Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly dressed up as characters from the anime, Death Note, for their second Halloween costumes, over the weekend. The two were spotted heading to Vas Morgan and Michael Braun’s Halloween Party in the outfits. Earlier in the weekend, they went with characters from Kill Bill, which ended up being a controversial decision.
SAG-AFTRA requested that members avoid dressing as characters that would promote struck work and if they do, at least not post it on social media. The guidelines read: “Let’s use our collective power to send a loud and clear message to our struck employers that we will not promote their content without a fair contract. Choose costumes inspired by generalized characters and figures (ghost, zombie, spider, etc). Don’t post photos of costumes inspired by struck content to social media [either].” While sharing her Gogo Yubari outfit, Fox tagged the union on Instagram. Kelly dressed as Uma Thurman’s The Bride.
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 28: Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox are seen arriving to Vas. Morgan and Michael Braun’s Halloween Party on October 28, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Fans had plenty of negative responses to Fox’s post. One wrote: “You look amazing but i wish you didn’t post this. I totally understand if you disagree with sag and want to voice that privately / to your inner circle, but using your massive platform to undermine the union and sow seeds of division in an incredibly public way does nothing but hurt our leverage with the amptp.” Another sarcastically added: “Yes girl give it to your union trying to get better wages and benefits for lesser known people than u!” Check out their Kill Bill looks below.
Megan Fox & Machine Gun Kelly Dress Up As “Kill Bill”
Kelly and Fox have been engaged since January 2022 although they appeared to go through a rough patch earlier this year. Amid rumors of a split, Fox deleted pictures of Kelly from her Instagram page and posted lyrics from Beyoncé’s Lemonade.
KSI has ramped up the drama in his impending fight with Tommy Fury. The YouTuber hit the boxer with a rant worthy of the best Shōnen villains. “When I beat you, with every year that you breathe, that day will be a constant reminder that you lost to a YouTuber. You can train all you want, it won’t matter. Soon you will face reality and it will hurt you. You will be a disgrace for the Fury name and your boxing career will be destroyed when I’m through with you. You don’t want this as much as I do, you don’t need this as much as I do. No pressure, mate. I’ll see you soon,” KSI said before ending with his best villain laugh.
However, it doesn’t look like Fury has been isekai’d into a fight anime. He and his father found the entire thing very amusing, calling KSI a “pineapple” and saying he would be more at home in the WWE. “Ooooh, we’re shaking,” John Fury told KSI towards the end of his speech. The fight is currently scheduled for October 14 in Manchester, England. The KSI-Fury fight will serve as the co-headliner for the Misfits Boxing event alongside Paul-Danis.
While KSI is channeling his inner anime villain, Dillon is much of more a standard wrestling heel. While a hefty lawsuit has seen him back off Logan Paul’s fiancee for the time being, Danis isn’t completely out of the trolling game. In his most recent taunt, Danis posted a video of him urinating on a bottle of PRIME. PRIME is the somewhat controversial energy drink founded and owned by Paul and KSI.
However, it remains to be seen if Danis will actually show up for the fight. He has a history of dropping out of fights and hasn’t fought competitively since 2019. Although, if he does fight, there are some pretty wild terms on the line. If Danis wins, Paul has to make him his best man at this wedding. Meanwhile, if Paul wins, Danis has to forfeit his entire fight purse. If all goes to plan, both of these beefs will be settled next month. Follow HotNewHipHop for all the latest news on this fight.
Over on TikTok, various AI-powered filters have become all the rage. With the skyrocketing popularity of anime in the US, naturally, one of TikTok users’ favorite filters turns them into anime-style illustrations of themselves. But the results aren’t always predictable, as Lil Baby found out recently as part of his brand partnership with Axe Body Spray. As Baby and Axe are producing a manga for their upcoming “Fine Fragrance Collection,” it’s only right that the Atlanta rapper opted to try out the anime filter on TikTok — even if the results were less impressive.
“Let me check this out,” he says, as he fires up the filter. Unfortunately, the illustration it generates is … well … look, there’s a reason nobody wants AI writing scripts or making songs just yet. Baby’s reaction sums it up best: “Aw, HELL naw!” he exclaims. You can see it for yourself below:
Baby will have plenty of time to catch up on his favorite anime and manga when he goes on his It’s Only Us Tour at the end of July. With two months’ worth of travel ahead of him, now’s the best time for him to stock up on reading/viewing material for the road. His Axe manga, Shonen Baby, is due on 6/11.
Rappers love anime. What was once a niche interest became a full-blown phenomenon as celebrities of all degrees have vocalized their love for the specific type of Japanese animation. Artists like Megan Thee Stallion have gone full cosplay, while Rob Bank$, for example, frequently name-drops his favorite animes on his records. Below, we’ve gathered a list of a few rappers who proudly showcase their love of anime.
Megan Thee Stallion is one of the most popular rappers who like anime. She’s revealed her passion for the art form throughout her career, like dressing up as a Sailor Moon outfit for a Japan concert. However, her appreciation for Shoto Todokori has undoubtedly turned heads, specifically those who doubted whether her love for anime was merely an act. Her 2019 Paper Magazine cover included Shoto Todoroki cosplay as a tribute to My Hero Academia. In 2022, she cosplayed another character from the series, Mirko. Additionally, Megan’s taken inspiration from animes like Jojo’s Bizarre and Demon Slayer for stunning nail art. She has mentioned anime in most of her interviews and happily talks about why she enjoys it and how it inspires her.
Xavier Wulf is a rapper who captures his love for anime through his music and aesthetic. Songs like “Psycho Pass” directly reference the cyberpunk anime of the same name. Additionally, the rapper uses popular animes to form his various monikers (i.e. “Eren Wulf Yaeger”) within his bars. Project X is directly by the anime Initial D. But the influence extends to the soundbites from the show that are scattered across the project. Aesthetically, Xavier’s use of the Katana appears frequently in his music videos and social media posts. On top of it all, the rapper refers to his fanbase as “The Hollow Squad” — a direct reference to Bleach.
LEEDS, ENGLAND – AUGUST 26: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Denzel Curry performs on the Main Stage East on Day 1 of Leeds Festival on August 26, 2022 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Matthew Baker/Getty Images)
Denzel Curry never shied away from his love for anime, expressing it frequently across his catalog. On “ULTIMATE,” he raps, “Claim you the homie / I turn into Broly” — namedropping the popular character from the Dragon Ball Z/Super anime. Similar to Xavier Wulf, Curry also made his love for Bleach known on “Vigorous,” rapping, “Ichigo bullets cause you know the tips be hollow.” Beyond that, he’s also referenced shows like Naruto. The deeper you get into The more Denzel’s discography, the more anime references you will find. He cited the anime Cowboy Bebop as inspiration for his album Melt My Eyez See Your Future, while the deluxe cover art pulls inspiration from the anime.
The RZA celebrates the launch of Afro Samurai, the new video game developed by SURGE, at Geisha House in Hollywood on January 27, 2009. (Photo by Chris Polk/FilmMagic)
RZA is a trailblazer in hip-hop culture, who has also carved out a space in anime. The de facto leader of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan scored the soundtrack for Afro Samurai. However, it’s his love for Dragonball Z that speaks volumes to how deep-rooted his connection to anime truly is. “Dragon Ball Z represents the journey of the black man in America,” he wrote in The Tao Of Wu. The lead character, Goku, was sent away from his home and has to adapt to a new environment as outside forces constantly try to stop his advancement. “Then one day, he gets stressed out beyond his limits and Hulks out into his alter ego, Super Saiyan – a n***a with dreadlocks,” RZA concluded. Naturally, this drew a lot of attention. RZA also voiced a character in the anime movie MFKZ.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 04: Lil Uzi Vert attends Nickelodeon’s 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards at Microsoft Theater on March 04, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
Lil Uzi Vert integrates his love for anime throughout his music and general aesthetic. Although his fashion sense has always been quite flamboyant, his love of anime only adds to his exuberant image. Uzi customized several of his luxury cars to include designs of popular anime characters. For example, his Bugatti boasts designs inspired by Spike Spiegel of Cowboy Bebop. On top of that, Uzi shared his love of anime through his music with the song titled “Sasuke” which is a character from the anime Naruto. The cover art for his hit “Futsal Shuffle 2020” featured him and some girls drawn in an anime style. However, Uzi previously admitted that One Piece serves as his favorite anime show.
No offense to any of the various musicians who’ve partnered with fast-food chains for co-branded merchandise, but Megan Thee Stallion’s latest drop with Popeye’s might actually be the coolest one yet. Dubbed the “Animegan” collection, the latest set nods to the Houston Hottie’s love of Japanese cartoons with a tote bag, T-shirt, hoodie, and bandana featuring an illustrated Megan surrounded by flames — a clear reference to one of her favorite characters, Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Academia, whose powers make him a human flamethrower. Megan has cosplayed as him a number of times in the past.
But the coolest item — at least, to me — is an adorable Megan Thee Stallion plush doll with a cowboy hat and a Hottie chain. I mean, come on, just look at this thing:
Popeyes
The latest drop follows the “Thee Heat” collection, which included a flame emoji emblazoned bikini, a Popeyes three-piece box dog plush toy, and a cropped “Saucy” T-shirt. There’s still no word on bottles of the Hottie Sauce, but it’s Megan Thee Stallion — if nothing else, she gives her fans what they want (see also: her new EP, Something For Thee Hotties, and her booty-baring graduation photos). Fingers are firmly crossed.
