Familiar And Welcome: mqrn…?’s “Doll”

Producer Laptopboy dabbles in all kinds of -like beats, but the tracks that seem to pop up in the fledgling Japanese online rap community tend to have a very specific sound to them. They are dreamy, guided by keyboard and featuring touches that give them an out-of-body feel while still offering a nice kick to the song. Laptopboy created the sound of “Doll,” a great number that rapper mqrn…? slides right into and makes her own. Again, familiarity goes a long way — she sing-raps in a higher pitch, approaching the cuddly zone found in a lot of the more “kawaii” J-pop, but disrupting that fluffiness with use of Auto-tune and some welcome ad libs. Listen above.