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A Grand Taxonomy of Rap Names

Xeni Jardin at 11:46 am Mon, Sep 20, 2010

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Pop Chart Lab has produced a visually graceful and historically authoritative Grand Taxonomy of Rap Names poster, available for $20. You can view it large here. "266 sobriquets from the world of rap music, arranged according to semantics." (thanks, JG)

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Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

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  • YakHerder

    What a labor of love. But no TRUE rap name taxonomy could be complete without…

    *KRS-One (Alphanumeric)

    *Grandwizzard Theodore (Titles/Honorifics)

    *Heavy D (Physical or Metaphysical Attributes–>Size–>Large)

    *Phife Dawg (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral–>Animal–>Doggs)

    *Grandmaster Melle Mel (Titles/Honorifics–>Masters)(Wordplay–>Repetition)

    *Leaders of the New School (Titles/Honorifics–>Schooling)(Physical or Metaphysical Attributes–>Virtues–>Intellect)…

    AND MANY MORE!

  • btb

    My favorite semantic grouping is “Guys Named Rob”

  • Anonymous

    Uhhh hello!!! Madlib (Wordplay), DOOM (lol not sure Similarity to Cartoon Character)

  • Anonymous

    aww, $30 to ship a piece of paper to the good old U of K?

  • Tad Allagash

    Eminem is under gustatory, two letters and repetition.

    It was reassuring to see the first comment. It means I wasn’t only one spotting who was missing. Impossible task to get everyone of course. This is superb all the same.

    I think Dr. Ice should be added. Sue me.

  • Anonymous

    And what self-respecting nexus of hip-hop and nerdery would mistake DJ Dangermouse for MC Dangermouse?!

  • Anonymous

    Where is Eminem? Not under alphanumeric?