Anime in hip hop is a recent phenomenon in which

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and hip hop, two distinct subcultures, have collided to form a new sub-genre in today's globalized popular culture. From the globalization of these two cultures they have had an impact on each other. Many rappers have been influenced by anime from the clothing that they wear to the lyrics that they say in their songs. Hip hop has also had a hand in anime for a very long time to the point where characters in animes have been clearly influenced by hip hop culture and will rap. The two subcultures have influenced each other since the 1990s

Anime's influence on Hip Hop

Many notable rappers and artists such as RZA (of the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Robb Bank$ Richard O'Neil Burrell Jr. (born September 24, 1994) better known by his stage name Robb Banks (often stylized as Robb Bank$), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in New York City, the rapper later moved to Browar ...

, and

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

have taken inspiration from anime when creating their music. From as early as 1990 and onwards'', Akira'' (1988) was crowned as being among the earliest in anime to impact hip hop culture. One notable

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

that features clips from ''Akira'' is the 1995 song titled "

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

" performed by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

has also cited ''Akira'' as a major influence on his work, West paid homage to the film in the " Stronger" (2007) music video.

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...

's album ''

Tetsuo & Youth ''Tetsuo & Youth'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper Lupe Fiasco. The album was released on January 20, 2015, by 1st & 15th Entertainment and Atlantic Records. ''Tetsuo & Youth'' was supported by the lead single, "Deliver". The albu ...

'' (2015) is named after Tetsuo Shima. The ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...

'' franchise, particularly ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

'' (19891996), had an impact on hip hop culture from the 1990s onwards. It has been referenced in numerous

hip hop songs In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region is ...

by rappers and artists such as

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their face tattoo, facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous ...

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

Childish Gambino Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...

, Thundercat,

B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years late ...

Soulja Boy DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peake ...

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

XXXTentacion Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...

Juice Wrld Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8, 2019), known professionally as Juice Wrld (pronounced "juice world"; stylized as Juice WRLD), was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was a leading figure in the emo rap and So ...

Trippie Redd Michael Lamar White II (born June 18, 1999), known professionally as Trippie Redd, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is one of the most prominent members of the SoundCloud rap scene, which gained mainstream acclaim in the late ...

, OhSo Kew and Sese. Mark Sammut of ''TheGamer'' notes that

Gohan is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series, created by Akira Toriyama. Gohan is introduced as the first son of the protagonist Goku, and his wife Chi-Chi, in chapter #196 "Kakarrot", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' maga ...

occasionally performs the dab move (as The Great Saiyaman), decades before it became a popular

hip-hop dance Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in ...

move in

American popular culture The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...

. In mid-2015 Canadian rapper Sese, aka Lord Frieza, released his mixtape ''The Frieza Saga'', which was entirely inspired by ''Dragon Ball Z''. "One of my friends was talking about how epic the battles on ''Dragon Ball Z'' were and then we started talking about how crazy the parallels between hip-hop and the show are," Sese explains.

owns several cars decorated with anime characters (also known as

Itasha In Japan, an is a car decorated with images of characters from anime, manga, or video games (especially ''bishōjo'' games or ''eroge''). The decorations usually involve paint schemes and stickers. The cars are seen prominently in places su ...

), including one with characters from ''

K-On! is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Kakifly serialized in Houbunsha's ''Manga Time Kirara'' magazine between the May 2007 and October 2010 issues, and also serialized in Houbunsha's ''Manga Time Kirara Carat ...

'' and ''

Sword Art Online is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The series takes place in the then-near future and focuses on protagonists Kirito (Sword Art Online), Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna (Sword Art On ...

''. With his 2021 album ''Trip At Knight'', Trippie Redd released the song ''Super Cell'' which incorporates multiple references to ''Dragon Ball'' in its lyrics. Another well known hip hop artist who has been influenced by anime is the rapper

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper and songwriter. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her ...

. She has anime all across her social media platforms. She has been seen doing cosplay, such as when she went to Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival where she wore

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The seri ...

(1992-1997) inspired costume. Having anime inspired nails, which can be seen all over her instagram. Even referencing popular animes in her songs, such as in her song Girls in the Hood (July, 2020) she says “ p**** like a wild fox, looking for a Sasuke,” which is a reference to the

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

(2002-2017) franchise. During a shoot for Paper Magazine she dressed up as a character from the hit anime

My Hero Academia is a Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 2014, with its chapters additionally collected into ...

(2016). During many of her interviews she mentions some type of anime reference and during an interview with

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

, which is a popular anime streaming site, she talks about how anime has been apart of her life since childhood. She also has her own merch line with Crunchyroll celebrating Naruto and the Hidden Leaf.

Hip Hop's influence on anime

Since the early 1960s, anime has become increasingly more profitable in

Western countries The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. The growth of the Internet has provided Western audiences an easy way to access Japanese content. This has seemingly influenced many anime creators to incorporate more Western culture in their productions. The Western market has influenced the creation of many popular hip-hop inspired anime titles such as '' Afro Samurai'', ''

Samurai Champloo is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series. The debut television production of studio Manglobe, the 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005. It was first partially broadcast on Fuji TV, then had a complete a ...

'', ''

Tokyo Tribes ''Tokyo Tribes'', known in Japanese as , is a Japanese ''seinen'' manga series written and illustrated by Santa Inoue. A previous series titled was published into a single-volume in 1993. ''Tokyo Tribes'' was originally serialized from 19 ...

'', ''

PaRappa the Rapper is a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997. Created by music producer Masaya Matsuura in collaboration with artist Rodney Greenblat, t ...

'', and ''

Detroit Metal City is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kiminori Wakasugi. It was serialized in Hakusensha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Young Animal'' from September 2005 to April 2010, with its chapters collected in ten ''tankōbon'' volume ...

''. '' Afro Samurai'', is an excellent example of hip hop influence on anime the accompanying musical stylings of RZA (of the

), allow the viewer to dive deep into understanding the powerful concepts behind the anime such as the ideas of racial identity, liberation, and honor. Additionally, ''

'', is one of the most strongly influenced hip-hop anime's. The anime features the late Japanese hip hop producer ''

Nujabes , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese record producer, audio engineer, DJ, composer and arranger best known for his atmospheric instrumental mixes sampling from hip hop, soul, and jazz, as well as incorporating elements of trip hop, b ...

''. From the creators of '' Cowboy Bebop'', The anime uses hip hop and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

musical influences rather than the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

influences of its prior counterpart to help convey its story and during many of the action and fighting scenes. Other anime that has been influenced by hip hop include ''

'' (particularly the character Killer B), ''

Megalo Box is a Japanese anime television series. The series is produced and animated by TMS Entertainment and its subsidiary 3xCube and directed by Yō Moriyama, his first directorial work. ''Megalobox'' was created in commemoration of the 50th anni ...

'', ''

Michiko & Hatchin is a Japanese anime television series. The series was produced by Manglobe and directed by Sayo Yamamoto, her first directorial work. The two eponymous starring roles are portrayed by film actresses Yōko Maki (''The Grudge'') and Suzuka Ohg ...

'', ''

Tokyo Tribe 2 ''Tokyo Tribes'', known in Japanese as , is a Japanese ''seinen'' manga series written and illustrated by Santa Inoue. A previous series titled was published into a single-volume in 1993. ''Tokyo Tribes'' was originally serialized from 19 ...

'' and ''

Devilman Crybaby ''Devilman Crybaby'' is a 2018 Japanese original net animation (ONA) series based on Go Nagai's manga series ''Devilman''. The web anime is directed by Masaaki Yuasa, produced by Aniplex and Dynamic Planning, animated by Science SARU, and rel ...

''. The anime series ''

Gurren Lagann ''Gurren Lagann'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese mecha anime, mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and September 2007. It was directe ...

'' also draws influence from hip hop, including "what might be the greatest hip-hop song in the genre" according to Michael Iacono of ''

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

'' (''CBR''). ''

The Boondocks Boondocks are remote, usually brushy areas. Boondocks may also refer to: * The Boondocks (band), an Estonian rock band * ''The Boondocks'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Aaron McGruder ** ''The Boondocks'' (2005 TV series), the television ser ...

'' is an

anime-influenced animation Anime-influenced animation refers to non-Japanese works of animation that are similar to or inspired by anime. Generally, the term ''anime'' refers to a style of animation originating from Japan. As Japanese anime became increasingly popular, Wes ...

that combines elements of both anime and hip hop. Furthermore,

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

is an animated musical group influenced heavily by hip-hop,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, pop, and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

. The group features different musical artists to help accompany the

virtual band In entertainment, a virtual band (also called a virtual idol, virtual singer, virtual group, cartoon group, cartoon idol, cartoon singer or cartoon band) is a band or music group whose members are not depicted as corporeal musicians, but animat ...

on their songs many being hip-hop and rap recording artists like

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

, featured on the group's

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning song, ''

Feel Good Inc. "Feel Good Inc." is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring American hip-hop group De La Soul. Released on 9 May 2005 as the lead single from the band's second studio album, ''Demon Days'', the single peaked at 2 in the United King ...

'' The animated act helped shaped the hip-hop genre and infused animation with elements of music, art, storytelling, and cinematography.

References

{{reflist Anime Hip hop

Anime's influence on Hip Hop

Hip Hop's influence on anime

See also

References