Lots of rappers struggle to find the right stage name. They often shuffle through a myriad of names before settling on one and hoping it sticks with fans. Kendrick Lamar used to be K. Dot. 2 Chainz was Tity Boi. Eminem couldn’t be M&M for obvious copyright purposes. None of these names really screams star rappers either. Jay-Z had to go through a similar phase, going through his Rolodex before landing on how we know him today. Frankly, it seemed like he made the right decision.

In an April 2000 interview with Q Magazine, Hov reveals how he landed on his now legendary stage name and some of the options he was trying out early in his career. “When I was young, I was a cool, laidback little dude, so they called me Jazzy,” he recalls. “Later, that turned into Jay-Z.”

As far as other aliases

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