Ever wonder how artists come up with their stage names? In hip-hop recently, it seems like they just throw the word “Lil” in front of the first word they spot in the dictionary and BOOM, there it is. Spotify has just reported that they have 8,000 registered artists with the word Lil in front of their name.
The term “Lil” was first seen in 1980 where artists including Lil Troy and Lil Bruce incorporated the term into their names. Since then, the use of the term has steadily increased. The number of emerging artists with “Lil” in their name in 2018 has increased 106% from last year’s list and a whopping 725% since 2016.
When it comes to the production of a stage named artists often use the nickname they are known by with their friends. “Lil” is a very common nickname in various cultures from around the world which led to it’s outbreak decades ago. But I think it is safe to say the term is now overused and lacks originality. Luckily for EDM fans this phenomenon doesn’t exist in our culture yet. Spotify has created a list of the 200 most popular artists with “Lil” in their name and here are the top 20:
1. Lil Wayne
2. Lil Uzi Vert
3. Lil Yachty
4. Lil Pump
5. Lil’ Kleine
6. Lil Dicky
7. Lil Jon
8. Lil Peep
9. Lil Xan
10. Lil Skies
11. Lil’ Kim
12. Lil Durk
13. Lil Baby
14. LiL Ronnie
15. Lil’ Mo
16. Lil’ Troy
17. Lil’ Flip
18. Lil Wyte
19. Lil Rob
20. Lil’ Will