Did you know that Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — one of the most successful country songs of 2024 — borrows heavily from a 20-year-old rap song?
That song, “Tipsy” by J-Kwon, has been described by Rolling Stone as “a raucous rap ode to underage drinking.” It was released in January of 2004 (when J-Kwon was just 17) and peaked at #2 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in April.
The same year, the baby name Jkwon made its first appearance in the U.S. baby name data:
- 2006: 27 baby boys named Jkwon
- 2005: 30 baby boys named Jkwon
- 2004: 100 baby boys named Jkwon [debut]
- 2003: unlisted
- 2002: unlisted
(These babies were likely named “J-Kwon,” but the SSA’s data excludes hyphens and ignores internal capitalization.)
Jkwon was the highest-debuting boy name of the year. In fact, it currently ranks 11th on the list of top boy-name debuts of all time. Other spellings (such as Jquan, Jakwon, Jaquan, Jaykwon, and Jayquan) also saw higher usage in 2004.
The name dropped back out of the data (i.e., below the five-baby threshold) before the end of the decade, though, because the rapper’s subsequent singles weren’t as successful as “Tipsy” [vid].
J-Kwon was born Jerrell Jones in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1986.
His stage name was initially J-Rell, but he changed it to J-Kwon in the year 2000.
The new name was inspired by the movie Jerry Maguire (1996), in which professional football player Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.) used the invented word kwan — a French pronunciation of the English word “coin” — to refer to something more than money. (“You know, some dudes might have the coin, but they’ll never have the kwan.”) Rod explained the concept to his agent Jerry (played by Tom Cruise) by saying, “It means love, respect, community, and the dollars too — the entire package. The kwan.”
What are your thoughts on the name Jkwon?
P.S. Shaboozey was born Collins Obinna Chibueze to Nigerian immigrants living in Virginia in 1995. When he was a freshman in high school, his football coach misspelled his surname “Shaboozey.” The misspelling turned into a nickname, and the nickname became his stage name.
Sources:
- Tipsy (song) – Wikipedia
- Billboard Hot 100 for the week of 17 Apr. 2004
- Osby, Jasmine. “‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ sparks resurgence for St. Louis’ J-Kwon.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch 28 Oct. 2024.
- Conteh, Mankaprr. “J-Kwon Says He Turned Down ‘1000’ ‘Tipsy’ Samples Before Shaboozey.” Rolling Stone 22 Nov. 2024.
- Denis, Kyle. “Shaboozey on ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy),’ Country Music & His Unique Name.” Billboard.com 3 Oct. 2024.
- SSA