of their own name—and then our very first example of a rapper who's done it is Rick Ross, one of the most successful rappers right now! But you have to remember that it took Ross several albums to establish his own identity and get people to buy into it. It eventually worked, but for a few years there, everyone—including the original Rick Ross himself—refused to give Ross credit because he stole his name from a real gangster. Persistence paid off, though, and he's made the name his own in recent years.
Gangster Rapper 1
Gangster Rapper 2
The Rapper: Nasir "Nas Escobar" Jones
The Gangster He Named Himself After: Pablo Escobar
Good For Business? NO! Remember the strange period of Nas' career where he transitioned from Nasty Nas into a Mafioso rapper? Um, yeah. So do we. And we hated just about every single second of it. Fortunately for us, he eventually moved on from it. Unfortunately for us, he moved on to the Nastradamus era. How 'bout just sticking with "Nasty Nas" from now until, well, forever, Nas? That works best for you—and for us.
Gangster Rapper 3
The Rapper: Victor "Noreaga" Santiago
The Gangster He Named Himself After: Manuel Noriega
Good For Business? YES...AND NO! We can't really make up our minds on this one. On the one hand, Noreaga was successful as the rapper named after Noriega. But he was also successful once he was forced to give up the name by his former record label and changed his moniker to N.O.R.E.—an acronym for "Niggaz On the Run Eatin'." We do have to say that he probably wouldn't have enjoyed as much commercial success as he did if he'd kept the name Noreaga, though. Just a hunch.
Gangster Rapper 4
The Rapper: Kiam "Capone" Holley
The Gangster He Named Himself After: Al Capone
Good For Business? NO! Why do we think Noreaga would've been limited by his name if he'd stuck with it for his entire career? Look no further than N.O.R.E.'s partner-in-rhyme Capone, who never really enjoyed much success as a solo artist. Granted, his jail stint didn't help things at all. But that—coupled with his gangster-inspired name—pretty much doomed him from the start as a solo act, didn't it?
Gangster Rapper 5
The Rapper: Nathaniel "Kool G Rap" Wilson
The Gangster He Named Himself After: Sam Giancana
Good For Business? YES! Now, this is how you name yourself after a gangster—without really naming yourself after a gangster. Can you imagine how Kool G Rap would be remembered right now if his rap name was "Giancana"? He probably wouldn't be as well-respected. Fortunately, he simply used the "G" in his name to rep for the notorious mob figure without actually using his name. Creative, G Rap. And we can definitely appreciate that.
Gangster Rapper 6
The Rapper: Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson
The Gangster He Named Himself After: Kelvin "50 Cent" Martin
Good For Business? YES! But only because most people out there weren't familiar with the original 50 Cent. And once Ja Rule and the rest of Fif's foes tried using it against him, he was too big to fail because of his name. Call it stealing or swagger-jacking or whatever you want, but one thing is clear: 50 took that name and made it his own.
Gangster Rapper 7
The Rapper: Brad "Scarface" Jordan
The Gangster He Named Himself After: Tony "Scarface" Montana
Good For Business? YES! The good thing about using "Scarface" as your rap name? He wasn't a real person, so you're not technically stealing someone's name. Plus, it obviously helps that 'Face was such a damn-good rapper. You could have called him anything and we still would've listened.
Gangster Rapper 8
The Rapper: Karim "French Montana" Kharbouch
The Gangster He Named Himself After: Tony "Scarface" Montana
Good For Business? TBD! Scarface isn't the only rapper who's borrowed Al Pacino's fictional character's name for his rap moniker. French Montana also borrowed the "Montana" from him. So far, he's gotten a lot of buzz for his music and he recently inked a deal with Bad Boy. But we're not sure if his name is gonna do him any favors once he puts out a proper solo release.
Gangster Rapper 9
The Rapper: Mario "Yo Gotti" Mims
The Gangster He Named Himself After: John Gotti
Good For Business? NO! Gotti just sold about 16,000 of his major label debut, Live From The Kitchen. That's not all on his name—his label deserves some of the blame there, too—but we've gotta admit that people out there in the mainstream don't seem sold on him yet. And his name isn't helping matters at all.
Gangster Rapper 10
The Rapper: Richard "Machine Gun Kelly" Baker
The Gangster He Named Himself After: George "Machine Gun Kelly" Barnes
Good For Business? YES! He raps quickly, so the name fits him. But, will it continue to be good for business? He recently signed to Bad Boy (what's with Bad Boy inking all of the "gangster rappers" recently?) so probably not. It'll be difficult getting the parents of 13-year-olds to buy an album by an artist with "Machine Gun" in his name. No worries, though. We've already seen him using "MGK" a lot and that could very well be the name he assumes long-term. That will probably be his best bet.
