When it comes to popular female rappers from around the world, it is hard to meet someone who doesn’t know who Megan Thee Stallion is. Megan Thee Stallion has become arguably one of the most famous female rappers in the world. She has become a global phenomenon after going viral in her early years of freestyling, loved by people of all races, ages, and genders worldwide. With her empowering lyrics, infectiously confident attitude, and undeniable raw talent, she has captured the hearts of fans around the globe. Megan’s authenticity and unapologetic style have resonated with a diverse audience, making her a prominent figure in the music industry, and she continues to inspire and connect with audiences from diverse backgrounds which is not easy nowadays.

Megan’s ability to stay true to herself and incorporate her interests into her work is what makes her stand out in a sea of artists who try to fit a mold that they think they have to be in. One of her obvious interests is Asian culture, particularly Japanese culture. Over the years it has become increasingly evident that Megan genuinely loves Japanese culture and anime. That love can be seen in her anime cosplays (she’s cosplayed Satoru Gojo, Sailor Moon, Boa Hancock, Shoto Todoroki, and even Death The Kid), some of her recent music videos (Mamushi and Boa), and even lyrics to some of her new work include Japanese references (Otaku Hot Girl and Wanna B). A few of her older works have also included Japanese references in them and fans love that about her.

Everyone knows that Megan spends her own money on her music videos, she’s publicly disclosed that fact before. She likes her music videos a certain way and is more than willing to spend big bucks and time on them to achieve that. While other artists have incorporated Asian culture into their music or music videos, she is the first that I’ve seen demonstrate it in the way of appreciation. That shouldn’t be a rare thing, but it is. Nicki Minaj has done plenty of songs and music videos with Asian-related things in them, but to me, it doesn’t ever stem from Asian appreciation, and if it is some kind of appreciation I don’t think she goes about it correctly at all. She is not the only one who has misrepresented Asian culture in their music. Kanye, Lil Wayne, Ariana Grande, Gwen Stefani, and even Katie Perry have all done it.

There is a clear line between misrepresentation and appreciation.

That brings me back to how Megan’s incorporation of Japanese culture wasn’t misrepresentation but clearly appreciation, unlike other American artists.

We will use Mamushi as an example. Not only did she spend a lot of money on the music videos, but she also put a lot of time into how she incorporated Japanese culture into the video. She didn’t just use Japanese-related things as a prop or something like that. She went full in on her incorporation of it. Megan filmed the music video in Japan with Yuki Chiba who featured in the song and trained her Japanese pronunciation. Megan also took the time to learn about Japanese folklore, specifically Nure-Onna (濡女) (a half serpent, half woman creature), and based the entire music video on that story. And she did it in a way that fully embodied Nure-Onna and not some misrepresented or overly sexualized version.

While she obviously kept a sexy interpretation to it (that’s Megan’s signature), Nure-Onna is also known to be a compelling woman who is enthralling yet terrifying. Some core characteristics of Nure-Onna in Japanese folklore are her being predatory, and supernaturally alluring, but also manipulative, dangerous, and showcasing the duality of femininity. Megan just altered Nure-Onna’s allure from being a “haunting beauty” to a “seductive beauty” instead. Overall it’s clear she did stick true to Nure-Onna’s story and didn’t misrepresent it. Not to mention, for that music video, Yuki and her also paid homage to Japanese cinema.

Just from that music video alone, you can see Megan Thee Stallion had done her research. And part of what leads something to not turn into misrepresentation / appropriation is the learning aspect. Megan clearly learned about that aspect of Japanese culture before incorporating it into her video. The same goes for her other songs that reference different Japanese anime and use Japanese lyrics. She practiced and learned her Japanese with a native Japanese person, she knows the stories of the anime she refers to and that’s why she’s able to play with her words.

All of those things just go to show how authentic Megan Thee Stallion is when it comes to her music. She not only showed her ability to incorporate her interests into her music but also showed her willingness to learn and be mindful of how she represents another culture in her works.

While I may be slightly biased because she is someone I look up to tremendously, I think time and time again Megan Thee Stallion proves she’s one of a kind and doesn’t try to fit a mold. She shows her passion, individuality, authenticity, and love through her work in ways that I wish more American musicians did.