Newish Territory: MCpero’s Kaitei Picnic EP

This isn’t a new revelation, but one worth restating — I tend to avoid writing about Japanese rap music for several reasons (the key one being I just don’t know enough about it to sound remotely smart). This year, though, I’ve reached a dilemma — I’ve written about a lot of artists who rap, but aren’t really considered rap. Suiyoubi No Campanella is the clearest, followed shortly thereafter by Izumi Makura. And one of my favorite songs of the year is from someone I never got around to writing about, DAOKO. They blur genre lines…and, at least in the case of Suiyoubi, definitely doesn’t consider themselves hip-hop.

Don’t expect posts about KOHH anytime soon, but I feel a little more relaxed about writing a post regarding MCpero, a rapper who is part of the intriguing Omake Club collective. MCpero just released a new two song EP, featuring production from Yosa. Despite the artists listed in the above paragraph, MCpero seems a bit more easy to classify as rap, but she’s good at it. On the title track, she’s laid back and letting the music burble forward (and, quick aside, the production is stellar too, with even the bubble sounds that spring up adding atmosphere to a song that translates to “Bottom Of The Ocean Picnic.”). She’s a bit more downtrodden — but not too much — on the less-busy second song, one that puts even more of an emphasis on her voice. Listen above.