What Happened When Verizon Reassigned Sir Mix-A-Lot's Old Number

In an interesting mix-up, Washington lawyer Jonathan Nichols has been receiving calls and text messages intended for Seattle hip-hop legend Sir Mix-A-Lot. According to a recent article in The Seattle Times, Nichols requested a Seattle phone number from Verizon in preparation for a job hunt in that city. The phone service assigned him some brand new Seattle digits, and that was that—until the raunchy text messages started pouring in. 

Nichols told The Seattle Times it took him a while to figure out he’d been assigned the rapper’s old phone number. At first, he started getting texts from strangers and occasional calls from luxury car dealerships asking him to test out their latest rides, but he just figured they were ordinary wrong numbers. 

But then, on August 12, everything changed. Texts started pouring in from unknown numbers, with photos of women blowing kisses, bottles of liquor, a tell-tale reference to the song “Baby Got Back,” and birthday messages for someone named Anthony Ray. Nichols finally realized whose phone number he’d inherited: “That’s when it all made sense,” he told The Seattle Times. It was Sir Mix-A-Lot’s birthday (the rapper’s real name is Anthony Ray).

Since then, Nichols has continued to receive texts intended for the rapper, including racy messages and photos from his female fans.

When The Seattle Times reached out to Sir Mix-A-Lot for comment, he replied, “That is hilarious. Poor fella.” But ultimately, the rapper was happy to pass his old digits on to a new owner—though he did have one request: “Tell him any really sexy pictures … Give them the new number.”