I don't think 1980s Miami synth trap is an actual genre, but if it ever becomes one, "Max LeRoy Volume 1" is going down as one of its progenitors.
Max LeRoy says he is a huge J-pop fan, but his project is driven by a heavy trap influence and a ton of '80s synthwave and hair metal references. It features a Japanese rapper, a Norwegian bassist, "sad rap" poster boy Little Pain, virtual idol Hatsune Miku and a bunch of other people I haven't even heard of. It shouldn't work, but somehow it does.
"Volume 1" sounds like Los Angeles is supposed to sound but never does. The first track features Japanese rapper Cherry Brown, whose entire verse is about hanging out at an LA beach and having a summer fling. Cherry effortlessly flips back and forth between Japanese and English slang, and makes it clear that just because he's in LA it doesn't mean that he's going to switch his style up for the local women: "So tell me about yourself / Nah, not your number, I wanna know your LINE account."
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