It’s All in the Name: The Importance of Artist Identity
By: Paul K. Barnes
Tags: Names, Hip Hop, Music, Artist, Identity

A$AP. Three 6 Mafia. Raider Klan. Wu-Tang. OFWGKTA. Some of these groups are defunct now, but the mark they left and influence they had is timeless and unforgettable. These groups have a specific identity, and when most fans know exactly who each member is, what they stand for and what their image is. Outside of the groups, each artist still has their own separate identities. For some artists — Frank Ocean, for example — the identity of the group and the artist rarely merge. For others, one may be completely centered around the other, or not related at all. How would Destiny’s Child have looked centered around Kelly Rowland? Would their legacy be the same with or without the change to 3 members with Michelle Williams?

An artist’s identity is built around the persona they have created for themselves as an artist. For some people, this identity is actually the total opposite of how they are in reality and this can be good or bad. This is often framed as an artist just being fake or telling lies they aren’t living. Really, it can be viewed as the person becoming the character that their artist persona is — almost like a form of acting. When Tyler, the Creator was handed a 5-year ban from the United Kingdom in 2015 allegedly due to lyrics from his 2009 mixtape Bastard, he told The Guardian that “ the UK clearly states that these songs were written from [the perspective of] an alter ego … So the argument is right there! This song is written from an alter ego — I’m not like this! You could watch any interview and see my personality, see the guy I am. I wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“I’ve had lots of aliases and nicknames over the years but, after I went through a lot of things and grew a lot as a person, I decided there’s no one better to be than myself” . — Mildred

The name of an artist — outside of the music — is perhaps the most important part of their identity. The name that those unfamiliar with them hear first when being put on to them; that will be attached to any and everything they do; that will stick with people beyond all else. Ideally, it should be catchy, have a certain ring to it and just work. The average musician goes for some form of pseudonym: Bun B, Jay-Z, Flo Rida, André 3000, Bruno Mars. Sometimes an artist will opt to just use their real name: Michael Jackson, Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross and Mariah Carey. We know now what prestige comes with those names, but the stage name can make or break someone’s career.

Bernell

Situations that happen in an artist’s personal life often spill over into their music life. Sometimes the effect can be so strong it causes the artist to change their stage name completely. Such was the case with R&B artist Bernell, who this past spring released her sophomore EP, Flamingo Frequencies Vol. 2. Bernell used to go by “Brandy B.”, her middle name followed by my first name initial. She came up with Brandy B. in high school “to actually mask who I really was, because at the time nobody knew that I did music & I wasn’t confident with using my first name quite yet & I didn’t want anybody to know that it was me if they ever came across my music.” This connects back to the aforementioned separation between artist’s personas and their true self; but sometimes this persona is so far removed from the artist’s true self, the genuineness gets completely lost.

“...The name change is kinda symbolic to me,” Bernell accentuates, “because it’s like I’m stepping out of that shell [of Brandy B.] and just fully being myself.”

Mildred

Rapper and R&B artist Mildred has also gone through a name change — she was previously known as “Auntie Slay”, under which she released her EP S7ven. Mildred says this name “derived from a nickname ‘Slay’ that my bro Burnkas gave to me. People kept saying I just slay everything from makeup looks to music, [so] when he called me that other people heard it and it just stuck and I liked it. Then, I added ‘Auntie’ to it ’cause I just felt like it was fitting simply because I’ve been an auntie since I was born into my blended fam, literally since I was born…and all my friends low key look at me like that cool ass auntie who always has the right advice.” This is a stark contrast to Bernell’s former name which was rooted in hiding from her peers, while Mildred’s was literally built from her interactions with her peers.

However, their reasons for changing were quite similar. “…This is a time in my life where I’ve really come to understand who I am as a person & my value,” Mildred explains. “I’ve had lots of aliases and nicknames over the years but, after I went through a lot of things and grew a lot as a person, I decided there’s no one better to be than myself. I looked to my middle name which I used to hate before.. and I finally realized how lovely of a name it is & stuck with it.” She then reveals the duality of her name as an acronym as well: “Mildred — ‘Myself, Indefinitely Loved (by me), Da Real, Extraordinary Deal’.”