Aliases have always been a driving force for rap artists’ underground and offbeat projects, providing an opportunity for them to deviate from the genre they usually work in.
The idea of an artist creating a character or alias to experiment with new music and to release side projects has been a prevalent trend in hip-hop for at least 20 years. Some of the first aliases included DMX as Damien, RZA as the RZArector, MF Doom as Viktor Vaughn and JJ Doom, and Kanye West as Louis Vuitton Don.
These aliases provide characters for the development of alternate projects as well as side characters in songs. DMX’s Damien is one of the earliest examples of a rapper using a created character to add layers to a song. In “The Omen,” Damien has a distorted voice, done by DMX, symbolizing the devil on his shoulder throughout the song.
These aliases or characters are used to portray a side of the artist that has not previously been shown, adding a level of mystery and interest to the artist’s music.
Arguably the best example of this is Mac Miller’s character Delusional Thomas, who Miller used for the dual purpose of unearthing skeletons in his closet and experimenting with 2013 Odd Future style horrorcore hip hop.
As described by Miller, Delusional Thomas was the part of his consciousness that he never really let out because it embraced the darker side of life.
On the Delusional Thomas mixtape, Miller used a Kanye-esqe “chipmunk” or high-pitched voice, to rap Thomas’s parts. The distortion of his voice alongside the downright terrifying production allowed Miller to let his demons out and explore a creative avenue which most of his fans were not accustomed to.
Aliases also work well for artists willing to experiment with new sounds. Using alternate names has let artists to experiment without it possibly backfiring and hurting their career.
The experimental rapper Lil Ugly Mane is one example, as his numerous side projects couldn’t be further from the music he’s known for. He has produced under the alias Shawn Kemp, utilized horrorcore with the name BedWetter, and created a black metal band under the name Vudmurk.
The different names and profiles for each project all seem to be from different artists, matching the separate genres of music. This separation between different projects by Ugly Mane is a perfectly executed usage of aliases for artistic experimentation in hip hop.
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