Anime and Hip-Hop: Fans, Collaborators and Storytellers
A rapper talking about a favorite character, a producer building a soundtrack, an artist telling a story across music and animation: those are three different connections. Seeing the difference makes the crossover more interesting than a list of famous people who supposedly watch anime.
For fans, the useful question is what the connection adds. Does it reveal an artist’s taste, change the feeling of a scene or give you a new world to explore?
Megan Thee Stallion: fandom in public
Megan Thee Stallion presented Anime of the Year at the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards. In her speech, she celebrated the creators in the room and the fans voting around the world. That is a concrete example of an artist participating in anime culture.
It also gives us a better starting point than guessing which shows someone watches. Public fandom can be a conversation between an artist and an audience. What matters is the specific reference, appearance or interview you can actually point to.
When you notice an anime reference in music or fashion, start with recognition: what was borrowed, and what do you bring to it as a fan? Keep that separate from claims about an artist’s private beliefs or creative motives.
RZA: helping create the sound of a series
RZA’s work on Afro Samurai takes the connection into the production itself. He produced the anime’s soundtrack, as Netflix’s feature on Black music and anime documents. Here, a musician’s contribution is part of what an audience hears while following the story.
That distinction matters. A reference lets you recognize something you already know. A soundtrack can help establish what you expect from a scene before the next action arrives.
Try following one musical change during a viewing. Does it push the scene forward, hold you in place or make a familiar image feel different? Your answer is a listening observation, rather than a guess about what the producer intended.
D’Vo: an original world to follow
D’Vo The Codex offers music, an animated series and an original comic. Its invitation starts with people: D’Vo trying to understand his calling, Jamal standing beside a friend, and Jada putting kindness into action.
That gives the world something to return to after a striking image. Jamal’s help finding D’Vo a valet job is a practical expression of friendship. Jada paying for a mother’s groceries makes care visible through a choice.
Listen to D’Vo’s music, then enter the series with those relationships in mind. You do not have to solve every supernatural question to find someone worth following.
Follow the connection that makes you curious
Choose one detail to explore: a public fan reference, a soundtrack decision or a character’s response. Ask what it adds to the experience. That small question can take you further than a long list of names.
Start D’Vo The Codex with Episode 1 free, without a login or payment. Prefer reading? Original comic Edition 1 is free through the separate comic request form.
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