Have you ever heard the name of a group and wondered to yourself, Where did that come from? With some of the very unique band names out there, it only makes sense. And while some stories are yet to be uncovered, including the story behind The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guy, and After 7 (seriously though, what’s the deal?), we did some digging and were able to get the backstory on the names of some of our favorite hip-hop and R&B groups. If you know the tea on others, feel free to share other unique group name origins below!
Source: MJJ Music/Epic
Brownstone
I don’t know about you, but I still jam out to “If You Love Me,” by the group Brownstone. “Grapevyne” isn’t so bad either. But after watching their video for “If You Love Me” last night, my fiancé couldn’t help but ask, “Why in the world did they choose that name?” As it turns out, lead singer Nicci Gilbert told Essence in 1995 that the name was all about strength and stability, which described the friendship of herself, Charmayne Maxwell and Kina Cosper: “We picked our name because brown is the earth and stone is solid.”
Google album cover
Tony! Toni! Toné!
For a group filled with members whose names are nowhere near Tony, inquiring minds have always wanted to know: What’s the deal with Tony! Toni! Toné!? As founder D’Wayne Wiggins told Wax Poetics, it all came from a playful saying.
“Our name for the group, Tony! Toni! Toné! was a nickname that we had for how we used to get dressed to go out partying,” he said. “When we used to put on our clothes and get fly, we would say, ‘Yeah. Tony! Toni! Toné!’ The name, originally, came from a cap session on a roommate of mine. We came up with that name by calling him that as a joke. Later on, we made it the name of our group.”
Arrested Development
As former group leader Speech told NPR in 2006: “We looked at the whole situation in the black community, and saw it as a case of arrested development, and that’s where the name came from. And so, in essence, the group’s purpose is to wipe out the state of arrested development.”
Deep.
Ghost Town DJ’s
As group member Rodney Terry told Spin in May: “[Ghost Town DJ’s] were really a throw-off of Luther Campbell’s Ghetto Style DJs of Miami, which I was a part of back in the ‘80s with the 2 Live Crew and that kind of stuff. So that’s really where it kind of came [from]. I just wanted to emulate what they were doing in Miami with the Ghetto Style DJs so I came up with the name Ghost Town DJ’s. The words ‘ghost town’ to me means heard and not seen. That’s why no one’s ever, ever seen us, but they are definitely feeling us.”
Source: Interscope Records
Blackstreet
Despite BLACKstreet being put together by Teddy Riley, the group name came from original members Joseph Stonestreet and Chauncey Hannibal’s nickname, “Black.” Stonestreet was eventually replaced by Dave Hollister before the group reached massive fame. Wonder how he felt about that name…
Backstreet Boys
According to Rolling Stone, the name for the Backstreet Boys came from a local flea market in Orlando called Backstreet Market.
Andres Otero/WENN.com
*NSYNC
Can’t talk about the Backstreet Boys without mentioning *NSYNC! The story behind their name was that it comes from the last letter of each member’s first name. JustiN, ChriS, JoeY, LansteN and JC. They were also told the asterisk would catch people’s eye. Plus, the name also plays on being “in sync” vocally.
Source: Island Records
Dru Hill
The story behind Sisqo and co.’s group name is that it’s an ode to a popular park in Baltimore, which is where the men all hail from — Druid Hill Park.
The O’Jays
The name was reportedly an ode to a popular disk jockey named Eddie O’Jay from Cleveland who helped the soul group, from Canton, Ohio, get on by giving them airplay. They went from The Mascots to The O’Jays.
WENN
112
As the story goes, the group was originally named Forte. However, their name was changed after they auditioned at a popular nightclub in Atlanta called 112 Club. To be honest, 112 sounds much better than Forte and is much easier to remember.
Image Source: Motown
Zhané
According to former group member Renee Neufville per her interview with Wax Poetics:
“I sat down at my kitchen table in Brooklyn. I took out a piece of paper, and I started jotting down names,” she said. “I tried different names like Nah-jay, Fade to Black, and many others. I remember brainstorming about it by myself knowing that we had to sign this contract, but we didn’t have a group name yet. When I thought of Jah-nay, at first, it was a combination of her name and mine because they’re both French names. I used the J from her name and added to my –nay sound at the end of my name. However, I thought to myself that, if we happen to be famous one day, and we do autographs, the Z would look better. That’s how I came up with the name, and then I told Jean later. She agreed that it was a good name.”
702
Short and simple, 702 comes from the area code of Las Vegas, where all the girls were from. The name was suggested to the ladies by former New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe member Michael Bivins.
Wenn
Jagged Edge
Jagged Edge’s name actually comes from the 1985 film of the same name, which starred Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges. Random, right?
“At the time we had a name that nobody liked, including us,” Brandon Casey told Billboard magazine. “Then another male group came out of Atlanta calling themselves A Few Good Men. That started me looking at movie titles. Jagged Edge had no significant meaning at the time. I just loved the sound of the name. And we adapted it to mean rough around the edges… that was kind of our story.”
Blaque
Girl, you won’t believe it. Blaque, the group behind songs like “808” and “Bring It All to Me,” had a name that stood for “Believing in Life and Achieving a Quest for Unity in Everything.”
Earth, Wind & Fire
Per the website for the legendary group, here’s why they went from the Salty Peppers (yikes!) to Earth, Wind & Fire: “After relocating to Los Angeles and signing a new contract with Warner Bros., Maurice simultaneously made what may have been the smartest move of his young career. He changed the band’s name to Earth, Wind & Fire (after the three elements in his astrological chart). The new name also captured Maurice’s spiritual approach to music – one that transcended categories and appealed to multiple artistic principals, including composition, musicianship, production, and performance.”
The more you know…
