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Some of the following information is taken from a recent article in the self-proclaimed LA gossip rag, the Defamer, and you can read the original below.

10. “Devadip” Carlos Santana

Alright, so this is a bit of a weak start, but P was running low on inspiration  and likes Santana’s music. Anyway, Santana’s unique version of Jazz Fusion has been winning fans since the beginning of the 1970s and his version of “Black Magic Woman" still lives on P’s hard disk. Santana is one of the few ‘60s/’70s musicians that has lasted the course, and in 2003 was listed as #15 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 greatest guitarists of all times. Santana’s Devadip monicker resulted from his interest in Eastern mysticism (reflected in some of his albums). He became the disciple of Guru Sri Chinmoy in 1973 and took the name Devadip meaning “the lamp, light and eye of God”.

9. Eminem aka Slim Shady

Multiple Platinum award-winning white rapper Eminem shot to fame in the early noughties with his first album “Slim Shady". He went on to become (in)famous for his edgy lyrics with overtones of homophobia and violence, especially his song “We as Americans", which allegedly threatened to kill the President. Famously, Eminem was sued by his own mother in 1999, over alleged slander in his Slim Shady lyrics. This is how Eminem describes the inspiration for his alter-ego/alias "I was takin' a sh**. I swear to God. And the f*****' name just popped into my head. Then I started thinkin' of twenty million things that rhymed with it".

8. Mariah Carey aka Mimi

Mariah Carey doesn’t need much of an introduction. The five times Grammy award winning singer with the phenomenal vocal register released her 10th album “The Emancipation of Mimi” in 2005. Apparently Mimi had been Carey’s nickname “only used by those closest to me” and the name and the album celebrated her unveiling of her real self.

7. Elvis Costello aka Declan Aloysius McManus

Declan McManus  (or MacManus) was Londoner Elvis Costello’s real name. When he was signed by Stiff Records in the 1970s, his manager suggested the name change with the Elvis taken from Elvis Presley and the Costello being his great grandmother’s family name. In 1986, Costello reverted officially to his original name, although he is still better known as Elvis Costello. Costello has also adopted the name “Napoleon Dynamite” for his post-punk album “Blood and Chocolate”. Arguably one of rock’s most versatile artists, Costello has invented his own unique style. Listen to his academy award-nominated song “Scarlet Tide” from the movie Cold Mountain here.

6. Johnny Rotten aka John Lydon

John Lydon has always been better known as Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the Brit punk band, the Sex Pistols. Apparently his stage name was given to him as a result of the state of his teeth and there are a few conflicting stories in circulation over exactly who named him and under what circumstances. When the Sex Pistols broke up in 1978, his ex-manager, Malcolm McLaren legally prevented him from using the name Rotten, but he won this right back in court in 1986.  While his vocal career has sunk into semi-obscurity, Rotten has remained in the news, most famously in January this year, for punching a female assistant over the lack of a connecting door between his and his friend’s room. She is suing for assault and sexual harassment. Here is a video of Johnny and the Sex Pistols in their ‘70s heyday.

5. Beyonce aka Sasha Fierce

Probably about the most recent name change on the list belongs to Beyonce Knowles. Beyonce first rose to fame as the lead singer of all-girl group Destiny’s Child, before striking out on her own in 2003 with the album “Dangerously in Love”. She has been tremendously successful, reportedly earning US$80million between June ‘07 and ‘08. In October this year (and 6 months after her marriage to Jay-Z), Beyonce revealed her “more sensual agressive, outspoken” alter-ego Sasha Fierce in an album entitled “Ï am …Sasha Fierce”.

4. Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam

Who still remembers the ‘60s song “Morning has Broken?” P certainly does as it was on cassette in her house for much of her early childhood. The Brit singer of that song, Cat Stevens, has sold 60 million albums round the world since then despite giving up music as a career when he converted to Islam in 1977. He also adopted a muslim name and devoted himself to Islamic causes, chiefly humanitarian work helping children and victims of war.

3. David Bowie aka Ziggy Stardust

The androgynous British singer has reinvented himself so many times that P has lost count. Still, she believes that Ziggy Stardust is arguably his most famous invention, manufactured in order to launch his album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars". Bowie has been rated 39th by Rolling Stone on their list of 100 greatest rock acts of all time. Click through here for a glimpse of his Ziggy Stardust heyday.

2. Sean Combs aka Puff Daddy aka P. Diddy aka Diddy

Maybe he’s indecisive over names, but rapper Combs is a great businessman. Besides his signature hip-hop music, Combs has launched two restaurants, men’s clothing lines and his own label of perfume.

1. Prince aka Love Symbol (TAFNAK)

Perhaps the most famous name changer of them all is pop musician Prince. His purple majesty was famous for his eccentric wardrobe, once being verbally and physically abused by his audience for wearing bikini briefs, leg warmers, high-heeled boots, a necklace of raw bacon, and a trench coat on stage. Fortunately, he was also an excellent musician and produced a string of chart-topping hits in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, most famously, Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, Batdance and Cream. In 1993, Prince changed his name to Love Symbol (squiggle) after a legal battle with Warner Brothers, explaining the name change as a symbol of emancipation from the record label. As the symbols was unpronounceable, most journalists took to calling him The Artist formerly known as Prince as a joke protest, which British journos shortened further to Taffy. In 2000, Prince decided to resume his old (pronounceable) name, presumably to the relief of music journalists worldwide.

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