Megan thee Stallion has said she tweaked her new single ‘Otaku Hot Girl’ days before releasing her new album so she could keep the anime references.
While getting ready for the Dallas stop of her Hot Girl Summer tour, the rapper spoke to fans on an Instagram Live broadcast ahead of her third album, ‘Megan’ – which is out today (June 28).
The artist – real name Megan Pete – explained how stressful it was to make ‘Otaku Hot Girl’, which samples the tune from the commercial bumps from the highly-acclaimed anime series, Jujutsu Kaisen.
The song also kicks off with the English voice actor for the series protagonist Yuji Itadori, Adam McArthur, saying: “I like a tall woman with a nice big ass (Haha) / Just sayin’ / Like Grammy winner, Megan Thee Stallion.”
Pete said she had to “jump through eight million hoops” to appease MAPPA – the production company that made the legendary anime.
“So I sent them the song and they told me, ‘OK, you gotta change some words’,” Thee Stallion explained. “So, I said, ‘OK, cool’ [and] I changed some words. Then they said, ‘OK, if you shoot a video to this song, you cannot cosplay any of the characters in the show,’ and I said, ‘OK, cool! I ain’t gon’ do it. I’m a follow the rules.’ I want the song real bad.”
Megan later revealed that the record is already “turnt in” and is ready for release. However, she said her team got an email earlier this week, telling her “You can either have the music clearance or you can have the name clearance”. Megan then proceeded to jokingly scream in frustration.
“What!” Pete added, “Take out the names of the characters that [are] in the show? [screams] That is the whole song! [screams] That makes the song make sense.”
WHEN I CATCH YOU!!!!!!! Whatever company this is—WHEN I CATCH YOUUUUU!!!!!!—Thank you tho—BUT WHEN I CATCH YOU!!#MEGAN #megantheestallion pic.twitter.com/BMgsWbWv2d
— 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐨 ཐི༏ཋྀ (@theemegradio) June 26, 2024
Pete concluded that she was “grateful” that MAPPA still let her sample the tune from the commercial bumper and was “not complaining”. She said she was just shocked they asked her to “change the names a day before the album [comes] out” and it “was fucking nuts” to find a solution.
On ‘Otaku Hot Girl’, Megan still referred to Itadori and his mentor (and fan-favourite) Satoru Gojo in the song: “Ayy, can’t touch me like Gojo […] Fightin’ demons in my head like I’m Itadori.”
She also name-dropped Sukuna from Jujutsu Kaisen as well as Naruto and Sasuke from the iconic Naruto: Shippuden series. Pete also called herself a “weeb and a baddie” – “weeb” meaning someone obsessed with Japanese culture.
‘Megan’ is out now and was released via her own label, Hot Girl Productions. The tracklist features guest spots from UGK (including a verse from the late Pimp C), GloRilla, Victoria Monét and more. Also, her previously released singles ‘Cobra’, ‘Hiss’ and ‘Boa‘ are expected to appear on the LP.
‘Megan’ is the follow-up to her 2022 album ‘Traumazine’, which was awarded four stars by NME.
“After ‘Traumazine’’s 18 tracks, there should be only one feeling coursing through your body: utter elation,” the review read. “The album features more deep cuts than you’d expect from a Megan Thee Stallion record, but it shows just how she’s pushed her pen since ‘Good News’, while also illustrating her broad musicality”
In the run-up to the release of ‘Megan’, the rapper was hit with a lawsuit from her former camera man Emilio Garcia, who accused Pete and her management Roc Nation of harassment and creating a hostile work environment.
Megan Thee Stallion will soon tour the UK and Europe in July. You can find out more here and check for any available tickets here.
In other news, Thee Stallion recently replaced Tyler, The Creator as a headliner at this year’s Lollapalooza, after he was forced to withdraw for personal reasons.
The post Megan Thee Stallion “jumped through eight million hoops” to sample from animi series ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ on new single ‘Otaku Hot Girl’ appeared first on NME.
