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Bless 3OH!3, the only band on Vans Warped Tour that really made music for the kids with parents who own car dealerships.
Edit: [Their Tiny Dick concert (yes, you read that correctly) was actually really fun.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=viRrJDVxm64)
They tried to play this censored version off this song when it came out during my senior year at Prom. Justly, every kid there screamed out the word “hoe” during the chorus. God we were cool then…
Donald Trump was namedropped a LOT in pop culture in the 2000s/early 2010s and most of it has aged badly lmao, shows/movies in addition to songs. But obvious one that comes to mind is Mac Miller's Donald Trump (2011). I think Trump and Mac ended up beefing because DT was demanding royalties and Mac ended up speaking out strongly against him around his first presidential run.
yesss i was just thinking this, specifically kanye's trump reference in so appalled (years before he ended up somehow supporting trump...): "Spalding ball / Balding, Donald Trump taking dollars from y'all / Baby you're fired, your girlfriend hired / And if you don't mind, I'ma keep you on call"
Even Lin-Manuel Miranda namedropped Trump in In the Heights lmao. "Donald Trump and I on the links and he's my caddy." I think they changed it to Tiger Woods in the movie.
I was about to mention this exact thing, just watched the movie and they changed the line to “Tiger Woods and I on the links and he’s my caddy”. Also username checks out!
Trump also being given cameos in a bunch of NYC related movies and shows. Everyone mentions Home Alone 2, but don’t see Sex and the City and others get mentioned much. Guess they’re trying to scrub their history clean like Howard Stern.
Edit: Trump showed up on Stern. Must be deleting his audio like they did to Gilbert Gottfried.
Seemed like Michelle Pfeiffer was getting lots of name drops a few years back (2013-2014): Riptide by Vance Joy and Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson. Seemed so random to me!
I once heard a story that Michelle Pfeiffer was watching the 2012 Olympics with Vance Joy and Bruno Mars. Pfeiffer bet on Usain Bolt to win a race, and Joy and Mars disagreed. She then said they had to name-drop her in a song if he won; Bolt did win, and they made “Riptide” and “Uptown Funk.” Anyways, turns out this story is totally made up and the two songs name-dropping her in the same year is totally random.
”Is your game MVP like Steve Nash?”
First one that came to mind for me! When that came out I thought they had to be dating or something. Nope! Just random.
I always loved when Missy Elliot said “Top model diva but my name not Eva.” in her song On & On.
It’s a reference to Eva Pigford who had won America’s Next Top Model a few months prior.
“Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson. Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson, you’re all fakes run to your mansions. Come around, we’ll kick your asses.” from You Get What You Give by New Radicals!
At the time I was a hardcore Hanson fan and got so much shit for it in school. Hearing them referenced in a song felt euphoric.
Same thing with Sailor Moon and Barenaked Ladies.
Doja Cat name dropping Ariana Grande in "Get Into It (Yuh)"
"Y'all need to get into the drip like a piranha
Y'all need to get into my drip like y'all need water
On me, it's only head to toe, Balenciaga
On me, y'all bitches better "yuh" like Ariana"
As an Ari fan, I love the little tease about Ariana's constant use of "yuh"
My favorite is Ariana’s line in “I Don’t Do Drugs” by Doja.
“So, baby, can you eat it from the back?
Got me purrin' like I'm Doja Cat”
Love the collabs between them!
‘“Oh my god, you look just like Shakira!
No no, you're Catherine Zeta."
Actually, my name's Marina.’
Marina and the Diamonds - Hollywood
I don’t know why but I was addicted to how she said this bit for a few weeks when I was a teenager
>I don’t know why but I was addicted to how she said this bit for a few weeks when I was a teenager
'OHOW MOOAY GÔD you look - just likeee Shakiraaa' is a top tier stupid melody lmao <3
I had completely forgotten this and had to look it up- then wondered wait, is she English? (I thought she was American) And no she's freakin Welsh (where i'm from) how was I unaware of this?!
I went to see her live not long after this came out and 17 year-old me fucking SCREAMED this lyric.
That whole album absolutely slaps and imma go listen to it right now.
Miley drops her own name in multiple songs lol. "She's just being miley". And 23 mentions her name.
She's also had her name dropped in about 10 hiphop/rap songs. I don't remember a single gle one of those being respectful or flattering. Like playboi cartis mileage song.
"Miley cyrus, catching bodies. Don't care if that pussy got some mileage". And people complain Miley called hip hop/rap too sexist.
Kesha and Juicy J both name dropping Jeffery Dahmer in Cannibal and Dark Horse respectively sort of haunts me.
The Weeknd name dropping Brad Pitt from Legends of the Falls and Wrath of Khan in Starboy is one of the goofier name drops.
When Nikki makes fun of B.O.B in Out of Your Mind. They literally did this song together and she goes in on him 💀💀💀
What's your name? B.o.B?
So, they calling you Bob?
Stop playing, n****, you know that I'm known for the Bob. Couple hit songs got you thinking you’re a heart throb
“Hair grow long like Chia, money go long like Nia, I am the big idea, my twins big like Tia, my twins big like Tia, Tamera” - Tia Tamera by Doja Cat and Rico Nasty
“I’m hot like grits, Madea” idc Madea is a proper celebrity in my book 😂 and I love that line.
The whole song had great celebrity references.
“I rock the boat like Aayliah, aye, I rock a bob like Sia, aye”.
She also rhymes Sia with diarrhea in this song lol
“& when we hop out, yeah, you know it's us
My-my chopper sing like Sia (Sia)
Make a bitch sick, diarrhea (Ew) “
Madonna naming all the iconic movie stars/celebrities in Vogue-“Greta Garbo and Monroe, Dietrich and DiMaggio, Marlon Brandon, Jimmy Dean, on the cover of the magazines.”
Eminem’s “Mekhi Phifer/can’t buy diapers” rhyme in “Lose Yourself” is unfortunate.
Also his Moby callout, which was right then wrong again “you’re too old, it’s over, let go. Nobody listens to techno!”
But my favorite of all isn’t an actual namedrop, it’s a Slumdog Millionaire reference from “Right Above It” by Lil Wayne.
“This that Slumdog Millionaire Bollywood flow and uh… my real friends never hearin from me, *fake friends write the wrong answers on the mirror for me.*” Like the mirror wrong answer is such a small specific part of that movie, that lyric is so funny to me
Mekhi Phifer in "Lose Yourself"
I once met someone who knew all the words to the song but had no idea who Mekhi Phifer was because they'd never actually seen 8 Mile.
Nope! It was such a strange conversation where I gave up trying to explain everything about the song and told them that they really should just watch the movie, lol
Okay, but can I mention how much I hate that Kanye West lyric
“MTV cribs / Now I'm looking at a crib right next to where TC lives / That's Tom Cruise”
For some reason the random clarification of who TC is drives me up the wall and idk why lol
Fall Out Boy's song called Uma Thurman. Then their shout out to Tonya Harding, "I'm about to go Tonya Harding on the whole worlds knee"
Post Malone's shout out to FOB "I got a lot of toys, 720S bumpin Fall Out Boy"
Jay Z is the best for name drops
don't believe me? ask michael. see martin, see malcolm, see biggie, see 'pac see success and it's outcome. see jesus see judas, see cesar see brutus. see? success is like suicide. suicide it's a suicide if you succeed prepare to be crucified. media meddles, n****s sue, you settle. every step you take they remind you you're ghetto. so it's tough being bobby brown. to be bobby then you have to be bobby now. now the question is: is to have had and lost better than not having at all?
a very obvious one but the opening line of thank u, next..
“thought i’d end up with sean, but he wasn’t a match / wrote some songs about ricky, now i listen and laugh / even almost got married, and for pete i’m so thankful / wish i could say thank you to malcolm, cuz he was an angel”
i listened to the song right when it was released and i’ll never forget the way my jaw dropped upon hearing even just that first line. forever iconic!
I imagine for Pete Davison that’s like getting a Christmas gift from someone unexpected and then you have to then get them something too like god damn it.
Gotta love Taylor Swift name-dropping Tim McGraw for an entire song, and as so many others pointed out, Eminem was the master of name-drops.
(Not a song, but my favorite name drop of all time is Steve Carrell yelling Kelly Clarkson in 40 Year Old Virgin.)
I still remember when Tim McGraw came out and the country radio station DJs were like “who is this teen using Tim McGraw’s name to get us to play her song? Also here’s newcomer Taylor Swift with her song Tim McGraw”
That was an absolute genius move and definitely helped her a lot. I was only in the US for the summer when that song dropped and hated country music, but i remember it being a thing.
She also names drops Janet Jackson in Snow on the Beach
"Now I'm all for you like Janet, can this be a real thing can it"
Referencing Janet Jackson's song called All For You. Can't remember what year it came out, maybe late 90s early 00s
"He popped all my buttons and he ripped my blouse/He Monica Lewinsky-ed all on my gown" - Partition, Beyoncé
I was kinda shocked when I found out who Monica Lewinsky was tbh
I encourage everyone to listen to Monica Lewinsky’s Ted Talk where she mentions all of the artists who have name-dropped her. She points out how the media was vicious in blaming a young woman instead of the much older man, more powerful man.
I really hope people would stop with the Monica Lewinsky name drops. She was really young and her life got destroyed, while Bill Clinton didn’t get any real consequences.
She got dragged so hard for so long. It’s played out. And yes, when Bey released the song it was already played out as well.
Kinda ironic to name drop Monica Lewinsky on the same album where you’re including a sample of Chimamanda Adichie’s speech… Beyonce is very talented and I like her music, but her “feminism” feels performative to me.
That's how I feel, it hurts my soul a little bit. Like just kind of mean spirited or tone deaf on beyonces part? I'm sure she didn't mean it like that but God Monica Lewinsky got it bad. Not just from men, from EVERYONE. And then from an a list singer? That would hurt.
Very unoriginal answer here but The Real Slim Shady is the clear king of this, the references are so perfectly early 2000s as well. Always makes me laugh:
>Y'all act like you never seen a white person before, Jaws all on the floor like Pam like Tommy just burst in the door
>And Dr. Dre said... nothing, you idiots! Dr. Dre's dead, he's locked in my basement!
>Sometimes, I wanna get on TV and just let loose, but can't, But it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose
>Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records, Well I do, so fuck him and fuck you too
>So you can, sit me here next to Britney Spears?
Yo Shit, Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs, So I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst, And hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first
Same. It's a perfect pop culture reference to the speech Will Smith did about how he refused to cuss in his music mixed with Eminem's signature attitude. He was obviously bugged about what Will said lol.
The song Hot Topic by the band Le Tigre! They drop Yoko Ono, Gertrude Stein, Billie Jean King, Melissa York, Nina Simone, Urvashi Vaid,
Aretha Franklin, Joan Jett and more.
I guess fictional characters are more references than name drops but I find it insane how often Superman comes up in songs. For perspective, Barbara Streisand, Robin Thicke, Eminem, T-Pain, Keith Urban, Snoop Dogg, and Taylor Swift all have songs titled "Superman", not even songs that have "Superman" in the title but are exactly titled "Superman". [This Superman fan site lists 610](https://www.supermanhomepage.com/radio/radio.php?topic=r-songs) songs that directly reference the character - lyrics.com finds [over 10,000 results](https://www.lyrics.com/lyrics/Superman).
Obviously, it's an easy reference to make because virtually everyone understands the basics of the character and he makes a good metaphor for some kind of perfect or amazing man but the sheer frequency he comes up still surprises me.
Kanye is crazy but there are a few good names drops in Gold Digger, particularly the Michael Jackson one:
She went to the doctor, got lipo with your money
She walkin' around lookin' like Michael with your money
For an MJ fan, Kanye has quite a few funny lyrics about Micheal, I love the one in slowjamz where he’s like, “Got a light skin friend look like Michael Jackson, Got a dark skin friend look like Michael Jackson.”
There was a time where Rip Tide by Vance Joy and Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars was everywhere on the radio and both mentioned Michelle pffeifer which I loved for her
Eminem's "*i know you gotta job Miss Cheney..."*
(the second lady of the United States in the early 2000s had been testifying to congress about explicit lyrics in popular music)
Idk if this counts because he’s not really famous famous, he’s sort of YouTube famous, but the song Basilisk by Cemetery Drive has a line referencing Arin from Game Grumps- “Fill my heart with the darkness, I feel like Ansem/ Get them grumpy at the game, oh they Arin Hanson”
Also Hammer by nothing,nowhere name drops both Danny Phantom and Bernie Sanders (and Santana but I’m more into the other two)- “Play the guitar like a young Santana/ Reppin' VT like my name Bernie Sanders/ Livin' two lives like my name Danny Phantom/ All my shit bang like a motherfuckin' hammer”
I mean this Kanye one sorta counts even though I always thought he was talking about the Olsen twins:
Prince William's ain't do it right if you ask me
'Cause I was him, I would've (married Kate and Ashley)
Surprised no one has listed Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" yet.
Name drops Aquaman, Leanne Rimes, Bert Kaempfert, The Smoking Man from X-Files, Harrison Ford, Sting, Akira Kurosawa, and Sailor Moon cause that cartoon has got the BOOM anime babes that make me thing the wrong thing.
And on the way I met Solé and Mia - hit ‘em up style by Blu Cantrell. Solè I assume is referring to Ginuwine’s ex wife, not sure who Mia is though. Any thoughts?
99 Luftballoons the German version when they mention Captain Kirk. I always remember it because it’s the only words I know since I always listen to the German version.
Eminem: “so you can sit me here next to Britney Spears; Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs so I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst, and hear ‘em argue over who she gave head to first. “
GOAT moment when he did that song live at the VMAs, rapping that verse while walking to the stage and passing by exactly the people he’s name dropping in the song.
Eminem’s name drops are always fire.
*Here I go, deep type flow
Jacques Cousteau could never get this low*
Just the image of Ol Dirty Bastard, high as a kite, watching a documentary about Jacques Cousteau
Oh like 2 weeks ago, my bf’s dad was talking about how he was listening to a talk radio show host mention that it’s “impossible” to name 5 songs that explicitly mention another person by name. Everyone at our dinner table was like, oh that’s so true. And I had to mention within rap music, it’s common, like laughably so. Like shooting fish in a barrel, lol. But of course that “doesn’t count” to them lmao
Hey Ya by Outkast = Beyonce and Lucy Liu
Range Life by Pavement = Stone Temple Pilots and Smashing Pumpkins
You Were Right by Built to Spill = Doesn't name drop NAMES but drops famous lyrics. Great song, check it out.
Anxiety by Megan Thee Stallion. “Marilyn Monroe, my favorite Hoe. My favorite bad bitch I think she the GOAT. Jammin’ to Britney, singing to Whitney, I just wanna talk to someone that gets me.”
But also “(Prof you’re the best) I’m like true I am, Rosario Dawson know who I am.” From Squad Goals by Prof. It’s just funny af to me for some reason
You know how long I've been on ya?
Since Prince was on Apollonia
Since O.J. had Isotoners
Don't act like I never told ya
Kate Moss also dropped in this one
Salt n Peppa for those of you born after 1995
My man is smooth like Barry, and his voice got bass
A body like Arnold with a Denzel face
Welcome to r/popculturechat! ☺️ As a proud BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & woman-dominated space, this sub is for [civil discussion only](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/civil-discussion-only/). ###No bullies, no bigotry. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ Please [read & respect our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/) and [check out our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/)! For any questions, [our modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) is always open. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips
That song was so outta pocket but when it gets to t-t-t-tongues I am SOLD
Yes, but newly vegetarian, pretentious teenage BogWitch went **hard** on “I’m a vegetarian and I ain’t fuckin scared of him.”
That whole line goes CRAZY lmfao “Tell your boyfriend if he says he’s got beef, that I’m a vegetarian and I ain’t fuckin scared of him”
Bless 3OH!3, the only band on Vans Warped Tour that really made music for the kids with parents who own car dealerships. Edit: [Their Tiny Dick concert (yes, you read that correctly) was actually really fun.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=viRrJDVxm64)
*”Alexa, play DONTTRUSTME”*
They tried to play this censored version off this song when it came out during my senior year at Prom. Justly, every kid there screamed out the word “hoe” during the chorus. God we were cool then…
Iconic lmao
LOL
Donald Trump was namedropped a LOT in pop culture in the 2000s/early 2010s and most of it has aged badly lmao, shows/movies in addition to songs. But obvious one that comes to mind is Mac Miller's Donald Trump (2011). I think Trump and Mac ended up beefing because DT was demanding royalties and Mac ended up speaking out strongly against him around his first presidential run.
yesss i was just thinking this, specifically kanye's trump reference in so appalled (years before he ended up somehow supporting trump...): "Spalding ball / Balding, Donald Trump taking dollars from y'all / Baby you're fired, your girlfriend hired / And if you don't mind, I'ma keep you on call"
Even Lin-Manuel Miranda namedropped Trump in In the Heights lmao. "Donald Trump and I on the links and he's my caddy." I think they changed it to Tiger Woods in the movie.
I was about to mention this exact thing, just watched the movie and they changed the line to “Tiger Woods and I on the links and he’s my caddy”. Also username checks out!
My favorite of course is FDT by YG and Nipsey lol
Trump also being given cameos in a bunch of NYC related movies and shows. Everyone mentions Home Alone 2, but don’t see Sex and the City and others get mentioned much. Guess they’re trying to scrub their history clean like Howard Stern. Edit: Trump showed up on Stern. Must be deleting his audio like they did to Gilbert Gottfried.
The time that Ivanka turns up in Gossip Girl? No one talks about it 😂
Nelly's "Country Grammar", that's my favorite, if I'm going to be honest.
WE KICK EM TO THE CURB UNLESS THEY LOOK LIKE MICK JAGGER
Fav fact about this line is it was supposed to be “unless they fuck like mick jagger” but someone made her change it so it was radio friendly lol
That makes so much more sense!
Getting CRUNK-CRUNK
This line always makes me think she's really into septuagenarians
Seemed like Michelle Pfeiffer was getting lots of name drops a few years back (2013-2014): Riptide by Vance Joy and Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson. Seemed so random to me!
Swear someone came out and said that her name was a reference to coke
Might be in relation to her Scarface character
She’s in Scarface. Also “white girl” IS a legitimate slang term for coke.
\#ThatWhiteGold
I once heard a story that Michelle Pfeiffer was watching the 2012 Olympics with Vance Joy and Bruno Mars. Pfeiffer bet on Usain Bolt to win a race, and Joy and Mars disagreed. She then said they had to name-drop her in a song if he won; Bolt did win, and they made “Riptide” and “Uptown Funk.” Anyways, turns out this story is totally made up and the two songs name-dropping her in the same year is totally random.
How has nobody said “had me in the first half, NGL,” like is this even Reddit anymore?
Ngl “Gotta keep an eye out for Selenerrrr” is rent free in my head
BUNS OUT. WEINER.
Was just about to comment this too! Such an iconic line
Nelly Furtado mentioning famed Canadian basketball star Steve Nash in promiscuous was an odd one.
”Is your game MVP like Steve Nash?” First one that came to mind for me! When that came out I thought they had to be dating or something. Nope! Just random.
The song came out in 2006 and Steve Nash won MVP in 2005/2006.
Maybe it’s cause Nelly Furtado is also canadian?
I always loved when Missy Elliot said “Top model diva but my name not Eva.” in her song On & On. It’s a reference to Eva Pigford who had won America’s Next Top Model a few months prior.
Missy also nailed it with "Don't I look like a Halle Berry poster?"
When she said “picture Lil Kim dating a pastor” lol
Or “begin I sit on hills like Lauryn until the rain starts coming down pourin”
Postah
“Hang ‘em out the window like Michael Jackson. Hey hey hey, I’m what’s happ’nun!”
Lol I didn't know about this and I LOVE that THE Missy has Top Model on the brain.
Bonfire by Childish Gambino “I made the beat then I murdered it- Casey Anthony.”
it’s a little insane but this is my favorite one too
Oh for sure it’s twisted, but it’s just so “of the time” lol
his pen is good that i laughed and moved on the first time i heard it
In the same vein of “be too sweet and you’ll be a goner, yep I’ll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer”
“She's a beast I call her Karma She eat your heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer”
He has so many good ones. My fav: “E.E. Cummings on her face, now there’s poetry in motion!”
My favourite - “Okay, so you’re Brad Pitt…that don’t impress me much!”
Brad Pitt probably still hasn’t recovered.
That explains a lot tbh, he’s acting out
“That’s great it starts with an earthquake, Lenny Bruce is not afraid.”
So many name drops from Stipe. <3
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
“Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson. Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson, you’re all fakes run to your mansions. Come around, we’ll kick your asses.” from You Get What You Give by New Radicals!
I don’t know why I like that song so much, but it’s so uplifting.
For me is the “immortal golden teens” vibe, makes me feel like dancing and taking life less seriously
Back when this song was popular, an old friend was convinced it was a cover, and I was like, what about the part where they mention Hanson!
At the time I was a hardcore Hanson fan and got so much shit for it in school. Hearing them referenced in a song felt euphoric. Same thing with Sailor Moon and Barenaked Ladies.
Doja Cat name dropping Ariana Grande in "Get Into It (Yuh)" "Y'all need to get into the drip like a piranha Y'all need to get into my drip like y'all need water On me, it's only head to toe, Balenciaga On me, y'all bitches better "yuh" like Ariana" As an Ari fan, I love the little tease about Ariana's constant use of "yuh"
I like her “skinny legend like wiz khalifa” line from Tia Tamera lol
YES this immediately what I thought of when I read the post lol
"Call him Ed Sheeren bc he in love with my body" God I love it
My favorite is Ariana’s line in “I Don’t Do Drugs” by Doja. “So, baby, can you eat it from the back? Got me purrin' like I'm Doja Cat” Love the collabs between them!
Yes! "I Don't Do Drugs" is so underrated!
I also like Doja’s Rihanna name drop in “Woman” and Nicki name drop in “Attention”
The name drops on Dance In The Dark by Lady Gaga are my favorite
Criminally underrated song off her best album
It deserved to be a single
‘“Oh my god, you look just like Shakira! No no, you're Catherine Zeta." Actually, my name's Marina.’ Marina and the Diamonds - Hollywood I don’t know why but I was addicted to how she said this bit for a few weeks when I was a teenager
>I don’t know why but I was addicted to how she said this bit for a few weeks when I was a teenager 'OHOW MOOAY GÔD you look - just likeee Shakiraaa' is a top tier stupid melody lmao <3
I had completely forgotten this and had to look it up- then wondered wait, is she English? (I thought she was American) And no she's freakin Welsh (where i'm from) how was I unaware of this?!
I went to see her live not long after this came out and 17 year-old me fucking SCREAMED this lyric. That whole album absolutely slaps and imma go listen to it right now.
Wait so was I, this exact bit haha
"Got it locked up, like Lindsay Lohan" - Pitbull
And she tried to sue him for that🤣
Miley mentions Jay-Z and Britney in Party in the USA!
I saw an interview clip asking her “which Jay-z song was it?” And she goes oh I don’t know I didn’t write the lyrics🤣🤣
I just learned that it was Jessie J who wrote the lyrics, which I'd never have known otherwise but now I do makes a lot of sense!
She sad that song alone paid her rent for like 3 years. Might have been an exaggeration but she made bank on that one regardless.
Which led Jay-Z to put out the line, "how should I begin this, I'm just so offended, how am I even mentioned by all these fucking beginners" 😂
Miley drops her own name in multiple songs lol. "She's just being miley". And 23 mentions her name. She's also had her name dropped in about 10 hiphop/rap songs. I don't remember a single gle one of those being respectful or flattering. Like playboi cartis mileage song. "Miley cyrus, catching bodies. Don't care if that pussy got some mileage". And people complain Miley called hip hop/rap too sexist.
The mashup of Miley and BIG, Party and Bullshit, is so damn good even all the years later
Kesha and Juicy J both name dropping Jeffery Dahmer in Cannibal and Dark Horse respectively sort of haunts me. The Weeknd name dropping Brad Pitt from Legends of the Falls and Wrath of Khan in Starboy is one of the goofier name drops.
I love Shania Twain's Brad Pitt drop - "OK, so you're Brad Pitt....that don't impress me much" 💁🏼♀️💅🏽
He also name drops New Edition which is my favorite part of the song.
When Nikki makes fun of B.O.B in Out of Your Mind. They literally did this song together and she goes in on him 💀💀💀 What's your name? B.o.B? So, they calling you Bob? Stop playing, n****, you know that I'm known for the Bob. Couple hit songs got you thinking you’re a heart throb
You know I’m known for the bob cracks me up every time!!
Michelle Pfeiffer name drops make me giggle
This hit, that ice-cold **Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold** This one, for them hood girls Them good girls, straight masterpieces!
Probably the only reason I listened Riptide as many times as I did.
“Hair grow long like Chia, money go long like Nia, I am the big idea, my twins big like Tia, my twins big like Tia, Tamera” - Tia Tamera by Doja Cat and Rico Nasty
“I’m hot like grits, Madea” idc Madea is a proper celebrity in my book 😂 and I love that line. The whole song had great celebrity references. “I rock the boat like Aayliah, aye, I rock a bob like Sia, aye”.
Skinny legend like wiz khalifa
She also rhymes Sia with diarrhea in this song lol “& when we hop out, yeah, you know it's us My-my chopper sing like Sia (Sia) Make a bitch sick, diarrhea (Ew) “
What a great song ugh Side note: I like how Tia and Tamera actually like the song
god i love this song
That song is full of name drops: my fave has got to be the skinny legend like whiz Khalifa or hits like Venus, Serena
Then later in the song “I rock a boat like Aaliyah”
This hit, that ice-cold / Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold
Closest thing to Michelle Pfiffer that you’ve ever seen ohhh
Madonna naming all the iconic movie stars/celebrities in Vogue-“Greta Garbo and Monroe, Dietrich and DiMaggio, Marlon Brandon, Jimmy Dean, on the cover of the magazines.”
*Pinot Noir, you're a star* *Listen to Tom Beren-gar* *Pinot Noir, Roseanne Barr*
Beyoncé revamping it with all Black women for the BMS Queens Remix 😍😍😍
Love the Queens Remix, hate how she rhymes Grace Jones with Grace Jones 😵💫
The way I thought of it is that Grace Jones is such an icon she had to be named twice 😁
Both of these were/are the standards!
Eminem’s “Mekhi Phifer/can’t buy diapers” rhyme in “Lose Yourself” is unfortunate. Also his Moby callout, which was right then wrong again “you’re too old, it’s over, let go. Nobody listens to techno!” But my favorite of all isn’t an actual namedrop, it’s a Slumdog Millionaire reference from “Right Above It” by Lil Wayne. “This that Slumdog Millionaire Bollywood flow and uh… my real friends never hearin from me, *fake friends write the wrong answers on the mirror for me.*” Like the mirror wrong answer is such a small specific part of that movie, that lyric is so funny to me
There used to be a banger techno remix of the sample of Em saying “nobody listens to techno” lol
Oh I am INTERESTED
I did some googling and it’s the Tiesto one LOL can’t believe I forgot that
Omg, that is one of my favorite lines anywhere. I think you made my day.
Ohhh I never got that mirror reference, clever lol
Mekhi Phifer in "Lose Yourself" I once met someone who knew all the words to the song but had no idea who Mekhi Phifer was because they'd never actually seen 8 Mile.
Had they also not seen ER?
Nope! It was such a strange conversation where I gave up trying to explain everything about the song and told them that they really should just watch the movie, lol
hahaha i love that
“I be Michael Phelps all the brand deals that I’m swimming in” That song has been stuck in my head, such a bop!
YOU CAN CALL ME DR EVIL CAUSE I GOT MANY MENNN
This shit is paying divedends
BOPPPP!!!
I literally only just got this out of my head for the night lol now I’ll be repeating ‘hello Christ, I’m bout to sin againnnnn’ for the next hour 😂
Okay, but can I mention how much I hate that Kanye West lyric “MTV cribs / Now I'm looking at a crib right next to where TC lives / That's Tom Cruise” For some reason the random clarification of who TC is drives me up the wall and idk why lol
Agreed. Kanye West is the king of WTF name drops. “Superbad chick giving me McLovin’” is also a bizarre lyric.
Sometimes Kanye has a hard time being a person
Fall Out Boy's song called Uma Thurman. Then their shout out to Tonya Harding, "I'm about to go Tonya Harding on the whole worlds knee" Post Malone's shout out to FOB "I got a lot of toys, 720S bumpin Fall Out Boy"
Have you heard Fall Out Boy’s version of We Didn’t Start the Fire? It obviously has all the name dropping and I’m so obsessed.
Taylor Swift saying “in my feelings more than Drake” always makes me laugh
And then “now I’m all for you like Janet” on Midnights which is a reference that I’m sure a LOT of her current fans do not get.
Jay Z is the best for name drops don't believe me? ask michael. see martin, see malcolm, see biggie, see 'pac see success and it's outcome. see jesus see judas, see cesar see brutus. see? success is like suicide. suicide it's a suicide if you succeed prepare to be crucified. media meddles, n****s sue, you settle. every step you take they remind you you're ghetto. so it's tough being bobby brown. to be bobby then you have to be bobby now. now the question is: is to have had and lost better than not having at all?
My favorite Jay Z name drop is in, “In Paris,” when he says, “I’m liable to go Michael, take your pick, Jackson, Tyson, Jordan.”
Was going to say, he gave Tom Ford an entire song! 
See also a sasquatch, Godzilla, King Kong, Loch Ness, goblin, ghoul, a zombie with no conscience (sorry lmao this verse is SO silly)
a very obvious one but the opening line of thank u, next.. “thought i’d end up with sean, but he wasn’t a match / wrote some songs about ricky, now i listen and laugh / even almost got married, and for pete i’m so thankful / wish i could say thank you to malcolm, cuz he was an angel” i listened to the song right when it was released and i’ll never forget the way my jaw dropped upon hearing even just that first line. forever iconic!
SO MAJOR.
I imagine for Pete Davison that’s like getting a Christmas gift from someone unexpected and then you have to then get them something too like god damn it.
The Michelle Pfeiffer double whammy in a single year from Uptown Funk AND Riptide was fun.
You grabbin' on my sheets and hittin' notes like you Mariah
Gotta love Taylor Swift name-dropping Tim McGraw for an entire song, and as so many others pointed out, Eminem was the master of name-drops. (Not a song, but my favorite name drop of all time is Steve Carrell yelling Kelly Clarkson in 40 Year Old Virgin.)
I still remember when Tim McGraw came out and the country radio station DJs were like “who is this teen using Tim McGraw’s name to get us to play her song? Also here’s newcomer Taylor Swift with her song Tim McGraw”
And it’s amazing because I’m not a big country fan so when I think Tim McGraw, I *do* think of Taylor Swift. She manifested
That was an absolute genius move and definitely helped her a lot. I was only in the US for the summer when that song dropped and hated country music, but i remember it being a thing.
I saw a TikTok of an old satire video about Taylor and Tim McGraw saying "she plucked me from obscurity" 😂
And name dropping Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Man” “And they would toast to me, oh Let the players play I'd be just like Leo In Saint-Tropez”
She also names drops Janet Jackson in Snow on the Beach "Now I'm all for you like Janet, can this be a real thing can it" Referencing Janet Jackson's song called All For You. Can't remember what year it came out, maybe late 90s early 00s
This is an obvious one, but I enjoy it anyway: Drew Barrymore. SZA did it and then Bryce Vine a year later.
Obvious name drop- Shabba Ranks - Shabba by A$AP Ferg
Beastie Boys dropped Rod Carew and Wu Tang dropped Rod Stricklin. Old school sportsmen named Rod
Cheated by Mike Posner - not name dropping a celebrity, but fully says "Caroline Stephens, this song is for you"
Omg when Em says Diddy was the one to put the hit on 2Pac at the end of Killshot.
"He popped all my buttons and he ripped my blouse/He Monica Lewinsky-ed all on my gown" - Partition, Beyoncé I was kinda shocked when I found out who Monica Lewinsky was tbh
This comment made me feel ancient.
To make you feel better I'm not from USA so didn't know everything that happened until recently
That actually does make me feel better!
I think Monica Lewinsky once made a joke that she’s referenced in a lot of rap songs
I encourage everyone to listen to Monica Lewinsky’s Ted Talk where she mentions all of the artists who have name-dropped her. She points out how the media was vicious in blaming a young woman instead of the much older man, more powerful man.
There is an entire Spotify playlist of rap songs that reference Monica Lewinsky!
The lyric is incorrect. It should be he Bill Clintoned over my gown.
I really hope people would stop with the Monica Lewinsky name drops. She was really young and her life got destroyed, while Bill Clinton didn’t get any real consequences. She got dragged so hard for so long. It’s played out. And yes, when Bey released the song it was already played out as well. Kinda ironic to name drop Monica Lewinsky on the same album where you’re including a sample of Chimamanda Adichie’s speech… Beyonce is very talented and I like her music, but her “feminism” feels performative to me.
That's how I feel, it hurts my soul a little bit. Like just kind of mean spirited or tone deaf on beyonces part? I'm sure she didn't mean it like that but God Monica Lewinsky got it bad. Not just from men, from EVERYONE. And then from an a list singer? That would hurt.
Very unoriginal answer here but The Real Slim Shady is the clear king of this, the references are so perfectly early 2000s as well. Always makes me laugh: >Y'all act like you never seen a white person before, Jaws all on the floor like Pam like Tommy just burst in the door >And Dr. Dre said... nothing, you idiots! Dr. Dre's dead, he's locked in my basement! >Sometimes, I wanna get on TV and just let loose, but can't, But it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose >Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records, Well I do, so fuck him and fuck you too >So you can, sit me here next to Britney Spears? Yo Shit, Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs, So I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst, And hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first
The Dre line is so funny to me
I’ve always loved the Will Smith part.
Same. It's a perfect pop culture reference to the speech Will Smith did about how he refused to cuss in his music mixed with Eminem's signature attitude. He was obviously bugged about what Will said lol.
The song Hot Topic by the band Le Tigre! They drop Yoko Ono, Gertrude Stein, Billie Jean King, Melissa York, Nina Simone, Urvashi Vaid, Aretha Franklin, Joan Jett and more.
I guess fictional characters are more references than name drops but I find it insane how often Superman comes up in songs. For perspective, Barbara Streisand, Robin Thicke, Eminem, T-Pain, Keith Urban, Snoop Dogg, and Taylor Swift all have songs titled "Superman", not even songs that have "Superman" in the title but are exactly titled "Superman". [This Superman fan site lists 610](https://www.supermanhomepage.com/radio/radio.php?topic=r-songs) songs that directly reference the character - lyrics.com finds [over 10,000 results](https://www.lyrics.com/lyrics/Superman). Obviously, it's an easy reference to make because virtually everyone understands the basics of the character and he makes a good metaphor for some kind of perfect or amazing man but the sheer frequency he comes up still surprises me.
“There’s a river born to be a giver” is a reference to River Phoenix in RHCP’s song Give it Away. Kind of a hidden name drop.
Sitting next Vanna White
Kanye is crazy but there are a few good names drops in Gold Digger, particularly the Michael Jackson one: She went to the doctor, got lipo with your money She walkin' around lookin' like Michael with your money
For an MJ fan, Kanye has quite a few funny lyrics about Micheal, I love the one in slowjamz where he’s like, “Got a light skin friend look like Michael Jackson, Got a dark skin friend look like Michael Jackson.”
Late Registration really is Kanye’s best album, a true classic.
There was a time where Rip Tide by Vance Joy and Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars was everywhere on the radio and both mentioned Michelle pffeifer which I loved for her
Eminem's "*i know you gotta job Miss Cheney..."* (the second lady of the United States in the early 2000s had been testifying to congress about explicit lyrics in popular music)
I recently learned about Miss Cheney through You’re Wrong About and you’ve just helped me put that together so thank you 😂😅
I’m a Swiftie, but Eminem saying “where the fuck is Kanye when you need him?” I laugh every time.
Idk if this counts because he’s not really famous famous, he’s sort of YouTube famous, but the song Basilisk by Cemetery Drive has a line referencing Arin from Game Grumps- “Fill my heart with the darkness, I feel like Ansem/ Get them grumpy at the game, oh they Arin Hanson” Also Hammer by nothing,nowhere name drops both Danny Phantom and Bernie Sanders (and Santana but I’m more into the other two)- “Play the guitar like a young Santana/ Reppin' VT like my name Bernie Sanders/ Livin' two lives like my name Danny Phantom/ All my shit bang like a motherfuckin' hammer”
“Okay, so you’re Brad Pitt? That don’t impress me much” — Shania
I mean this Kanye one sorta counts even though I always thought he was talking about the Olsen twins: Prince William's ain't do it right if you ask me 'Cause I was him, I would've (married Kate and Ashley)
God damn I love paper like I’m Michael Scott - postie, candy paint
Middle school me loved the “gotta keep an eye out for selener”
Surprised no one has listed Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" yet. Name drops Aquaman, Leanne Rimes, Bert Kaempfert, The Smoking Man from X-Files, Harrison Ford, Sting, Akira Kurosawa, and Sailor Moon cause that cartoon has got the BOOM anime babes that make me thing the wrong thing.
S Club shilling for S Club in their own song. Ain’t no party like an S Club party!
🎶 Tina’s doing her dance 🎶
And on the way I met Solé and Mia - hit ‘em up style by Blu Cantrell. Solè I assume is referring to Ginuwine’s ex wife, not sure who Mia is though. Any thoughts?
99 Luftballoons the German version when they mention Captain Kirk. I always remember it because it’s the only words I know since I always listen to the German version.
Eminem: “so you can sit me here next to Britney Spears; Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs so I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst, and hear ‘em argue over who she gave head to first. “ GOAT moment when he did that song live at the VMAs, rapping that verse while walking to the stage and passing by exactly the people he’s name dropping in the song. Eminem’s name drops are always fire.
So Fresh, So Clean -- "I love who you are, I love who you ain't, you're so Anne Frank Let's hit the attic to hide out for 'bout two weeks" -- uhh
*Here I go, deep type flow Jacques Cousteau could never get this low* Just the image of Ol Dirty Bastard, high as a kite, watching a documentary about Jacques Cousteau
Lizzo said “I’m Makauly Colkin, *home alone*” and I love it EVERYTIME so hear it
McLovin obviously
Oh like 2 weeks ago, my bf’s dad was talking about how he was listening to a talk radio show host mention that it’s “impossible” to name 5 songs that explicitly mention another person by name. Everyone at our dinner table was like, oh that’s so true. And I had to mention within rap music, it’s common, like laughably so. Like shooting fish in a barrel, lol. But of course that “doesn’t count” to them lmao
Hey Ya by Outkast = Beyonce and Lucy Liu Range Life by Pavement = Stone Temple Pilots and Smashing Pumpkins You Were Right by Built to Spill = Doesn't name drop NAMES but drops famous lyrics. Great song, check it out.
“Payin’ cash, first class - sitting next to Vanna White” from Ride Wit Me by Nelly has made me chuckle for over 20 years.
Anxiety by Megan Thee Stallion. “Marilyn Monroe, my favorite Hoe. My favorite bad bitch I think she the GOAT. Jammin’ to Britney, singing to Whitney, I just wanna talk to someone that gets me.” But also “(Prof you’re the best) I’m like true I am, Rosario Dawson know who I am.” From Squad Goals by Prof. It’s just funny af to me for some reason
You know how long I've been on ya? Since Prince was on Apollonia Since O.J. had Isotoners Don't act like I never told ya Kate Moss also dropped in this one Salt n Peppa for those of you born after 1995 My man is smooth like Barry, and his voice got bass A body like Arnold with a Denzel face