Welcome back guys n’ girls to our two-part filler post about the relationship between anime and hip-hop! If you’re an anime fan, then you’re fully aware of where the medium stands in terms of popularity. What was once a close-knit medium has now become a world-wide phenomenon. From Spain to the UK anime is pretty much everywhere; just like hip-hop. The crazy thing is that its not just rappers that have mad love for anime, but a few famous celebrities and professional athletes have revealed their nerdy side as well.

Black Panther’s Michael B. Jordan (aka Killmonger) revealed his love for not just Dragon Ball Z, but Naruto as well, during an interview for his new role in Rooster Teeth’s newest anime-style sci-fi adventure, gen:LOC. Kim K. tweeted her new hairstyle was inspired by Darling in the FRANXX’s Zero Two. Green Bay Packer’s Mike Daniels is not just a threat on the football field, but he too is a lover of anime.

There are so many similarities between the two mediums/platforms, which may be the reason why they’re so intertwined with one another. Both cultures tell a story about themselves that often include fantastical elements and experiences. Because of this connection between them, anime and hip-hop have spawned a number of awesome shows (and manga) which has opened the door to new ways for artists from both Japan and Western culture, to collaborate and come up with something awesome.

In Part 1 we talked about the various artists that helped to merge the two subcultures together, but when it comes to giving credit where credit is due, the rappers that come to mind would have to be RZA, Outcast, and MF DOOM. (Big Boi and Hatsune Miku did a track together, if you don’t believe us check this out!)

Quiet as it’s kept, hip-hop met anime first long before mainstream America discovered it. Both of their cultures and styles seem to have a brother-sister relationship; where one end of the medium can identify with the other. Thanks to the genre as a whole, hip-hop will always find new ways to reinvent itself; such as ‘nerdcore’ which is a subgenre of hip-hop for nerds that talk about anime and video games. Even Samuel L. Jackson is no stranger to the medium, as he’s been in a few anime titles that you might know about.

It’s hard to believe that some of us are just now realizing the connection between anime and hip-hop, but truth be told, this dance has been going on for years. Whenever you watch an anime title or listen to a song that has either a rap verse in it or elements of the genre itself, just remember who found anime first. And on that note, that will conclude our two-part filler post on the relationship between anime and hip-hop. With anime being at the level that it is now, there’s no telling what new creations and collaborations will come about from this match made in heaven.

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see! 😉