Hip-hop is one of the most celebrated and listened-to genres of our time. Rappers make radical statements, artistic gestures and even apologies with their in-depth and riveting lyrics. Over the last few decades, hip-hop has become an important part of our culture, and is loved all over the world. Hip-hop stars have more than swagger and style. They possess the ability to change the world with their words.

Speaking about hip-hop, rapper Nas has stated, "Hip-hop is the streets. Hip-hop is a couple of elements that it comes from back in the days... that feel of music with urgency that speaks to you. It speaks to your livelihood and it's not compromised. It's blunt. It's raw, straight off the street - from the beat to the voice to the words."

Moms and dads in the hip-hop world are some of the most extra parents out there. They live their lives to the fullest and aren’t afraid of doing things with pizzazz and panache. Their zest for living their best lives is reflected in the outlandish, interesting and at-times jaw-dropping names they select for their treasured tots.

The children who have been given these monikers have big shoes to fill, but, with names like these, they shouldn’t have any trouble standing out.

20 North West 

Reality star Kim Kardashian West and her rapper hubby Kanye West know how to make a statement. From clothing lines to their sprawling estate and lavish lifestyles, they never do things halfway. The names they have selected for their children are no exception. When the news first broke that Mr. and Mrs. West were expecting their first child together, the name they may select for their baby-to-be was all their fans could talk about.

While the couple first denied rumors that they were considering the name North West, when the news was confirmed that it was, in fact, officially their baby’s name, Kimye revealed that it symbolized their “highest point together.” They have gone on to have two more children together: a son named Saint and daughter named Chicago.

19 Blue Ivy

Power hip-hop couple Jay Z and Beyonce didn’t mess around when it came time to name their first daughter. They pulled out all the stops and came up with a designation that is stately, strange and oh-so-exquisite: Blue Ivy. Jay and Bey love the name so much, they’ve gone so far as to trademark it.

While nothing has been officially confirmed by Blue Ivy’s parents, many have speculated about the meaning behind the name. Some theories suggest that Blue is Jay’s favorite color because lyrics in his collaboration with Young Jeezy “Go Crazy” state, “My favorite hue is Jay Z blue.” Another theory? Blue Ivy spelled backwards is Eulb Yvi, which is Latin for “Lucifer’s daughter.”

18 King Cairo

King Cairo is a name fit for a child who was said to have received a mini matte black Lamborghini for his first birthday. The tot’s parents are none other than Tyga and Blac Chyna, both of whom have been linked to the KarJenner family since making a baby together.

Tyga dated Kylie Jenner for a bit, and Kylie loved to babysit little King before Chyna insisted he no longer be allowed to play at the Jenner household, and now, Blac Chyna has a daughter with Rob Kardashian. Talk about complicated. Sad to say, the drama doesn’t stop there. The adorable 5-year-old tot was sued for unpaid rent after Tyga put poor King’s name on the lease to his ultra-expensive abode.

17 Messiah Ya'Majesty

18-year-old Messiah Ya’Majesty Harris is rapper T.I.’s eldest son. The musical father-of-six has assigned arguably unconventional names to all of his children. However, Messiah Ya’Majesty has one of the wackiest designations, with his step sister Heiress Harris coming in at a close second.

Messiah, whose mother is Lashon Dixon, was born in the year 2000 and has lived a charmed life ever since. One example? T.I. raised eyebrows when he purchased his firstborn son a truck for his 14th birthday. Messiah has nearly 400,000 followers on Instagram, and, if the pics he posts are any indication of how he’s doing, he’s living his best life thanks to his famous father and his awesome name.

16 Khari Barbie

Rapper Fetty Wap and his ex-girlfriend Masika Kalysha welcomed a daughter to the world in 2016. They gave their baby girl a name fit for a queen: Khari Barbie. Kalysha revealed on Love & Hip Hop that Khari means “queenly, born to rule and bring joy.” As for the second part of the name? She continued, “Barbie, just because, I mean, she’s gonna be a Barbie doll. Look at her mom!”

Little Khari Barbie is one loved little lady, and her parents have definitely doted on her ever since her arrival. She may not be ruling the world quite yet, but it’s safe to say she’s got her mommy and daddy wrapped around her adorable little finger.

15 California Dream

The Game and his ex-wife Tiffney Cambridge were thrilled when their baby girl arrived in 2010. They named their precious princess California Dream, and call her Cali for short. The Game is fiercely protective of his beautiful baby girl. In 2016, he posted a pic of one of her recently acquired headshots and captioned the photo, “Ok...I can’t with this baby...My daughter got her first headshot back & has a lot of work coming up, so look out for my lil boo!!!”

California has taken her dreamy name in stride. At just 8 years old, she’s already booked prestigious modeling gigs, and recently appeared in Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma spring show. Impressive stuff.

14 Future Zahir

Ciara and hip-hop star Future share a son who bears the name of his famous father. Little Future has his mama’s whole heart, but she may not adore his name as much as she used to. Since she and little Future’s daddy called it quits, the custody disputes have been messy and seemingly endless.

It has even been rumored that Ciara, who is now with Russell Wilson, wanted to rename her little man Russell Wilson Jr., a move the child’s father would most likely not appreciate. Future, whose given name is Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn, is also known as Meathead. So, whatever the drama, Future Jr. can thank his lucky stars that his name isn’t Nayvadius...or Meathead.

13 Bamboo

Rapper Big Boi really went out an a baby name limb when he decided to call his son Bamboo. Despite his plant-inspired name, Bamboo has had a successful life thus far, and recently graduated from high school with honors! 

It’s safe to say that Big Boi is one proud papa. He and fellow Outkast alum Andre 3000 reunited to celebrate Bamboo’s big day. The proud father tweeted from the graduation ceremony, “Thank you Jesus! My Baby Boy just graduated with Honors!” The rapper also posted a pic of himself, his son and Andre 3000 smiling together after the ceremony and captioned the pic, “Bamboo got that Paper work...class of 2018!!! #WithHonors.”

12 Sno Filmon Dot Com Cozart

Rapper Chief Keef really outdid himself when he selected the name for his youngest child. His three other children, Krue Karter, Kayden Kash and Kimora Sosha have names that are uncommon, but not completely wacky. His fourth child, on the other hand, has a name that has never been used before and will most likely never be used again.

He lovingly named his son after his record label’s website, FilmOn.com. Soon after Sno FilmOn arrived in 2015, a press release revealed that Keef and his baby mama had decided to name their child the way they did in an attempt to promote his album, Bang 3. Thanks for taking one for the team, little Sno FilmOn Dot Com! Your daddy definitely owes you one.

11 Egypt Dean

Egypt Dean is an exotic place name followed by a pretty regular designation and is assigned to none other than the celebrated child of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys. His name is unique, cool and, thanks to his beloved parents, may become a more accepted and widely-used choice in the future.

Fun fact: little Egypt is something of a piano prodigy, and produced for Kendrick Lamar on Untitled Unmastered. He has also composed an adorable song entitled “SuperBoy.” Not too shabby for a 5-year-old. It seems his name isn’t holding him back in any way, but is instead inspiring him to stand out in the best of ways.

10 Mars Merkaba

Erykah Badu and Jay Electronica are the proud parents of a little darling rocking the out-of-this world name Mars Merkaba. Little Mars arrived in 2009, and has been the light of her mother and father’s lives ever since. It’s common in today’s world for parents to use city, state and country names for their precious children, but it isn’t every day that a tiny tot is named after an entire planet.

Mars Merkaba may be a pretty tough name to answer to at roll call on the first day of school, but, apparently, things could have been much worse for this adorable child with a stellar name. According to HotNewHipHop.com, before little Mars arrived, rumors circulated that her parents were considering naming her Twitty Milk.

9 Kulture

Kulture is a refined misspelling of the word culture that was recently used by Cardi B and Offset for their new baby girl. Where did they get the idea for their daughter’s interesting name? A Migos album, of course. Apparently, the brilliant idea to give their precious princess’s unique name a Kardashian twist by slapping a letter K at the front of it was all Offset’s.

The overall reaction to Cardi B and Offset’s baby name choice has not been positive. According to BaebleMusic.com, “The whole entire baby name is an ode to Offset, whose real name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus, and the baby is named Kulture Kiari Cephus. Where's Cardi's representation in the name? Nowhere to be found. Honestly, Bodak would've been better than Kulture.”

8 Puma Sabti Curry

As previously mentioned, Erykah Badu has a flare for the dramatic when it comes to baby names. Case in point: the daughter she shares with rapper Tracy Lynn Curry, more commonly known as D.O.C., is named Puma Sabti.

With two musical icons for parents, it only makes sense that Puma would be gifted in the music department. In 2016, Badu posted a video of Puma belting out Rihanna’s hit song “Stay” on social media. The post had fans gushing about the obvious talent Erykah’s mini me possessed, and Essence.com went so far as to call her “a star in the making.” Not long afterwards, Badu and her baby girl posed together for photos that appeared in Vogue Mexico. We can’t wait to see what this talented gal will do next!

7 Seven Sirius Benjamin

Erykah Badu has yet another child with yet another baby daddy who has yet another incredibly intriguing name. She shares a son with rapper Andre 3000, and his name is Seven Sirius Benjamin. This strange name hasn’t hindered his ability to succeed in life in any way. In fact, not long ago, Badu revealed on social media that her only son had been accepted into four different colleges. The mother-of-three wrote, “Makes parents feel good. Dream worked.”

In 2015, the singer opened up to Inquisitr magazine about motherhood, and how entertaining it can be. She told the mag, “The best part of being a mom is that I get to grow with my children… The funniest thing any of my kids has said was when I moved into my first house. My son, Seven, who was 3, said, ‘What if somebody breaks in on us?’ I said, ‘Don’t worry, I got something to throw at his head.’ And he said, ‘What you gonna do, throw some money at him?”

6 Rumi

When the news broke that Beyonce was expecting not one, but two bundles of joy, fans couldn’t stop speculating about what Bey and Jay would name their babies-to-be. In June of 2017, the tots arrived, and it was revealed that they were named Rumi and Sir. The never-before-heard-of baby names had many scratching their heads and wondering where in the heck Mr. and Mrs. Carter get their baby name inspiration.

Luckily, Jay later explained the reasons behind his twins’ names to Rap Radar hosts Elliot Wilson and Brian Miller. He revealed, "Rumi is our favorite poet, so it was for our daughter."  

5 Sir

The reason behind Sir's sophisticated and slightly generic name? Jay dished to Rap Radar, "Sir was like, man, come out the gate. He carries himself like that. He just came out, like, Sir."

Speaking about what she loves about being a mom, mother of Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir told Anderson Cooper in 2012, "It just gives you purpose, and all of the things that my self-esteem was associated with, it's all completely different. I realized why I was born and more than anything all of the things I want to pass onto my child, and the best way of doing that is not by preaching or telling her but showing her by example."

4 Rocket

Singer Pharrell and his lovely wife Helen Lasichanh chose to name their son after a machine that is made to take people into regions seldom explored: the great, wide expanse we call space.

The star told Oprah the reasoning behind his son’s powerful name. He shared, "In the same way that the Indians name their children like behind a force or an animal or an element, we named him after a man-made machine that was meant to go up. Meant to ascend.” Pharrell also revealed that musician Elton John’s famous tune “Rocket Man” may have had something to do with the name he chose for his son. Sadly, Rocket’s middle name is not in fact Man, but Ayer, another name that means meant to ascend.

3 Percy, Vercy, Mercy, and Hercy

When it comes to baby names, rapper Master P, a.k.a. Percy Robert Miller, knows how to keep things interesting. His now-famous son, Romeo, is actually named Percy Miller Jr., which is a fairly common name. However, his brothers Hercy, Vercy and Mercy didn't get off quite so easy in the name department.

Not sure why most of Master P's son's names rhyme, or why one lone son is named Veno instead of, say, Zercy, Rercy or Lercy. It may be because Master P spent all of his creative energy coming up with names for his daughters Intylyana, Tytyana, Itali and Cymphonique.

2 Stormi Webster

When the news that Kylie Jenner had bun in the oven was finally confirmed, fans immediately began to wonder what the lip mogul and social media sensation would name her impending arrival. The reality star took to social media five days after giving birth to reveal to the world that she had chosen to name her baby girl Stormi.

Rumors have circulated that Travis Scott isn't too fond of his daughter's name, and that momager Kris Jenner can stand it, but Kylie seems proud of the name she's given her daughter. Speaking about motherhood, Jenner recently stated, "I don't think being a new mom changed me, I think it just made me maybe look at life a little differently."

1 King Coy Deel

Rapper DMX and his baby mama Tashera Simmons named one of their sons King Coy Deel. His name is stately, refined and kinda cool. The three one-syllable names in a row give it an air of sophistication that is rarely achieved by hip-hop baby names.

Even so, the phrases “King Coy Deel has a runny nose again” and “King Coy Deel just scored his first soccer goal!” lead us to only one conclusion. No matter how cute a child's name is, it's three words long, it’s time to think of a catchy, kid-friendly nickname to use when talking about said child in day-to-day situations or when calling to him on the playground.

Sources: BaebleMusic.com, HotNewHipHop.com, Heavy.com, Billboard.com, Bossip.com, EOnline.com