Rap [Names] is Outta Control, Part 2

A few years ago I devoted a blog post to a couple of rappers who I thought lacked creativity when it came to his or her stage name.

It was just a spur of the moment kind of thing, and I figured it would be a one-time post and that would be it.

But lately -- and by lately I mean ever since I published that initial post in 2008 -- I've been noticing rappers having crazier and weirder names, each one outdoing the other when it comes to a lack of creative thought.

I never expected this topic to grow into an all-out, neverending episodic series showcasing the most ridiculous rap names, as it is poised to become.

Long gone are the days of having the block bestow you with a name that sticks with you for the duration of your career.

Instead, they've been replaced with names like Louisiana Ca$h, the rapper featured in this particular instance:



This name didn't catch me as off guard as I was when I heard the name Harlem's Cash**. However, this name was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.

Although these are the only two instances I know of a rapper using Cash as a surname (Johnny Cash probably rolled his eyes in his grave when he heard about these names), enough is enough!

It is neither creative nor imaginative, not to mention neither rapper probably has any real cash to speak of in the first place.

Some quick research uncovered that Louisiana Cash has been on his grind for a minute, apparently signing to Battery Records less than two years ago despite the record label's Web site's mysterious omission of the rapper's name from its roster of artists.

A newswire service even issued press release in 2009 that ambitiously declared 2010 would be Louisiana Cash's year to "break out".

Whatever the case is regarding the current status of his career, I just saw his video on MTV Jams so I guess he's doing something right.


**Harlem's Cash is, ironically, kind of a dope rapper. I had ignored him for a long time based on the facts that 1) I'm from Harlem and never heard of him, and 2) his name is a complete and utter deterrence on every level. Had it not been for him rocking over a hot 9th Wonder beat I would have continued to ignore him. I can't vouch for the rest of his material, but his 16 on the song in question showed me he could at least hold his own when it came to rhyming.