A sizzling anime-themed banger from Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion probably wasn’t in your 2024 bingo, but the artist worked tirelessly to make it happen.
However, her journey until the final release day wasn’t all sunshine and roses; instead, Stallion came very close to losing the essence of her new single, “Otaku Hot Girl,” which is filled with anime references.
Being an anime enthusiast herself, Megan was probably on cloud 9 working on this track, which is featured on her third studio album, Megan. Although the hit music star played up her loyal status as a sincere anime enthusiast, she was forced to make changes to the track just days before its release date, i.e. on June 28.
He didn’t miss the opportunity to open up to fans on Instagram Live ahead of the release. The song doesn’t just reference iconic anime characters like Jujutsu Kaisen’s (JJK) Satoru Gojo, Yuji Itadori, its supervillain Sukuna, and Naruto’s Sasuke; it also directly samples the commercial jingle from the former hit series, which earned its rightful title as one of the most sought-after anime shows among Gen Z.
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But what’s ultimately most interesting about this situation is that Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, also enlists the help of Adam McArthur, the English voice actor of JJK’s protagonist Yuji Itadori, who starts off the track with an unexpected verse: “I like a tall woman with a nice big ass (haha) / Just sayin’ / Grammy winner, Megan Thee Stallion likes that.”
Why Megan Thee Stallion had to redo her song even though it was already approved
During her Instagram broadcast, Stallion said she had to “go through eight million hoops” to get the right fit with production company MAPPA Studios, which brought the legendary anime to life.
When she sent the song to him for approval, he told her, “Well, you’re going to have to change some words,” Stallion detailed the debacle on social media.
As a result, she agreed and complied with the demands. However, the company then commented, “Well, if you shoot a video to this song, you can’t imitate any of the characters from the show.” Stallion tried everything possible to please the anime studio because she “really wanted to sing.”
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Next, they crafted the song accordingly. Megan claimed that her self-titled album was already “turned in” and ready for release. Yet, her team received an email a few days before her record’s release that said, “You can either get music approval or name approval.” Stallion expressed her frustration jokingly, but her true heartbreak was clearly visible.
she shouted, “Take out the names of the characters who [are] in the show? [screams] This is the whole song! [screams] That makes the song make sense.” Although Stallion expressed her gratitude to MAPPA for letting her sample the commercial tune for the anime without any complaints, she couldn’t help but scream in agony when she was asked to “change the name the day before the album.” [comes] Outside.”
Despite the worrisome email reminder, Megan still raps on the song: “Ay, can’t touch me like Gojo… fighting the demons in my mind like I’m Itadori.” She also alludes to other anime-inspired vocabulary.
Following her album “Traumzine,” which will be released in 2022, “Megane” has a total of 10 songs. “Otaku Hot Girl” is listed as the seventh track on the record.
Earlier this year, Megan also attended the Crunchyroll Anime Awards as a presenter.
Reactions to Megan Thee Stallion’s anime-sampling track “Otaku Hot Girl”
Anime fans quickly reacted to the shocking reveal on social media, as the song began trending on X/Twitter following its release.
One x user wrote, “Megan Thee Stallion sampling a Jujutsu Kaisen track and having Yuji Itadori’s English VA (Adam McArthur) narrate the intro like she’s so mad about it lmfkskdkskdr.”
“She made a dig at the anime references ‘bow down when I come out like Sukuna’🔥” another commented.
Many others couldn’t believe the fact that Yuji’s English voice actor actually came up with an unprecedented collaboration: “The intro really blew me away. It’s over, we have a winner 😭”
Some others validated her “real anime fan” status with comments like, “She’s a real fan, and you know she was really happy about that.”
A fellow otaku said, “his brain is really big using the jjk commercial jingle.”
Members of the Jujutsu Kaisen fan club have also released their own video compilations edited based on Megan’s latest tracks.
The general response to her song on social media was in her favor. Countless users came out in her favor, possibly increasing the number of her own fans, whom she affectionately named “hotties.” “What rapper do you know who’s giving a nod to the Jujutsu Kaisen sample? And Megan made sure to keep those names recorded and sliding. Otaku hot girl #Megan some respect,” one X user tweeted.
“Otaku Hot Girl is for girls who like anime, who were being excited and quizzed by anime boys,” another user wrote.
