LETTY: Lil is a short word with a long history in hip-hop.
From Lil Wayne to Lil Pump, the prefix is everywhere.
So what’s the story behind its rap use?
LETTY: Lil is often given to a person of small stature,
youth,
or in the same likeness as Jr.
Here’s a rough history.
LETTY: The first Lil in recorded rap history was Lil’ Rodney Cee, a member of the Funky 4+1 More,
who dropped their hit single "Rappin' and Rocking The House" in 1979.
LETTY: Throughout the ’80s, Lil names were relatively rare, but a few rappers kept the
nickname alive—like Lil' Rahiem who was a member of Boogie Boys, and scored a major
hit called “A Fly Girl” in 1985.
LETTY: In the early 90’s, more Lil’s started popping up.
There was Lil’ Mac from New Orleans and his debut album ‘The Lyrical Midget’ in 1990.
LETTY: Lil’ Dap was one half of the rap duo Group Home, and made his debut
on Gang Starr’s album ‘Daily Operation’ in 1992.
LETTY: And Lil’ Fame from the New York rap duo M.O.P. in 1993.
LETTY: Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s Lil Cease and Lil’ Kim were the first mainstream stars with Lil names,
the latter spreading the nickname across the world with Top 40 hits.
LETTY: In 1999, Cash Money's teen rapper Lil Wayne scored his first major hit.
He's gone on to become the most successful Lil rapper of all time.
The man’s got five Grammys, 20 Top 10 hits, over 100 million records sold worldwide and
‘Tha Carter V’ album is on the way.
LETTY: Wayne’s prominence became a jumping off point.
LETTY: According to Genius data, before Lil Wayne's rise in 1998 there were only about
20 artists with “lil” in their name.
20 years later, there are over 600 "lil" artists on Genius.
LETTY: In 1999, Houston’s Lil’ Troy dropped his hit “Wanna Be A Baller.”
LETTY: That following year, Lil' Bow Wow released “Bounce With Me” with Xscape.
His nickname came when Bow Wow was 6 years old after he had impressed Snoop Dogg during
a concert in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Saying quote:
LETTY: Crunk music pioneer Lil Jon began as a DJ
and an A&R executive for Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Records, in the mid-nineties.
He later formed Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz with Big Sam and Lil Bo.
But his days as a “lil” trace back to high school, saying, quote:
LETTY: Baton Rouge’s Lil Boosie dropped his debut studio album ‘Youngest Of Da Camp’
in 2000, at the age of 17.
And Master P’s son Lil' Romeo released his self-titled debut in 2001 with his platinum hit,
“My Baby.”
In 2006, Lil B and The Pack started getting attention with “Vans.”
LETTY: The Lil’s of today include Lil Yachty,
YACHTY: I’m in a group called The Yacht Club and they were all like a lot older than me.
And I was kind of the baby so I just called myself Lil Yachty.
LETTY: Lil Baby,
BABY: I hang around a whole lot of older dudes.
So they just hit me with Lil Baby,
I'm the youngest out the crew.
I was like 12, 13 hanging out with dudes like 25.
LETTY: And the late Lil Peep, who got his nickname from his mother.
LETTY: Other lil’s have some pretty random origins.
LIL XAN: And one of my friend’s was just like “Yo I’mma call you Lil Xan cuz you like,
take a lot of Xans” it’s just that simple right!
DICKY: I just called myself Lil Dicky in this one random song that I made
I think I was listening to Lil Wayne at the time.
LETTY: And of the new school, Lil Uzi Vert is arguably the most notable,
touting hits like “XO TOUR Llif3” and a chart-topping debut album in 2017.
UZI: But I was rapping one day,
and some guy was just like "Damn you rap fast,
like a little machine gun, like a Lil Uzi or something."
And I was like ‘oooh Lil Uzi’ and like vert is like vertical like straight to the top.
LETTY: Other notable lil’s include…
LETTY: Lil Mama,
Lil' Mo,
Lil Scrappy,
Lil' Flip,
Lil Rob,
Lil Skies,
Lil Reese,
Lil Mosey,
Lil Twist,
Lil Snupe,
Lil Duke,
Lil' Fizz,
Lil Windex,
Lil Wop,
Lil Durk,
Lil Toenail
...And many more.
LETTY: Who’s your favorite “lil?”
I’m Lil' Letty with Genius News bringing you the meaning and the knowledge behind the music.