Summary
Hip Hop's influence on anime is undeniable, as both share similar DNA and influence the art style and storytelling methods. Black Americans initially formed an interest in Asian popular culture, leading to a lasting association between anime and Hip Hop. Toonami played a key role in making anime popular among black Americans, influencing music and inspiring famous Hip Hop artists.
From music to fashion to dialects, Hip Hop's influence on anime is undeniable. Considering Hip Hop's impact on almost every aspect of popular culture, it's not hard to see why anime is drawn to its appeal. However, popular culture is rarely a one-way street. Primary influences are modified by what they are affecting. Indeed, over the past decade, anime has become an influential albeit little-known staple of Hip Hop – and fans of both will be even more supportive of it.
While it may have started as a purely domestic tradition, anime is now a global phenomenon that rivals Hip Hop as a cultural influence. Furthermore, like Hip Hop, anime shows no signs of stopping its impact on popular culture both Eastern and Western. Naturally, as a visual medium, much of anime's influence is seen through its impact on artistic styles and techniques, illustrative storytelling methods, and even hairstyles.
But perhaps anime's most important influence on global popular culture is the way it has captured the hearts and minds of people everywhere in the world. This impact is even more pronounced with generations of young people growing up with as much access to anime as they have had to domestic cartoons. Anime has become a part of their thinking without them even realizing it. As Across The Spider-Verse director Joaquim Dos Santos recently pointed out:
I think now, we're in a generation where it's like a whole generation has grown up with it as part of their artistic influence.
Anime's influence on hip hop dates back to the Kung Fu films of the 1970s
Black Americans' interest in Asian popular culture began with the first wave of Asian martial arts films
While anime's impact on music – in general – can easily be demonstrated by the rise of anime soundtracks and how closely tied it is to the enjoyment of anime, what is less known is the influence anime's special take on Hip Hop music. Indeed, although anime and Hip Hop music are rarely considered the same, the truth is that contemporary anime and Hip Hop share a significant amount of similar DNA. To understand why this is true, it is important to understand the impact of Asian popular culture on urban black American audiences.
According to Phil Hoad, writing for The Guardian about Peter McCormack's 2011 documentary I Am Bruce Lee, Black Americans' interest in Asian popular culture began with the first wave of Asian martial arts films released in the West in the early 1970s.. Although this was largely considered a losing effort due to the fact that most Americans at the time turned off subtitles, the films were still quite popular with one segment of the American public – black Americans. black. The popularity of Asian martial arts films among black Americans deepened with the popularity of Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee was perhaps the greatest African-American star of the 70s. – Phil Hoad, The Guardian
Indeed, Lee has inspired black American youth since the 1967 television series Green Hornet, in which, as Hornet's sidekick Kato, Lee proved himself against one of the icons of the mainstream American superhero, Robin. Furthermore, he was one of the few Chinese martial artists who agreed to teach martial arts to black students, something very few others did at the time.
Anime fills the void left by the decline of martial arts Entertainment
The connection between anime and Hip Hop exists thanks to the popularity of anime in the black American community over the past three decades.
According to McCormack, black Americans' interest in Asian martial arts films is due to several factors. First, there's the fact that movies feature heroes who are cool and not white. They depict a world where non-white people can win and look good while doing that. Second, there is the fact that many of the stories told in the film feature members of oppressed populations throwing off their oppression and defeating the powers that be.
This idea reflected similar ideas of the Black Power Movement that were circulating in the black American community at the time. Finally, many Asian martial arts films that featured the “butt-kicking” action of blaxploitation films were also popular among black Americans at the time, such as Shaft, Superfly and Foxy Brown.
All Roads Lead to Dragon Ball
In the following decades, as martial arts films of the 1970s passed into history, the black American community's interest in Asian popular culture continued. An alternative outlet for that concern is anime. Indeed, although anime has been available in the US since the 1970s, it was only in the 90s and early 00s that it became popular. Like the martial arts film revolution a decade ago, the black American community was one of the earliest groups to show a deep interest in anime.
While the black American community's initial interest in anime was facilitated by their earlier interest in Asian martial arts films, subsequent interest was largely spontaneous. course. In other words, Black American communities find direct resonance with anime. Indeed, while Bruce Lee may have been the gateway for black American youth into martial arts entertainment, Dragon Ball, especially among those also interested in Hip Hop, was a factor. main driving a deeper interest in anime.
The anime is too good to ignore
Toonami is very popular among black Americans
Like the era of martial arts films, the main reason for this is accessibility. According to a 2022 video for AJ+, Amazon Prime Video's Anime Club host Cheyenne The Geek, Toonami – the Cartoon Networks programming block that ran from 1997 to 2008 and focused on anime series – has has a lot to do with this result. At the time, Toonami was one of the most popular entertainment centers for black Americans at the turn of the century.
Naturally, Dragon Ball Z's consistent performance has made the series a popular choice. But other elements of Dragon Ball also resonated. In the 2009 book The Tao of Wu, RZA, the musician behind the legendary soundtrack to Afro Samurai, said that Dragon Ball Z has many similarities to his own life.
The trip represents a journey to enlightenment. But to me, Dragon Ball Z also symbolizes the journey of black people in America. – RZA
Of course, Dragon Ball is not the only popular anime in the community. Naruto, One Piece, Sailor Moon and Cowboy Bebop are all popular among young black Americans. Indeed, not only did many of the stories resonate, but fans were also drawn to the fact that the anime was so different – in a good way – from what had come before. Now, from Snoop Doggy Dog to Drake, Some of Hip Hop's biggest stars consider themselves anime fans.
Ultimately, the connection between anime and Hip Hop exists thanks to the popularity of anime in the black American community over the past three decades. Young black Hip Hop artists are undeniably influenced by anime characters, storylines, and mythology. It's no surprise that many of those anime elements have found their way into my music Hiphop artists consider themselves cartoon fan.
Source: The Guardian (1),(2), AJ+