Over the last 4 decades, the Hip hop world has introduced us to various unique names with some sharing a prefix like Lil, Young, and ASAP.
These prefixes have played a major role in improving these rappers’ popularity. But out of these 3 prefixes, none has outlived rappers and permeated various cultures and nations than Lil.
In fact, most of us can name a few popular artists with the prefix Lil that are dominating our local industry, leave alone the world. After all, the name “Lil” has been adopted by rappers from different generations.
But have you ever wondered how many rappers use the prefix Lil? Or do you know the origin of this prefix or even the most popular Lil rapper on the planet?
Let’s find out…
How Many Rappers Use the Prefix “Lil” on the Planet?
As aforementioned, this 3-letter name has had a longer shelf life than thousands of rappers bearing it.
In fact, it is more than just a name; it has become a trend that’s adopted by hip hop artists all over the world.
Unfortunately, the exact number of artists with this prefix is unknown with most sources listing varying numbers.
Number of Lil Rappers According to Spotify
Spotify, the popular web player, did a tally in 2018 and determined that there were over 8,000 hip hop artists with the prefix “Lil” in their platform.
And during that time, 33 of them featured in their list of a thousand’s most streamed tracks in Spotify.
But with the industry still growing at a very fast rate, the tally of artists using the prefix “Lil” has grown by now.
Artists like Lil Nas X started rapping in 2019 and have dominated the charts for the last few years.
Number of Lil Rappers According to Wikipedia
Wikipedia has a list of some of the top rappers on the planet and according to their list only 74 Hip Hop artists share the prefix Lil.
But the number of celebrities using this prefix is even longer as it includes dancers and comedians.
Their list of celebrities named Lil is 82.    Â
You may also want to check: How Many Rappers Are There In The World?
The First Rapper Named “Lil”
Rappers with the prefix “Lil” have dominated the chart for decades with Artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yatchy, and Lil Pump being some of the top artists in the current generation.
These rappers adopted the name “Lil” after Lil Wayne popularized it in 1998. But do you know the origin of the name Lil?
Well, the first “Lil” artist was Lil Rodney Cee, a member of the group “Funky 4+1.”
Lil Rodney didn’t blow up because of the environment; plus, rap was still new at that time.
Lil Troy became the first top artist to present the tag “Lil” to the Americans with pride.
He became a household name after he released his track “Wanna be a Baller” in 1988.
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Who Catapulted the Name “Lil” to Stardom?
We may have been introduced to the name “Lil” in 1988 by Lil Troy, but he only managed to top the chart in the United States.
After him, very few people took up the name, with some popular artists like Lil Kim doing their part.
But it wasn’t until a decade later that the name became a hit in 1998, thanks to Lil Wayne.
Lil Wayne started his career in 1995 when he was 12 years old after joining Cash Money Records as their youngest artist.
Sure, Lil Kim was a household name, but Lil Wayne was the first Lil rapper to gain international recognition.
Lil Wayne has sold more than 92 million tracks in the U.S. and a total of 120 million records on the planet.
Therefore, we can call him the “G.O.A.T” or the “God Father” of the Lil rappers.
Also check: How Many Rap Songs Are There in the World?
