Why Are There So Many Lil's In The Rap Game!

I guess the rationale for the over abudance of the name Little (lil) is you are not very creative in thinking of a name you just say to yourself my name is Jon and Im was Jon Jr or i was extremely short compared to my peers therefore im Lil Jon, or Lil Wayne etc. The list goes on and on ad naseum of the overuse, if i hear of another rapper or singer coming out with the name Lil im going to scream! can you guys come up with something else here is a very short list!

LIL JON............(Yeah! What! Ok. - Atlanta area producer/crunk maestro)
LIL WAYNE..........(or just weezy! New Orleans by way of ATL by way of Miami raps Hot guy)
LIL KIM............(AKA the Queen B - By way of Brooklyn 4"12 rapper and dancer with thes stars)
LIL BOOSIE.........(Baton Rouge, LA born rapper big hit in 2007 with Wipe Me Down)
LIL SCRAPPY........(ATL born rapper. Not doing much these days that Ive heard)
LIL CEASE..........(Biggies Bedstuy protege from Jr Mafia learned no rap skills from d mentor)
LIL FLIP...........(dude is like 6"4 you aint little. Houston Texas reppin)
LIL J..............(ATL: now known as Young Jeezy which reminds i can do a whole young overuse)
LIL BOW WOW.........(Columbus,OH discovered by snoop dropped the lil by has outgrown the name)
LIL MAMA...........(Harlem NY, 1 hit with Lip Gloss got great gig judge on Americas Dance Crew)
LIL KEKE...........(Houston Texas part of the screwed up click no hits i can name now)
LIL ROMEO..........(son of Master P you know the story probably better at B-ball than rapping)
LIL ZANE...........(ATL rapper whos career faded quick released a 2008 that you didnt hear)
LIL O...............(Another Screwked Up Click rapper that never got big)
LIL 1/2 DEAD........(Long beach rapper from Death Row days cousin of Nate Dogg)

(damn weezy can you chill with the tats man?)


and thats just a short list!

Artist That Outgrew There Original Name!

The lesson in the music biz should be be careful what you name yourself and make sure its something you dont mind having 10 years in the future of longer (if you make it that far) because you may start off with something so dumb that you are stuck and cant grow with it. Heres an example of the best (worst) names in music history!

3LW
That stands for 3 little women in a rip off of SWV but the minature version. The fired original member Naturi Naughton who went on to play Lil Kim in the Biggie biopic Notorious Movie. The group dropped the 3L and now reinvented themselves as the Cheetah Girls With a Disney contract so it worked out for all

Immature
They were so young and so talented but The kids grew up and once in there teens the phrase about not being mature just aint working anymore! They flipped to to IMX but all the hits were used up by then but they did spin off B2K which spinned off Omarion for what its worth.

DJ SMURF
Had a minor hit in the south with The Dip and has resurfaced as Mr Collipark and one of the leaders of the ATL snap whisper sound, producing for Yin Yang Twins (Wait) and David Banner (Play) and discovering the first true internet rap star Soulja Boy Tell em so rap may never be the same, for better or worse

The Teenagers
Lead by Frankie Lymon and performers of one of the 5 best songs in all of pop music history Why Do Fools Fall In Love they broke up almost immediately with Franky going solo but loving the taste of drugs more than being a professional artist, even if he wouldve stayed the group name would put them in a box forever!

Lil Bow Wow and Lil Romeo
This was easy, they both just dropped the LIL from there name, Bow Wow still has an OK career but not the Michael Jackson of the rap game people prophecied, Romeo son of Master P the ultimate silver spoon kid did a Nick show and now plays Division 1 ball for USC but riding the pine the 5"11 sophomore real name Percy Miller averaged 0.7 ppg as a sophomore




Others:
New Kids On The Block - How ya gonna call yourself a kid when you in your 40's?
ABC - Michael Bivins New Edition spin off, one hit when they were cute but it was over quickly
The Boys - Another Jackson 5/New Edition attempt minor R&B hits in the 80's
Mokenstef - Tried like Jodeci to have group based on the 3 grou members one hit Hes Mine disappeared

Top 25 albums And Top 50 Tracks Of The Decade... 2000-2009

Man that last decade flew by, what do you call it? The Naughties, The Zero years the Millienuies? I have no clue and the phrase "whatever" couldve best described this depressing decades of 9-11, War, Katrina, Loss of classic artist like Michael Jackson, Rick James, Barry White, Isaac Hayes, and capped by the collapse of the economy! It also had the rise of the MP3 format, file sharing, The internet, Myspace, Facebook, Youtube and the downsizing of the whole idea of the CD's and the album on life support! The past decade looks a lot like the 50's a lot of good strong singles but the whole idea of a great album was virtually non-existent! Enjoy the list of what happened and lets see what happens in the two thousand and teens!

#1: JAY-Z THE BLUE PRINT (2001)
Sad but true this dropped unintentionally on September 11th and became an instant classic, proving that Hova was out to crush the whole decade as the top dog in the rap biz. A breakout not just for him but put Kanye West on the map being the producer of about 80% of the tracks here, the other 20% Just Blaze. The Diss Record The Takeover, Izzo, Song Cry and Eminem duo with Renegades. One of the few albums of any format in the decade that you could play non stop without hitting the fast forward button.



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#2: USHER - CONFESSIONS (2004)
Lets face it this is his THRILLER and he might try but hes never going to match this magnum opus, The title song and the killer BURN the breakup song that became everybodys prom song, how ironic. Yeah with Lil Jon and Ludacris is fun, Caught up is great and of course Alicia Keys ballad My Boo makes this just even sicker!


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#3: BEYONCE' - CRAZY IN LOVE (2003)
She was already a star and this was like Diana Ross Leaving the Supremes to prove that she could be a solo superstar and she proved it hands down. The Title Track, Baby Boy (with Sean Paul), Me, Myself and I (Scott Strotchs breakout) she could get down with hot funky, soul hip-hop or sing a sexy ballad. You could say this Texas born GRITS girl is the Tina Turner of her generation.




#4: KANYE WEST' - COLLEGE DROPOUT (2004)
Yeah he did become an asshole later but this was his debut effort when he was hungry and a whole lot more humble and before his T-Pain audio tune copycat thing, and he fit that gap between the street thug hip-hop and the college style back packers that no one knew how to fill before. He proved he could EMCEE and not just a producer for higher. It could be serious and yet ironic and funny like All Falls Down. Definitely a keeper that you want see in the dollar bin.



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#5: ALICIA KEYS - SONGS IN A-MINOR (2001)
Shes put some really good consistent albums this decade making up for the loss of Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo failing to showup, her debut is still my favorite of course her instant classic Fallin, and good followup A Womans Worth.. But I also dig b-sides like Troubles and the Prince remake How Come You Dont Call Me? This chick reminds me of Roberta Flack, Patrice Rushen with some Aretha and Donna Hathaway mixed in. Shes just Great!



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The Rest Of the Lineup!

#6: GET RICH OR DIE TRYING - 50 CENT(2003)
#7: COMMON - BE (2006)
#8: JILL SCOTT - WHO IS JILL SCOTT (2000)
#9: HUSTLE AND FLOW SOUNDTRACK (2005)
#10: SPEAKER BOXXX/LOVE BELOW - OUTKAST(2003)
#11: URBAN LEGEND - TI (2004)
#12: CHRONIC 2001 - DR DRE(2000)
#13: THE BREAKTHROUGH - MARY J BLIGE(2005)
#14: TP2 - R. Kelly(2000)
#15: BLUE PRINT 3 - JAY-Z(2009)
#16: T.I - PAPER TRAIL(2008)
#17: MARSHALL MATHERS LP - ENIMEM(2000)
#18: THE WAY IT IS - KEYSHIA COLE(2005)
#19: AALIYAH - AALIYAH(2001)
#20: EVOLUTION - ROBIN THICKE(2006)
#21: ROCK STEADY - NO DOUBT(2001)
#22: IN MY MIND - HEATHER HEADLEY(2006)
#23: GOODIES - CIARA(2004)
#24: BLACK SUMMERS NIGHT - MAXWELL(2009)
#25: SO ADDICTIVE - MISSY(2001)


TOP 50 SINGLES OF THE DECADE

#1: Be Without You - Mary J Blige (2005)
(Her best song of the decade and top 5 in her career. When Mary Sings She means it)

#2: Dirt Off Your Shoulder - Jay Z (2003)
(I wish we could hear a whole Album of Jay On Timbaland Beats, its just magic)

#3: In My Mind - Heather Headley(2006)
(The most underrated vocalist of her generation power house lungs this one builds up and explodes to a climax of ectasy)


#4: Buy You A Drank - T-Pain(2007)
(I for one experienced Teddy Pender Hass Down burn out by the middle of 2008 with the overuse of the audio tune fad but you cant front on this gem it kicks ass.)


#5: Flashing Lights - Kanye West(2007)
(A great song and a weird video with Rita G with Ye in the trunk. This is an infectious jam)

#6: Umbrella - Rihanna(2007)
(Her Signature Song that Made her a International Superstar ya cant deny it)

#7: Fantasy - Ludacris(2000)
(Luda has always been limited in his subject but when he talks about what he knows HOES. he kills it)

#8: Burn - Usher(2006)
(Such a lovely song if you didnt listen to the words you wouldnt know it was about breaking up)


#9: Bad Habits - Maxwell(2009)
(After nearly 8 years out the game, Mr Max comes back with a masterpiece of melody and live horns)

#10: The Way You Move - Outkast(2003)
(This Earth Wind And Fire inspired classic had booties moving on the dancefloor all through the 03 and 04 year)

Also on The List....

#11: Crazy In Love - Beyonce' w/ Jay-Z(2003)
#12: We Belong Together - Mariah Carey(2005)
#13: Lose Yourself - Enimem(2002)
#14: All Falls Down - Kanye West(2004)
#15: Try Again - Aaliyah(2000)
#16: 21 Questions - 50 Cent w/ Nate Dogg(2003)
#17: Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake(2002)
#18: Empire State Of Mind - Jay-Z w/ Alicia Keys(2009)
#19: Whatever You Like - T.I(2008)
#20: Get Low - Lil Jon and Yin Yang(2002)
#21: Just Dance - Lady Gaga(2008)
#22: Hate it or Love It - The Game and 50 Cent(2005)
#23: Please - Toni Braxton(2005)
#24: Lollipop - Lil Wayne(2008)
#25: He Loves Me - Jill Scott(2000)
#26: Aw Naw (Up And Done It) - Nappy Roots(2002)
#27: Hot In Herre - Nelly(2002)
#28: Raise Up - Petey Pablo(2001)
#29: One Two Step - Ciara(2004)
#30: I Know You (Crazy) - Gnarls Barkley(2006)
#31: Sober - Pink(2008)
#32: This 1 Thing - Amerie(2005)
#33: Diary (Your Secrets) - Alicia Keys(2003)
#34: Touch It (Remix) - Busta, Mary Blige, Lloyd Banks(2006)
#35: Love - Keyshia Cole(2005)
#36: Lost Without You - Robin Thicke(2006)
#37: Feelin On Your Booty - R. Kelly(2000)
#38: Next Episode - Dr Dre, Snoop and Nate Dogg(2000)
#40: Supa Star - Lupe Fiasco(2007)
#41: Oops Oh My - Tweet(2002)
#42: Magic Stick - 50 Cent w/ Lil Kim(2003)
#43: Cupids Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes(2006)
#44: Fabulous - Jahiem(2002)
#45: Turn The Lights Off - Tweet(2005)
#46: Tell Me - Bobby Valentino w/ Lil Wayne(2005)
#47: More Than A Woman - Aaliyah(2001)
#48: The Prototype - Outkast(2003)
#49: U Got It bad - Usher(2001)
#50: Freaky Girl (remix) - Gucci Mane w/ Ludacris(2007)

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AWARDS!!!

Artist Of The Decade - Jay-Z (he opened it and closed it consistently like no other)
Producer of The Decade - Timbaland (he produced about 10 of the 50 songs on this list)
Best Comeback - Cee-Lo From Goodie Mob in the 90's for the Gnarls Barkley project
Most Overrated - Lil Wayne. Kicks clever ryhmes on mixtapes but doesnt have consistent albums
Best Rap Verse - Ludacris An Insane cameo on Ciara's "OH" From the Goodie Album