Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco is another hip hop star who has a tendency to bury anime references in his music. Most people will recall his verse on Kanye West’s “Touch the Sky,” on which he raps, “Yes, yes, yes guess who’s on third? Lupe steal like Lupin the Third.”
It’s a clear reference to Lupin the Third, a Japanese manga that was later turned into an animated series on TV. The main character of the series is Aresne Lupin III who is considered to be the world’s greatest thief.
RZA of Wu-Tang Clan
The entire Wu-Tang Clan are self-proclaimed nerds who enjoy video games and comics but none seem to be more entrenched in the anime world than RZA. The hip hop star released multiple songs for the popular anime Afro Samurai and even made reference to Dragon Ball Z in his book The Tao of Wu. In the book he claims that the Super Saiyan stages in the show could represent a Black man’s journey through life in America.
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