Top 10 Songs Musicians Shamelessly Name Themselves In

While it’s common for rappers to drop their names in songs, Soulja Boy takes this practice to a ridiculous extreme, repeating it ad nauseam throughout each chorus. The song is about a dance named after the Atlanta rapper, a multi step process which involves cranking your wrists, hopping to your right three times, and striking a Superman pose. Soulja Boy hasn’t had another success quite at the level of his debut single, but we can be sure that his name will go down in dance history for its association with the craze.

The first track from Fergie’s debut solo album, “The Dutchess,” this song is about Fergie’s sex appeal, which is so incredible, she and 7 other credited writers had to come up with a new word just to describe it. In fact, the trait is so unique, Fergie decided to name it after herself. According to the song, “Fergalicious” is defined as the quality that makes boys go crazy, a state which Fergie doesn’t mind exploiting by flirting with them. As if this song didn’t mention Fergie’s name enough times, halfway through, she literally feels the need to spell it out.

Unlike “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)”, “Pass the Mic” never explicitly mentions the Beastie Boys by name. Rather, Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock take turns rapping their verses individually, and when they’re finished, they mention who they’re handing the mic over to. While it’s nice to know which member is singing for a given verse, it gets a little redundant when one of them announces who they’re passing the mic to only to have the next member introduce himself by name, as if we had already forgotten.

Having ruled the charts since the early '80s, Madonna is a legend, and she knows it. This song is a collaboration with Nicki Minaj and music producer DJ Diplo where Madonna talks about how much she likes to party, and at the end of each chorus, she reminds anyone who questions her stature, “Bitch, I’m Madonna.” The music video features several artists paying their respects including Katy Perry, Kanye West, and Beyoncé, but the spotlight stays on the star who’s really in charge of the party.

After the end of this song’s first verse, Pitbull announces all of the featured artists in the song and refers to himself in the third person. Even for a song about living in the moment, this move seems random and out of place. In addition to the previous name drops, Pitbull name checks Lindsay Lohan, making a reference to her arrest record by saying he’s “got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan”. When Lohan filed a defamation suit for the line, Pitbull defended it in a statement, arguing that he was paying Ms. Lohan a compliment and acknowledging how she was keeping it cool.

Ok, so at least this time there's an excuse. Written as the opening theme for the 1966 sitcom that followed the fictional adventures of the titular semi-fictional rock band, the song starts off slowly, and goes wild when the chorus kicks in. Describing the group as fun loving scamps who are just misunderstood, the song's lyrics also carved the band a small niche in '60s counter-culture. Ironically, lead singer Micky Dolenz was the only member who took part in recording the theme, and the band never performed it live. In fact, bassist Peter Tork told Entertainment Weekly he didn’t want the band to play the song because he felt it was too “self-congratulatory.”

Based on a sample of “Under Pressure”'s signature bass line, the words “vanilla” and “ice” appear throughout the song, but never in the right order. Instead, Mr. Van Winkle addresses himself simply as “Ice,” a word which also makes up most of the chorus. The song is meant to show how cool Vanilla Ice is with the ladies and how calm he is under dangerous situations, such as driving past drug addicts firing their guns near a busy Miami street, which was supposedly based on a real life experience. “Ice Ice Baby” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rap Solo Performance category but today it’s remembered as the guiltiest of 1990s guilty pleasures.

With success in music and film in the early 2000’s, Jennifer Lopez was a rising star, but she wanted to reassure fans that it didn’t all go to her head. This song, from her third studio album, is about her roots growing up in the Bronx, and despite the wealth and attention she’s currently enjoying, Lopez is still grounded and real, just like the girl she used to be. However, the message of humility may be undercut by Lopez constantly repeating her name throughout the song... well, that and whatever Ben Affleck is doing to her butt...

Hip hop artist Stanley Burrell got the nickname “Hammer” from his days as a bat boy for the Oakland A's, because one of the players thought he looked like “The Hammer” Hank Aaron. When you’ve got such a powerful name as “Hammer”, you can’t help but drop it. More than once, Hammer assures us his name is synonymous with hype, and with those dance moves and parachute pants, who can argue? But perhaps the best contribution to pop culture Hammer makes with this song is the phrase “Hammer Time!” For his energetic performance in this song, MC Hammer won two Grammys for Rap Solo Performance and R&B song, earning him a permanent place in pop culture... for better or worse.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Wilco (The Song)” (2009)

Wilco



“S Club Party” (1999)

S Club 7


“In a Big Country” (1983)

Big Country

From this first track of The Slim Shady LP, Eminem raps under the name of his violent psychopath persona, “Slim Shady.” Showcasing Eminem’s dark humor, the song is about Slim Shady’s personal baggage and everything he finds wrong in the world, from shallow fans to his dysfunctional relationship with his mother. After the angry rant that comes with each verse, Shady returns to the chorus where he proudly proclaims his name. “My Name Is” is sampled from Labi Siffre’s 1975 song “I Got The…,” and Siffre, who is openly gay, only allowed Eminem to sample the track on the condition that he take out some homophobic material.

Do you agree with our list? Which song do you think should have taken the top spot? For more musical top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.