Totaka's song is hidden in almost every game the composer has ever worked on, but it's a little harder to hear in Mario Kart 8.
For some gamers, playing through a game's story from start to finish is all they want from a title. Other people like to go deeper. Whether that be completing all the side quests, winning all the trophies, or just spending more time exploring the world in which it is contained. That's when people tend to find a game's easter eggs. Some companies even include easter eggs in their toys.
The bigger a game's universe, the more easter eggs there are at a developer's disposal. This is why Mario games tend to be a treasure trove when it comes to this sort of thing. There is so much to choose from as the little red plumber has been adding to his back catalog for the past 35 years, and he even borrows elements from fellow Nintendo franchises from time to time.
In some cases, there are recurring easter eggs that players are on the lookout for, or in this case, listening out for. Kazumi Totaka is a composer who has worked on Nintendo games for almost as long as Mario has been around. Totaka has a simple 19-note song that his fans associate with him, and he tries to sneak it into every game he has ever worked on.
The song can be harder to find in some games than others. In fact, in some cases, you may have heard it without even realizing it. In Mario Kart 8, racers will have noticed Yoshis lining parts of the track in Yoshi Valley, waving and cheering for the competitors as they pass. However, some of the Yoshis are doing a little more than cheer. That's right, some of them are singing Totaka's song.
Well, at least one of them is. A blue Yoshi that can be found on the right-hand side of the track just past the start line. A fitting place for Totaka's song since as well as composing music for Nintendo, Totaka is also the voice of Yoshi. Totaka's song can also be found in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and probably so many more games just waiting to be found. FYI, that same blue Yoshi is also singing Totaka's song in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Source: GameXplain, YouTube