Kyoto’s Native Rapper touches on a lot of sonic ideas that have pollinated on SoundCloud in recent years and have been embraced by a lot of other Japanese acts. The main intersection going on in “Water Bunker,” his newest song, is between the fizzy electro-pop&B of Tofubeats and the love of individual sounds…regardless of how strange they are…of Taquwami. Yet despite these being easy reference points, Native Rapper ultimately comes up with a song able to stand on its own feet. The main draw is his partially submerged vocals, moving from a smooth electro-charged rap to the galloping chorus. Dude makes a golf trap sound downright sensual. Yet its the level of weird unease he adds via sound — whether it be a snippet of a vocal sample, a sudden skittery break, or pitch-shifted vocals. A lot of these little twists pop up on “Water Bunker,” and add a welcome element of unpredictability to the otherwise smooth number. Listen above.
