It’s no secret that Megan Thee Stallion loves anime. At the top of her cosplay game (and the top of Billboard Hot 100) the superstar rapper has proven with her new track,”Otaku Hot Girl”, that you can be “a weeb and a baddie” at the same time.

From YouTube talk shows to magazine cover interviews, Meg always finds a way to shout out her long-standing love with anime. In a 2020 interview with Amazon Music, she explains the parallels between her own life and “My Hero Academia”, one of her favourite series: “You know, sometimes you gotta hear a lot of ‘no’s and it only makes you go harder to be the best.” 

In her music career, she has referenced Naruto in the tracks “Girls In The Hood” and “Running Up Freestyle”, and has compared her natural charisma to a variety of characters like Saiyans and One-Eyed Ghouls. Beyond the talk, she walks the walk with a collection of cosplayed characters over the past few years — some of which have transformed into Meg “alter egos” through clever wordplay incorporating her essence, lest you forget that she is a three-time Grammy winner. In particular there’s ‘Hot Girl Mirko’, playing on Meg’s breakthrough hit “Hot Girl Summer” and the audacious Mirko from My Hero Academia, and ‘Todoroki Tina’, nodding to yet another beloved MHA character and her musical alter ego and EP, Tina Snow. In the music video for her track “BOA”, Meg also makes an appearance as the one and only Boa Hancock from One Piece, donning a sleek purple costume by Matthew Reisman. 

 

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The lyrical flirtation between rap and anime has long existed, going as far as 2001 when RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan references Goku of Dragonball Z on “Must Be Bobby”. In the following decades, the phenomenon has surged, notably Soulja Boy’s “Goku”, Lil Uzi Vert’s references of Naruto in “New Patek”, and of course Nicki Minaj’s sensational “Chun-Li” (both a video game and anime character). 

Meg recently dropped a Japan behind-the-scenes video, a fun mini-film stringing together B-roll clips from her envy-worthy trip to Tokyo earlier this year. The video is accompanied by “Otaku Hot Girl”, one of many tracks on her self-titled album, Megan, that nod to her love of Japan. This track is Meg’s biggest proclamation of being a weeb to date, with lyrical references, a sample from the official “Jujutsu Kaisen” soundtrack, and an intro by Yuji Itadori’s English Dub voice actor, Adam McArthur, himself.

In the video, she dons cosplay costumes and Harajuku-street-style-esque ensembles alike. She stuns in beautifully tailored costumes, most notably her take on Bruno Bucciarati from “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures” – a white bodycon with gold studs, a strappy choker neckline, and a chest cutout replaced with a red-black bustier with a heart motif. The intricate details of this dress, designed by Natalia Barzilai with House of JMC, is a sophisticated adaptation of Bucciarati’s body-hugging white suit, and with the iconic black bob by Kellon Deryck, the cosplay is a stunningly accurate tribute. 

Also by Kellon Deryck is Meg’s striking white hair for her cosplay of Satoru Gojo from “Jujutsu Kaisen”. Perfectly capturing Gojo’s confident, almost cocky demeanour, Meg was dressed in his all-black sleek outfit and signature blindfold. Paired with the lyric “Can’t touch me, like Gojo”, her anime-loving fans were delighted with how she embodied the character for the song.

Here are the 9 looks:

Cosplaying Bruno Bucciarati from “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures”

Wearing House of JMC, designed by Natalia Barzilai. Hair by Kellon Deryck.

At Universal Studios Japan

Wearing all Windowsen RTW Spring 2024: the top, the pants, the boots, and glasses.

Cosplaying Jolyne Cujoh from “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures”

Photoshoot with Atarashii Gakko!, and hanging with Yuki Chiba and Yoon of Ambush

In the video she is with Japanese girl group Atarashii Gakko!; Yuki Chiba who raps alongside her on “Mamushi”; and Ambush founder and creative director, Yoon Ahn.