Rappers and their alter egos have a protracted historical past, however listed here are a few of the wildest ones thus far.
Eminem performs onstage at Dwell from Detroit: The Live performance at Michigan Central” at Michigan Central Station on June 6, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan.
Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Photos
Using alter egos in rap could be traced again to the Nineteen Eighties — and, over the a long time since, has helped rappers faucet into new flows and contemporary artistic concepts. An alter ego serves as a means for an artist to vary up their fashion with out sacrificing the core of who they’re. One of the best alter egos have emerged as their very own identities, usually inflicting followers to check and relate to them — typically much more than the artist who created them.
Within the case of rappers like MF DOOM, the alter ego turned the principle occasion, taking up the rapper and embodying a full-blown character of its personal. DOOM served because the “supervillain” secret id of rapper Daniel Dumile however turned the centerpiece of his artistry as cult-like followers flocked to his music. For rappers like $uicideboy$, alter egos can typically spiral out of hand. Throughout the $uicideboy$ universe, there are Yung Plague, seventh Ward Dragon, Lil Oozing, Princess Mononoke the Frozen Shogun, Northside Shorty, Charles Lee Ray, and lots of, many extra characters. Most of those identities had been born by way of fan lore on Reddit quite than by the $uicideboy$ themselves.
“There was a sample to it, however sooner or later, we kind of misplaced management of it,” the Boyz admitted to Billboard again in 2022.
Through the years, alter egos have dropped whole albums of their very own and have even been symbolically “killed off.” However which alter egos have been really unbelievable? Right here’s an inventory of rap’s wildest alter egos and the way they molded the rappers who constructed them of their picture.
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Kool Keith and Dr. Octagon
Kool Keith has at all times had a penchant for the weird, and nothing in his catalog is extra outlandish than his sadistic Dr. Octagon alter ego. Totally launched on the 1996 LP Dr. Octagonecologyst, the time-traveling extraterrestrial surgeon and gynecologist captivated followers together with his disturbing surrealism on the mic, grotesque look and genre-bending vitality.
Keith beforehand admitted he tried to kill off the evil OBGYN however failed, partly on account of a falling out together with his former label, CHM Information. Dr. Octagon resurfaced on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ 2013 track “Buried Alive,” and returned in full with 2018’s Moosebumps.
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Tyler, The Creator and Wolf Haley
Tyler, The Creator assumes a brand new alter ego with every album rollout, however none are as diabolical as Wolf Haley. Serving as Tyler’s portal for all issues unruly, Wolf Haley got here to life when unhealthy energies infiltrated the rapper’s way of thinking. As proven in songs like “Yonkers,” Wolf Haley is a cussing, fire-breathing anarchist decided to burn every thing down — and kill B.o.B. and Bruno Mars in any respect prices. Whereas Wolf Haley was a heavy presence on Tyler’s first few information, the rapper appeared to retire the persona after 2013’s Wolf.
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T.I. and T.I.P.
T.I. actually went to conflict in opposition to his alter ego, T.I.P., on his 2007 album T.I. vs. T.I.P.. On the undertaking, T.I. appeared as the subtle, level-headed CEO followers know and love. In the meantime, T.I.P. would sometimes emerge to push again in opposition to this id, dueling with T.I. within the hopes of getting him to embrace the extra rambunctious, dope-boy vitality of his previous self.
T.I.P. was penned to life by the Atlanta rapper as a means of coming to phrases with the hardships of his upbringing, with the hope that he might course of the turbulence he skilled on the street to superstardom.
“Between my final album and this album all of the issues I had gone by way of personally they type of made me second guess if I actually needed to be on this recreation like that,” T.I. instructed XXL of the album. “Whether or not I needed to stay a well-known particular person on this rap recreation or keep true to what’s me personally.”
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Nicki Minaj and Roman Zolanski
One other rapper with a plethora of alter egos underneath her belt is Nicki Minaj, however none are as memorable as Roman Zolanski. The “Tremendous Bass” rapper’s menacing alter ego got here to life on 2010’s “Roman’s Revenge” (alongside Eminem’s Slim Shady), boasting an erratic rapping fashion that switched between a baby-voiced Barbie doll and a murderous, nihilistic demon.
Nicki leaned even additional into Roman’s vitality on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up in 2012, however followers seen Roman continued to be absent as Nicki later rolled out The Pinkprint in 2014. Nicki later confirmed to her Barbz that she “acquired drained” of Roman, so he “died.” He hasn’t re-emerged since, however Nicki did say Roman was out and about in Gag City throughout her Pink Friday 2 roll out, including he left after she threw some pictures at Megan Thee Stallion.
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2Pac and Makavelli
One in all rap’s extra mysterious alter egos, it’s rumored that Tupac Shakur crafted his Makaveli persona whereas in jail after learning the works of Italian historian Niccolò Machiavelli. The alter ego was allegedly impressed by Machiavelli’s concepts about faking one’s personal dying to deceive enemies — an idea that conspiracy theorists have since related to 2Pac’s premature passing.
These conspiracies had been additional fueled by the posthumous launch of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Idea, which was launched underneath the Makaveli moniker six months after 2Pac’s homicide in 1996. In consequence, hypothesis persists to today that 2Pac could have staged his personal demise.
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Eminem and Slim Shady
Eminem’s Slim Shady is easily one of the most impactful alter egos in all of hip-hop. Em first introduced his diabolical persona on 1999’s “My Name Is,” trading in his previous rapping style for maniacal, fast-paced bars focused on torture, rape, mental instability, and more unsettling themes. The lore goes like this: Slim Shady appeared after “murdering” Eminem on “My Name Is” and taking over his life. From that point on, Slim would pursue fame and fortune by any means necessary.
On other songs like “The Real Slim Shady,” the twisted character rapped about pleasuring himself inside an insane asylum while simultaneously taking aim at public figures such as Hillary Clinton, Christina Aguilera and Will Smith, and unleashing vitriol against Eminem’s ex-wife, Kim Scott. In the chilling “Kim,” Slim even goes so far as to murder her.
These controversial and unabashedly dark details helped make Slim Shady a beloved and infamous character in Eminem’s universe. “My Name Is” went on to be certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA, and Slim Shady continued to reappear throughout Eminem’s discography over the years. On the Detroit rapper’s latest album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), Eminem finally bids farewell to his criminal alter ego in a climactic showdown of sorts (with the ending left open to interpretation).
While it’s sad to see Slim go, it will likely be hard for Eminem to fully shake off Slim Shady’s shackles. 1999’s The Slim Shady LP sold over nine million copies worldwide, skyrocketing Eminem’s career into the stratosphere. Even if Slim is “dead,” Eminem likely can’t help but feel grateful for the legacy left behind by his chaotic and disturbing alter ego.
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Shock G and Humpty Hump
As one of the first alter egos in recorded rap history, Shock G’s iconic Humpty Hump persona was created as a way to channel the rapper’s darker themes into his music. The character adopts a simpleton personality, complete with Groucho Marx glasses and a congested-sounding voice. While the alter ego was almost satirical, Shock G fully committed to the bit with 1990’s “The Humpty Dance.” The song reached the Hot 100’s top 10 and has since been sampled and referenced by dozens of artists over the years — including pop stars like the Spice Girls on “If U Can’t Dance.”