Kanye West putting the bling into civil rights
Rappers are hardly renowned for their humility, so it is entirely in keeping that US hip-hop star, record producer and businessman Kanye West has opted for a loftier moniker — arise Martin Louis the King Jr.
Apparently the new name, which he has posted a video about on his official blog, is a sort of bling amalgam of civil rights champion Martin Luther King (who West presumably emulates) and French fashion label Louis Vuitton (for which West has just designed a line of shoes). Pretty, sure that Martin Luther King and his supporters love what Kanye’s done with the old place. Personally, I feel he could get another bit of brand bling in there. Maybe Martin Louis the King Gucci Jr?
In the video, Mr King says this: “Due to what has happened so severely when the red shoes hit the runway, I was forced to change my name to Martin Louis the King Jr. Address me as such.” Yeah, whatever.
Eyebrows have raised maybe a millimetre — no one seems particularly surprised that yet another rap star is changing his name — and indeed Kanye West (as was) isn’t his original one (it used to be Kanye Omari).
Rappers tend to shed names like snakes shed skins, leaving their dry, tired old names on the dusty floor of some limo or marble khazi and replacing them with something, er, snakier.
Other rappers in the long line those who have played the name-changing game include Snoop Doggy Dogg (born Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr.). He isn’t called that anymore — he’s now just Snoop Dogg.
Likewise, Diddy (born Sean John Combs) used to be Puff Daddy, before going through several hundred name-changes; and 50 Cent… er, wasn’t originally called that…
If rappers were known for their sense of humour, one might surmise that Kanye’s new name was one big, dumb joke. It isn’t.
Or is it?
Who knows? Who cares?
If you really do care, have a look here and judge for yourself.
Is the rap star just doing the typical rap star name-thing, or is this a more cynical/savvy marketing-driven move designed purely to create some buzz surrounding the launch of his new line of sneakers?
One suspects it might be the latter.
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