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  • Jacques: Hip-Hop's love for Dragon Ball is no secret.

  • The long-running manga and anime was originally created in 1984 by Japanese artist Akira Toriyama,

  • and burst onto American screens in the late 90s with its successor 'Dragon Ball Z'

  • on Cartoon Network's afternoon programming block, Toonami.

  • Jacques: Many of today's rappers grew up watching the show

  • and Adult Swim creative director Jason DeMarco said

  • said that 'D-B-Z' is a quote, "empowerment fantasy" and that many young minorities told him

  • they loved the show, saying quote:

  • "I get why that same kid would become a rapper, and then rap about wanting to be like

  • Goku because you take your heroes where you can get them."

  • There are thousands of hip-hop lyrics that reference Dragon Ball's characters

  • and their strengths, weaknesses, appearances and personalities.

  • Here are a few.

  • Jacques: 'Dragon Ball''s main protagonist, Goku, is a happy-go-lucky, kind-hearted alien

  • called a Saiyan.

  • He's a defender of Earth and arguably the universe's top fighter.

  • Jacques: Rappers invoke Goku to indicate strength, whether it's bravado, violence or good drugs.

  • Jacques: Goku's fellow Saiyan, Vegeta, is self-absorbed, arrogant and ruthless.

  • Jacques: Vegeta and Goku go from rivals to allies and many of his mentions deal with

  • his superiority complex and cut-throat nature.

  • Jacques: One of 'Dragon Ball''s biggest themes is the Super Saiyan transformation.

  • Now, when Saiyans undergo extreme duress they turn into powerful beings characterized

  • by yellow hair and a glowing golden aura.

  • MCs sometimes use this as a way to demonstrate lyrical prowess.

  • Jacques: Goku first goes Super Saiyan after seeing his best friend Krillin get killed by Frieza.

  • Jacques: Although he is one of the strongest humans on Earth, he's pretty weak compared

  • to the regular alien adversaries.

  • Now rappers are quick to highlight this and poke fun at his massive head.

  • Jacques: Frieza is one the show's most iconic villains.

  • He's the destroyer of the Saiyan world, Planet Vegeta.

  • MCs use him as a personification of evil, a frigid play on words and even jewelry.

  • Jacques: Piccolo is the spawn of King Piccolo, one of the earliest

  • villains on the show but grows into one of Goku's best friends.

  • His green color and purple blood appear often in rap lyrics.

  • Jacques: Gohan is Goku's half-human half-Saiyan son whose had latent power

  • since he was a child.

  • Jacques: Artists use him for strength in the same vein as his father, occasionally pointing

  • out his inherent strength.

  • Jacques: Buu is one of the anime's most dangerous villains.

  • He has many transformations but

  • his consistent pink color is something artist's love to reference.

  • Jacques: I'm Jacques Morel with Genius News, bringing you the meaning and the knowledge behind the music.

  • Peace!

Jacques: Hip-Hop's love for Dragon Ball is no secret.

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