Should rapper drop 'Baddo' from his name?

(Endowed Blogs.)

What's in a name? After the Second World War, it was said that you couldn't find anyone with surname Hitler in public phone book.

I still haven't seen any person by the name of Adolf or Judas for that matter. There is just something about names. Once a name has been attached to notoriety, the literal meaning goes out of the window and it takes on a bad meaning.

Nigerian rap superstar Olamide also goes by the name of 'Baddo', a moniker he coined to portray him as a bad boy on the mean and gritty streets of Bariga.

play Olamide Baddo in 'Goons Mi'
(YouTube/OlamideVEVO )

On his 2014 track 'Goons Mi', his famous alias can be heard clearly in the intro. The name has stuck with Olamide. When you say the name Baddo, people know who you are talking about immediately. Baddo is to Olamide what HOV is to JAY-Z.

play Jay-Z.
(Theo Wargo/Getty)

The going has been good for Olamide with this name but he might have to just change it.

Mid-2016 a gang of mass murderers and ritualists started their reign of terror in Ikorodu, Lagos. The group is known as Badoo but also pronounced as Baddo (bah-doh). Obviously, there is a clash here. The difference is spelling is minor. Both names are pronounced the same way.

play Who will stop the evil Badoo gang?
(Ghetto Breed )

In pop music, perception is everything. After building a name and a strong brand for yourself you don't want anything controversial or negative to tarnish it.

While the name Baddo means a go-getter and hustler who makes it despite negative circumstances, to others it strikes fear. It paints a picture of death to some. Should Olamide drop his famous moniker or should he continue to use it?

What's in a name actually? There is a rapper named Noreaga named after the late Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. There is a rapper named Jim Jones named after an occultist US preacher who led his followers to mass suicide.

play Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega playfully fakes a punch to a supporter at the height of his power in 1989
(AFP/File)

In Nigeria, one of Wizkid's many monikers is Pablo taken from Pablo Escobar the notorious drug lord and narco terrorist. Davido's cousin Sina Rambo bears the same name with one of Nigeria's most infamous armed robbers.

play Wizkid first called himself Pablo on March 14, 2016
(Instagram/wizkidayo )

Last time I checked, all the artistes mentioned above are doing fine. The names haven't affected their careers negatively. It would take a naive Nigerian not to know that Olamide's alias has nothing to do with the gang in Ikorodu.

Olamide has worked hard for his name and brand. Chances are that he will still be around when Badoo has been wiped away.