What does the “a.k.a.” you often see in artist names mean?
“a.k.a.”
Haven’t you often seen this notation?
It’s kind of hard to know exactly what it means, right?
This time, I’d like to take a closer look at the mysterious notation “a.k.a.”
Meaning and etymology
Some of you may have seen musicians used for credits, especially in the hip-hop scene.
http://owl-horie.jugem.jp
Hip hopnot limited toreggaeIt’s also commonly seen in scenes like this.
http://aquaflow.ti-da.net/
This is in English,also known aIt is an abbreviation written using the initial letter(s) of “s~.”
Translationalso known as ...Translation...the fact that ~; ...the act of ~; ...to ~ (nominalizing suffix “-koto”; often trails off as 〜こと… to imply something left unsaid)It means that.
In other words, it’s an abbreviation for an adverbial phrase used when writing something like a nickname.
Overseas,AKAIt is being read as …
Some Japanese people call it 'Aka,' but that isn’t the native pronunciation.
so-calledcommon slangRight.
This is not a technical term in music.
What is the origin of the notation?
I looked into the origin of this notation, but unfortunately I couldn’t find any clear information about when and where it started being used.
It would have been decisive if we’d seen signs like a famous rapper starting to use it and it spreading, or the whole crew from the XX label all beginning to use it.
It feels like it suddenly started being used without anyone’s say-so.
Well, it's a common colloquialism to begin with.
If I can say anything for certain, it’s just that since it’s English, it started being used in the United States (lol).
Is blues the origin!?
About when did musicians start using the notation “a.k.a.” in credits?
http://toledohiphop.org/
At least, the so-calledold-schoolIn the early 1980s in and around the Bronx, New York, this kind of wording wasn’t used on hip-hop party flyers. I looked into several examples, but didn’t find any.
It doesn’t seem like it was being used in the hip-hop scene from the very beginning.
Next, I tried searching on Discogs, a website that records an enormous amount of release data, by entering “a.k.a.”.
Then...
Among the credits registered on the site, I found the oldest album that has been used in that way!
McKinley Morganfield – A.K.A.
Muddy Waters at Discogs
This isn’t hip-hop.
Released in 1971 by the American label Chess Records, which was owned by MCA Records,bluesIt is.
It’s used on an album by Muddy Waters—known as the “Father of Chicago Blues”—who had a tremendous influence on later music history.
Here, his legal name, McKinley Morganfield, is listed in the credits, while his stage name, Muddy Waters, is used as the album title.
I used to associate it with B-boys, but I’ve realized that’s not necessarily the case.
That said, since both are Black music, it’s possible that people with similar tastes started using them.
How is it used in Japan?
It can also appear in hip-hop lyrics like this.
In older tracks, it’s used by ZEEBRA, who reigns at the pinnacle of J-Rap.
https://youtu.be/FjwwjYdeTBQ?t=40s
The “Ore ga Z, a.k.a.” that appears in the lyrics
In the case of “Daddy~,” it’s “I’m Daddy—Jibra, that’s me.”
It's that kind of nuance, right?
Also, MCs sometimes use it when introducing a rapper.
If this style had existed in the Three Kingdoms period, notations like Zhuge Liang a.k.a. Kongming might have appeared in written works.
I am Kongming, that is, Zhuge Liang.
Something along those lines… (laughs).
Lastly
The word “dope,” which means cool, and “vibe,” which means atmospherevibesWords like “vibes,” which have been used in club circles over the past few years, have become common especially among the younger generation.
Isn’t it likely that even trend-savvy high school girls, who use expressions like “a.k.a.,” have started using it?
Please try incorporating it into your daily life!