Letter Men

OMG!—here are 10 artists who just can’t spell it out

DMX

The rapper is also an actor and author, but in the beginning he took his stage name from the drum machine he used to create his own beats. And while he didn’t use BIC as a pen name, he did make his own name into an acronym for the title of his book: E.A.R.L.

AFI

While many believe AFI stands for “A Fire Inside,” band members have also cited other meanings. Whatever the letters stand for, the popular late-’90s band has seen commercial success especially for songs like “Girls not Grey” and “The Days of Phoenix.” Too bad the same can’t be said about Davey Havok’s eyeliner.

MGMT

When the duo released Oracular Spectacular in 2008, fans and radio personalities alike were up in the air whether the band’s name was M.G.M.T. or Management. While the acronym stuck, fact is Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden came together originally as “The Management.”

NOFX

NOFX was said to have been named after a straight-edge punk band Negative FX. While Negative FX only lasted five shows, NOFX went on to record 11 studio albums and has sold over 6 million records worldwide.

B.o.B

B.o.B gained recognition for single “Haterz Everywhere,” but it was “Magic” off his debut record that gave him commercial success . . . literally. The rapper with the acronym name got picked up by the company whose name was also the acronym-ized title to the Korn song “A.D.I.D.A.S.”

KMFDM

The German industrial band was originally named Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, which translates to “no majority for the pity” a play on a popular German phrase, “no pity for the masses.” And when the band shorted the name to KMFDM, there were a few other plays on words for the acronym. You heard the one involving Depeche Mode, right?

3OH!3

Named after the hometown area code of its members, 3OH!3 has traveled far from its days in Boulder, Colorado. The band released its third full-length album last year and has even collaborated with the likes of Katy Perry and Ke$ha.

INXS

Since the passing of co-founder and lead singer Michael Hutchence, INXS (pronounced “in excess”) has been trying to find some way to keep going; from replacing Hutchence to releasing a “tribute” album with a different singer for each track . . . now that’s excessive.

R.E.M.

Some bands shortened their names into acronyms, some bands use acronyms in place of words and some bands—like R.E.M.—randomly select their names out of the dictionary. Go figure.

RZA

RZA has gone by many names since his Wu-Tang days. He’s also picked up various professions from acting to directing to screenwriting. All those things combined, it’s hard to believe this is really just one dude. (Lynn Lieu)