Ghetto Ass Names

He was shorter than me, and I'm 5'11", and not chunky at all. Nice guy. Drank only water. Was very cordial and accommodating to his fans.

 

Wow - I am so surprised - I was under the impression that he was like 6'3" or 6'4" at least... would have thought he would be really stocky from the last comedy show I saw him on... Glad he was nice to everyone. I think he really is funny and talented - glad he seems to be doing well. Cool that you saw him, TB! Always happy to hear that a star behaves well in public and treats people with grace. Goes to show we are all human. Some a little more than others... LOL.

Wonder if he still laughs if people try to touch his radio.....:smt043 CLASSIC!!!

[YOUTUBE]plEZB07vecs[/YOUTUBE]

 

:smt043

 

My first name is Gary. It is Scottish for spear man.
My middle name is Vincent. French, Spanish, Portuguese(maybe) English and Italian for the conqueror.
I remember not liking my name because it sounded so ordinary. So, l listed a lot of names I wanted to be called and handed them to my parents. They still called me Gary Vincent. I was given the middle name Vincent after the Cardinal who baptised me(I was baptised Catholic). I had heard many names over the years. The most interesting was the names rocker Frank Zappa gave his daughter(Moon Unit) and son(Dweezil). I have often heard Omauri, DeShawn, TeShawn, Mookie, and others. I guess black parents want their children to embrace their identity as black so they come up with these names.

 

I think the biggest problem with these sorts of names from my perspective is that they purportedly (because I've never talked to anyone to confirm that this was their motivation) are meant to reaffirm some sort of black identity. But in truth the only 'black' names are African ones, from distinctively African cultural groups and traditions. DeAndre and Shaniqua do not stem from any African tradition. What they reaffirm is the pidgin nature of much of black identity in this country: a mishmash of disparate sources with no clear link to anything greater than slave traditions and narrative. That is my primary disagreement with them. I'm all for affirming African ancestry and identity, but that comes from links with actual African cultural traditions not arbitrarily making things up because they sound good. I find much in African culture, particularly West African, that is interesting and powerful and I draw strength from, so I don't feel the need to make up something. This is also my beef with Kwanzaa celebrations.

 

No disrespect to you, but I found this hilariously ironic

 

My cousin's name is Shaquanza

 

My name meaning spear man or the racist meaning for spear chucker?

 

But that is Black American culture, which begins with entire generations of people being systematically cut off from their ancestral history.
So much of Black culture is about self-creation and invention through the prism of living as a Black person within the United States.

So in that sense, the crazy names we give ourselves are 'authentic' from Black American perspective.

 

Or using a combination of both parents names, e.g. Shemar Moore(father's name Sherman, mother's name Marilyn). My brother and his wife name their daughter with that combination. Her name is Martia(father's name Martin, mother's name Tia).

 

It's all in the joke.

 

Yeah, right...

 

Yes, but I am a firm believer that the healthy way forward for any individual or group must be built on equality, knowledge and strength. It's hard to see how you build for the future predicated on a foundation as another's property. (LOL, hate to sound like the NOI here, but...) You can only patch up so many holes in your boat before it sinks anyway. ("A house built on sand...") Better to rebuild the boat. Patchwork is a survival strategy, not a empowerment and growth strategy.

Sorry for the overly simplistic homilies but you get my point, no?

True. But in most cultures, a name was supposed to have some significance, not simply be the result of someone's whim or a random combination of syllables.

 

Perhaps by taking the names of the parents, it can be interpreted as having some form of significance by the parents. It's like an extension of a namesake, but instead of just one parental figure [the father almost always], it's the combination of both parents.

It's akin to a name like Raewyn. A name of Welsh origin and a combination name of Rae and Wynn.

 

Good point. Didn't know that had any historical antecedents. I thought it was more made-up nonsense. I miss the whole "Leader" or "He Who Arises in Might" thing, that imparted some sense of dignity and historical continuity in a person, and located them solidly within the universe and the culture they occupied.

 

I just looked up my names meaning.
I have a hyphenated name. It means 'merciful (or graceful) reaper' :smt119

 

Exactly, which is why I question the attitudes of so many people who are quick to dismiss certain names. Even "ghetto" names that have been given to certain people, I personally would consider them to be American names, solely because the origin of such names came from America. They are popular in a certain culture, but I have seen it spread beyond that culture and we're talking unexpected individuals.

For instance, I knew of a woman whom I would call Tanisha and it's of African origin, which have some cultural backgrounds. Now, we know of an Indian singer by that name, but it would commonly be used for blacks. And yet, this actually belongs to a blond-haired, blue-eyed, soft-spoken, petite white girl who looks strangely like Kate Upton, but less of a shape.

That was a shocker to me at first and that cemented my perception that I cannot poke fun of a person's name.

 

Wow, a white Tanisha? The only place I have heard of whites with stereotypically 'black' first names is in the Southern US.

 

Ever met a black kid by the name of Skylar? I do.

 

I have a white friend named Jerome.