By: Natasha Archary
A hot stage name can either fire up your street cred or be the death of your spotlight goals. This is why so many artists, actors and celebrities opt for alias names to evolve and help build their brand.
The opening topic on Kaya Drive this Wednesday was inspired by a dream Sizwe had about Jay Z. Yes, the American rapper, music mogul and Queen B’s hubster Shawn Corey Carter, also known as Jay Z.
In the dream, Siz and Jay Z had an argument that got heated with Siz referring to Mr Carter as Jay Z until the Empire State of Mind hitmaker corrected him like, “Woah, it’s not Jay Z, it’s Shawn to you!”
Which got the Kaya Drive host to bring up the topic about alias names and asked listeners if they’ve ever felt so comfortable with someone that they used a moniker instead of their actual name.
This is how it went down:
Also read: It’s a new era of ‘Love’! P Diddy changes his name to Lerato!
Did you know these celebrities real names?
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Robyn Rihanna Fenty – Rihanna
Is the Barbados singer Rihanna who chose her middle name as her stage name when she moved to the US.
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Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. – Snoop Dogg
You didn’t think Snoop Doggy Dogg’s mom actually named him Snoop Doggy Dogg at birth, did you? His mom gave him the nickname Snoopy because of his style, so when he needed a stage name he opted for Snoop Doggy Dogg after the cartoon character from Peanuts. Over the years he’s changed his alias many times and they included:
Snoop Lion, Bigg Snoop Dogg, Dogg Father, Snoop Rock, DJ Snoopadelic, Snoopzilla, Niggarachi, Nemo Hoes
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Peter Gene Hernandez – Bruno Mars
His father called him “Little Peter Bruno” because he was a little plump like the famous wrestler, Bruno Sammartino. When he grew up, Bruno lost weight but everyone always told him that he was weird as if he was from a different planet. And the talented young man would answer, “Yes, I’m from Mars”. This is how his stage name came to be.
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Onika Tanya Maraj – Nicki Minaj
CEO of Brooklyn music label, Dirty Money Entertainment convinced Nicki Minaj to change her name to something shorter and simpler, the rest as they say is history.
Listen to Kaya Drive listeners share their stories about alias names here:
Also read: CIZA announced as Apple Music’s ‘Up Next’ artist for August