I have often seen African Americans bearing what seems to be 'Igbo' names, without such names being a direct adaptation from the Igbo language, but rather a name handed down from generations before. Some of them are:

1) Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976),[1] better known by his stage name Cam'ron (formerly Killa Cam), is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur from Harlem, New York. He is the de facto leader of East Coast hip hop groups The Diplomats (also known as Dipset), and U.N. (Us Now). Cam'ron was also a part of the group Children of the Corn before they disbanded in 1997.



In 1998 Cam'ron released his debut album Confessions of Fire on Epic, the album would achieve gold status by the RIAA. In 2000 Cam'ron released his second album S.D.E. (Sports Drugs & Entertainment). In 2001 Cam'ron signed a new label deal with Roc-A-Fella Records and released his critically acclaimed, third studio album Come Home with Me. it achieved platinum status by the RIAA, and also contained Cam'ron's highest charting Billboard single to date, "Oh Boy," featuring his artist at the time Juelz Santana. In 2002 Cam'ron starred in the Roc-A-Fella films Paper Soldiers and Paid in Full. In 2004 Cam'ron released his fourth studio album Purple Haze to critical acclaim reaching gold status by the RIAA.

In 2005 after disbanding his record label, Diplomat Records, from Roc-A-Fella Records due to business disagreements, Cam'ron signed the label to a distribution deal with Asylum Records. In 2006 Cam'ron released his fifth studio album, Killa Season. Though it did not chart higher than his previous albums, it still managed to go gold status by the RIAA. The album also contained a movie of the same name, in which Cam'ron made his director/screenwriter debut and starred as the main character. In 2009, after taking a hiatus due to his mother's health, Cam'ron returned to music and released his sixth studio album Crime Pays. It reached #3 on the Billboard 200.

Cam'ron is currently working on his seventh studio album entitled Purple Haze 2, which he has stated will be his final album.

Ezike in Igbo language means 'powerful king'.

2) Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. Ne-Yo gained fame for his song-writing abilities when he penned the 2004 hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario. The single's successful release in the United States prompted an informal meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam's label head, and the signing of a recording contract.



Ne-Yo was born in Camden, Arkansas. His father is of African American and Chinese descent,[3] and his mother is African-American. Both his parents were musicians. As a young child, he was raised by his mother after she separated from his father.[4] In hopes of better opportunity, his mother relocated the family to Las Vegas, Nevada.

While in the Las Vegas Academy, Smith adopted the stage name "GoGo" and joined an R&B group called Envy, who appeared during amateur night on Showtime at the Apollo[5] and on the MTV's The Cut[6] (hosted by Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC).[7] The group disbanded in 2000, and Smith continued to write songs for other artists before starting his solo career. The stage name "Ne-Yo" was coined by Big D Evans, a producer with whom Ne-Yo once worked,[8] because Evans claimed that Ne-Yo sees music as Neo sees the matrix.[9]

Chimere in Igbo language means 'God did [it]'

3) Kanye [Chike] West

Kanye Omari West (/ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer. West first became known as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records; he achieved recognition for his work on rapper Jay-Z's The Blueprint (2001), as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used high-pitched vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. He later broadened his influences to include 1970s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, house, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, industrial, and classical music.

West was raised in a middle-class household in Chicago, Illinois, and began rapping in the third grade, becoming involved in the city's hip hop scene. West attended art school for one semester before dropping out to pursue music entirely in the late 1990s. Although his real desire was to become a rapper, record executives did not take West seriously, viewing him as a producer first and foremost. After being signed to Roc-A-Fella in 2002, West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004 to commercial and critical acclaim. The baroque-inspired Late Registration followed in 2005, and Graduation in 2007. West switched rapping for singing on his emotive 2008 effort 808's & Heartbreak, and embraced maximalism on 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Following several collaborations, West released his abrasive sixth album, Yeezus, in 2013.



Kanye in Igbo language means 'let us give'.

West is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 21 million albums and 100 million digital downloads.[1] He has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time and the most Grammy-awarded artist of his age.[2] Time named West one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005, 2011 and 2015. He has also been included in a number of Forbes annual lists.[3] Three of his albums rank on Rolling Stone's 2012 "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list; two of his albums feature at #8 and #1 in Pitchfork Media's The 100 Best Albums of 2010–2014.[4]


Now, the question is, could these african americans be Igbo by an Igbo ancestor whose name happened to be recorded and have continued to be passed down generation to generation to this day, a chance for african americans which is small?

You tried but the simple truth is that there being Igbo or not will add nothing to something

wht are you now trying to say huh?there are some igbo name that has good meaning in my language. and apart frm that I kw where you are going don't even think of it oga

you want people to burst... All those nairaland bigots will soon arrive to derail the thread

Igbos always repping good, bad or ugly

I give little or no recognition to all these foreigners whose roots might be Africa. They are more of that country and continent than Africa. Most of them are really lost.

lol

You make me laugh. Truth is, They are Not Igbo. So No chest-beating for you my brother

Kanye west doesnt have dat kinda head of d igbo people. he has their lips though.

tobtap:

u guys boast alot...how can majority of slaves be IGBO?......claiming every tin without valid/concrete evidence to back it up... u guyz once claim u constitute 70% of lagos ...but the last election proved u wrong,,,

Get a life and quote reasonably. Face the topic and stop being a bigot.

slimmy05:
43% as at 2014, I would help you out:

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=77479

http://www.homelandnewsng.com/opinion/lagos-2015-igbos-need-strategic-engagement-not-deputy-governorship-seat

dude...i checked the two links and both were articles about an IGBO leader saying they developed all part of lagos and they constitute 43% of the population without any concrete evidence to back it up...I ASKED FOR CONCRETE EVIDENCE NOT BOASTFULL EVIDENCE . PEACE

You should learn to do some simple google research by yourself.