What was Busta Rhymes’ first rap name?
It’s not uncommon for artists to change their name as their career evolves. The obvious issue with this is that you need to maintain some consistency with your moniker if you want people to know who you are. There may come a time when this is unavoidable, even if certain credibility has been attached to that brand. A prime example of this is Busta Rhymes, who had, shall we say, a less-than-fortunate pseudonym when he entered the rap game.
In an interview on Kelly Clarkson’s talk show during the lockdown of 2020, Busta was asked by the American Idol winner if his first stage name was Busta Rhymes. “No, it wasn’t”, he responded, “My first solo album came out in 1996, but my first record that I ever put out came out in 1991 with my group, Leaders of the New School, and Chuck D from Public Enemy actually gave us the group name of Leaders of the New School. But my first rap name was Chilloski and there was nothing cool about that. ”
Clearly embarrassed as Clarkson erupted in fits of hysterics, Rhymes continued with a smile on his face, “Don’t laugh at me Kelly.” The host was mostly confused in hearing the rappers former name given his rise to prominence under the name that he is currently known, saying “You are not Chilloski”.
“I’m definitely not”, the Brooklyn-born rapper continued, “and, you know, when Chuck D said that to me that my name should be Busta Rhymes, I was like, ‘I don’t like that name, why should I be- Why would you pick that out of all the names for me?’…He said Leaders of the New School is a statement. If you’re going to be leading the new school in the new era of hip hop and MCs and rappers, and you’re going to be a significant part of the climate shift in the culture, then you gotta represent that from your name first.”
“They used to always ask me to bust a rhyme, so it was kind of synonymous with that. But whenever I did, you know, get my opportunity to bust a rhyme or to rap for anybody when they asked me to, I just had such a charismatic and animated way. You know what y’all know and love me for. And I’ve been consistent with that from day one.”
“So Chuck D said that it kind of reminded him – my aggression in my performance, my animation in my performance – it reminded him of the legendary Minnesota Vikings football player from 1985 whose actual real name, first and last name, is Buster Rhymes. So I trusted his judgement, I tried and it ended up sticking. And once the world got a hold of it and fell in love with it, I ended up eventually falling in love with it.”
Can you imagine if we had to sing along to ‘I Know What You Want’ by Chilloski? Major shout out to Chuck D for not only sparing Busta but all of us the shame of having to speak a name that sounds like it was crafted in a college dorm room by dudes wearing upside-down visors, inhaling an endless supply of energy drinks.