Celebrities鈥攖hey’re just like us. Except, you know, they have millions of dollars and jaunt around on private jets.
One thing we听plebs听do share with the rich and famous, though, is getting stuck with nicknames. Sometimes we pick these nicknames ourselves, other times we’re听dubbed听these titles against our will.
From singers and presidents to b-ball players and tech moguls, all kinds of celebs have nicknames … some of which have trickled down into our everyday vocabulary, too.
The hip-hop artist Drake is not Latino鈥攏ot even a little bit. But, you wouldn’t know that from his self-styled nickname, and persona,听Champagne Papi. Drake began using听颁丑补尘辫补驳苍别听笔补辫颈听in 2011, when he started posting on Instagram under the handle @champagnepapi, which now boasts over 54 million followers.
奥丑颈濒别听肠丑补尘辫补驳苍别听may be Drake鈥檚 drink of choice, it is most likely used here to evoke sophistication, elegance, and romance.听Papi听is Spanish slang for 鈥渄addy鈥� or 鈥渄ude,鈥� frequently associated with a type of Caribbean听machismo.
Drake has lots of other nicknames, including Wheelchair Jimmy, Ovo, and 6 God, but none of these have had the same kind of pop as Champagne Papi.
Drake is far from the only hip-hop artist with multiple monikers. Rapper Lil Wayne, for one, has dozens. But, one we especially love is Tunechi, or Lil听Tunechi. Why? Because it was given to him by his grandmother. Sort of.Tunechi听comes from听Lil Tune, a pet name Lil Wayne鈥檚 late grandmother, Mercedes Carter, gave to him when he was young. The 鈥�chi听was added on later, as Carter explained in a video: 鈥淟ike Gucci, I say听Tunechi!鈥� The full nickname has been said to be something like听Tunchieliounchis,听but was wisely shortened to听Tunechi听for the rest of us.
Lil Wayne seems fond of this nickname, too: It’s what he used for his Twitter handle, @LilTunechi, when he joined in 2010. Marijuana enthusiasts may like it, too. Since at least 2015,听Tunechi听has been a nickname for synthetic marijuana, better known by the slang names听spice听or听K2.
While it may sound like Spanish slang for a skinny woman (flaca) or a synthetic narcotic (flakka), Flocka is the nickname used by rapper Waka Flocka Flame. Born Juaquin Malphurs, his brother apparently nicknamed him听Waka听as a kid, taken from the catchphrase of the听Muppets鈥櫶�Fozzie Bear. Fellow rapper Gucci Mane is said to have later added听Flocka听Flame听via rhyming reduplication.
Among fans,听Flocka听is used as a shorthand for all things听Flocka, from the rapper himself and his music to his personality and look. For instance, one could get some听Flocka dreads听if they wanted to style themselves after Waka听Flocka. Or, one might do a听Flocka dance听if moving like the rapper does on stage.
Rappers aren’t the only artists with creative nicknames. Crooners and pop stars earn them, too. That’s why we’re talking about听Marcel听as the nickname for One Direction band member Harry Styles.
The name comes from a 2013 movie/music video for One Direction’s “Best Song Ever,” in which Harry plays a stereotypically nerdy marketing guy named Marcel. One Direction lovers ate it up so much so that听Marcel听immediately took off as an affectionate nickname for Harry Styles in his fandom.听The term听Marcel听is used mostly online in social media, particularly by Harry Styles super-fans.
Sportsball players are also famous鈥攕ome might say notorious鈥攆or creative nicknames. There’s the Hebrew Hammer (Al Rosen, baseball), The Great One (Wayne Gretzky, hockey) 鈥� and Spida.Spida is the nickname for basketball player Donovan Mitchell, record-breaking shooting guard for the Utah Jazz.
Mitchell earned his nickname,听Spida,听early on in his basketball career, apparently for the way he was always “crawling” around the rim like a spider, or spida听in colloquial Black English. In an interview ahead of the 2018 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Mitchell explained: 鈥淲hen I was younger, I was just a dunker. Like, it was all I loved to do, was just dunk. One of my teammate鈥檚 dad called me听Spida. It just stuck.鈥�
Marshawn Lynch is another athlete with a memorable nickname鈥攁nd a “beastly” one, at that.
The phrase beast mode听refers to “a state of performing something, especially difficult activities, with extreme power, skill, or determination.”听Beast mode听became popular in sports during the late 2000s and early 2010s due to its association with football running back Marshawn Lynch, who uses听Beast Mode听as his nickname.
According to Lynch, the nickname came from one of his old coaches, who called him 鈥渁 beast.鈥� This slang sense of听beast, emerging by the early 2000s, refers to “someone extremely good at something, e.g., a skilled basketball player is a听beast听on the court.” The idea of Lynch entering听beast mode听on the field, however, also suggests earlier uses of beast mode in 1980鈥�90s TV shows and video games for 鈥減owering up,鈥� where characters switched into the听mode听of a preternaturally strong听beast.
According to Marshawn 鈥淏east Mode鈥� Lynch himself,听beast mode听is not confined to competitive activities like games or sports. For instance, a coffee barista could be said to be entering听beast mode听when working fast, efficiently, and in a driven manner, such as preparing four cups of coffee at once. A patient, as another example, might 鈥済o听beast mode鈥� to fight cancer.
Remember Turkish chef Nusret G枚k莽e? No? That’s because you probably know him as听Salt Bae.听G枚k莽e became a worldwide sensation on January 7, 2017, when he posted a video of himself on Instagram in a form-fitting tee, sensually carving meat. He ends the video with his signature move: G枚k莽e lifts his arm up and flicks his wrist, in the pose of a cobra, seasoning the meat with salt as if he鈥檚 sprinkling fairy dust.
On the same day, tweeter @lolalissaa linked to the video and commented: 鈥淪o this is #saltbae.鈥� The video on G枚k莽e鈥檚 Instagram went viral, quickly gaining over 13,000,000 views and over 50,000 comments, and the nickname听Salt Bae听went viral with it. (Bae听itself is an affectionate slang term used to address one鈥檚 boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, etc.)
The most popular use of the term听Salt Bae, when not referring directly to G枚k莽e himself, is in reference to his cobra-style sprinkling move. While this has been imitated by many chefs as one might expect, it also become a popular gesture in the world of sports in 2017.
Politicians are easy targets for nicknames. They get them from the public, they give them to themselves, or they just call other politicians outrageous things. Sometimes these nicknames are dignified, like Honest Abe for Abraham Lincoln. More often, they’re ridiculous or downright insulting.听Crooked Hillary, anyone?
Whether former President George W. Bush’s nickname Dubya, from a folksy pronunciation of his middle initial W,听is kind or cruel depends on how you look at it. When Bush first got the nickname isn鈥檛 exactly clear; he was governor of Texas from 1995鈥�2000, not to mention he spent his entire previous life as a junior. Perhaps he听even nicknamed himself, considering his habit of nicknaming others, colorfully calling Russian president Vladimir Putin听Pootie-Poot听and听his senior advisor, Karl Rove,听Turd Blossom.
Sometimes nicknames work in the other direction鈥攕omeone does something so notable that their name gets attached to a certain action or behavior. This is called an eponym, and this is what happened in the case of Zuckered.Zuckered听is a punny blend of听suckered听(鈥渃onned鈥�) and the last name of Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. The exact meaning of the term has varied, but central to it is “being tricked or conned in some way, either by Facebook or by Zuckerberg himself.”
Around 2010,听Zuckered听was being used to refer to “claiming someone else鈥檚 idea as your own,” a reference to Zuckerberg allegedly stealing the idea for Facebook from Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss, brothers who launched an early competitor. But even then,听Zuckered听was already being used in reference to Facebook鈥檚 data privacy issues, which notably hounded the company in the late 2010s.
Just as we don’t always get to choose our nicknames, we don’t always get to control what becomes of our given names either.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
