What follows is a tale of coincidences, nostalgia, some very wack rhymes, and some surprisingly good rhymes. I also pored through three decades' worth of artwork, marketing, games, music, and movies. To trace its reign, I talked to musicians, Capcom employees, a former record executive, and the founders of a creative production company. Even as rival fighting games and eventually racing games, sports games, and crime games have come to firmly embrace hip-hop (e.g., Midnight Club, Grand Theft Auto, Shaq-Fu, NBA Jam, NBA Street), Street Fighter has remained king. Yet Street Fighter II and its progeny endure, appearing in lyrics, instrumentals, music videos, movies, merchandise, and concert fonts. It's over two decades old, its music takes cues from 80s dancepop, and its sole two black characters are outrageously square: One has a hairline that looks like it was shaped up by a velociraptor and the other is Billy Blanks reimagined as a kickboxing rapper.

Street Fighter II, the series' biggest hit and the game that comes up the most, doesn't share any obvious affinity with hip-hop. It's an odd choice for a favorite series.

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