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Soul Strut 100: # 68 - Quasimoto - The Unseen

RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
edited June 2012 in The Soul Strut 100
I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.

# 68 - Quasimoto - The Unseen



The list so far:

# 100 - Jr. and His Soulettes - Psychodelic Sounds
# 99 - Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul
# 98 - Donny Hathaway - S/T (1971)
# 97 - Bernard Wright - ???Nard
# 96 - Tom Scott - Honeysuckle Breeze
# 95 - People Under the Stairs - Question in the Form of an Answer
# 94 - Harlem River Drive
# 93 - Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
# 92 - Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear
# 91 - Muddy Waters - Electric Mud
# 90 - Les McCann - Layers
# 89 - Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
# 88 - Leroy Hutson - Hutson (1975)
# 87 - ESG - S/T (1981)
# 86 - Can - Tago Mago
# 85 - Bohannon - Stop & Go
# 84 - WILLIAM DEVAUGHN - Be Thankful For What You Got
# 83 - Power of Zeus - The Gospel According to Zeus
# 82 - Gang Starr - Hard To Earn
# 81 - The J.B.???s - Doing It to Death
# 80 - Parliament - Osmium
# 79 - McNeal & Niles - Thrust
# 78 - The Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Malik
# 77 - Earth, Wind, and Fire (1971)
# 76 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic
# 75 - Black Sabbath (1970)
# 74 - Trap Door / An International Psychedelic Mystery Mix (2006)
# 73 - Bob James - One
# 72 - Matthew Larkin Cassell - Pieces
# 71 - The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
# 70 - Big Bear - Doin??? Thangs
# 69 - Steely Dan - Aja

Please discuss your reactions to this record. The thread will be archived later here.

About


The Unseen is the debut album by Quasimoto, an alter ego of producer Madlib.

The album was conceived and recorded by Madlib during a week long psilocybin mushroom binge.[1]

Upon its release in 2000, it received much praise from underground heads and from mainstream media, making it onto Spin Magazine's top albums of the year list.

It was re-released in 2005 as a Deluxe Edition with a bonus CD containing the instrumental version of the album.

Rhapsody (online music service) ranked the album #7 on its "Hip-Hop???s Best Albums of the Decade" list.[6] "Madlib and alter ego Quasimoto take a weird, tangential and nuanced journey through the day in the life of a blunted b-boy. The production revisits Prince Paul's sampledelica, while Id surrogate Quas raps about hos and blunts. This is what happens when hip-hop's tightly wound world collides with psych's expansive inner-space. In a word: classic."



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unseen_(album)

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A soulstrut original: Madlib Appreciation thread !

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  Comments

  • neil_somethingneil_something 993 Posts
    Madlib has certainly put out some garbage under one alias or another, but this album for one will always stand up.
  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    Surprised to see this one here. This is some of his better production and it's followup comes pretty close.
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    stratasphere said:
    Surprised to see this one here. This is some of his better production and it's followup comes pretty close.

    Madlib's been a hot topic on SS for years??? so this doesn't surprise me at all.
  • finelikewinefinelikewine "ONCE UPON A TIME, I HAD A VINYL." http://www.discogs.com/user/permabulker 1,416 Posts
    Added to the soul strut top 100 spotify list:

    http://open.spotify.com/user/1121775350/playlist/54CR4Ce88uFkr6shaMHxVX
  • tripledoubletripledouble 7,636 Posts
    i havent been able to really get into the follow up, but this one is one of my favorite hip hop albums. no fastforward material and its such a thematic cohesive tone through the whole record. first time tho, it really grated on me, mostly due to high pitched Lord Quas voice. the earthrot flip is sublime shit
  • GaryGary 3,982 Posts
    The voice ruins it for me. I've never been able to get past it.
  • MjukisMjukis 1,675 Posts
    tripledouble said:
    this one is one of my favorite hip hop albums. no fastforward material and its such a thematic cohesive tone through the whole record.

    Cosign. One of those albums that has a movielike feel, with a strong concept throughout. Great stuff.
  • asstroasstro 1,754 Posts
    Love this record, glad that it made the list. This is one of the very few hip-hop records where I find the instrumentals as listenable and enjoyable as the full vocal tracks. I was never able to get into the second one the same way though.
  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    Hey,

    I love "The Unseen" by Quasimoto, and it still gets spins up in my rest. I agree that throughout the LP, the feel is tight and cohesive. The production on it is fantastic, and it has some nice takes on some old, familiar goodies. I'm glad to see this LP make the top 100.


    My joint!!! Nice take on "Khadija."

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak
  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    RAJ said:
    stratasphere said:
    Surprised to see this one here. This is some of his better production and it's followup comes pretty close.

    Madlib's been a hot topic on SS for years??? so this doesn't surprise me at all.

    I joined in 2010. I need to check out some past threads.
  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    Big_Stacks said:
    Hey,

    I love "The Unseen" by Quasimoto, and it still gets spins up in my rest. I agree that throughout the LP, the feel is tight and cohesive. The production on it is fantastic, and it has some nice takes on some old, familiar goodies. I'm glad to see this LP make the top 100.


    My joint!!! Nice take on "Khadija."

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak

    It was one of those aww damn moments when I put Khadija on a cd for a couple of my regulars and they told me he had used it. I picked up The Unseen after picking up the Further Adventures album.
  • OligeeOligee 289 Posts
    Classic shit, and supposedly he was shrooming during the making of!
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    STILL cant fusk with this.

    But I ride hard for the instrumentals and the follow up, and many of his projects.
  • dammsdamms 704 Posts
    random trivia: the version of Come on feet that ended up on the vocal version of the album is actually the remix


    here's the og beat
  • dollar_bindollar_bin I heartily endorse this product and/or event 2,326 Posts
    I'm not a huge Madlib fan, but this album was played to extinction on college radio around the time I was first doing a show. Hearing it unearths pleasant memories of that era for me.
  • SIRUSSIRUS 2,554 Posts
    can't get past his rapps. :(
  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
    End to end burner. Cool vibe. Wanted to hate it, but I love it. Follow up is cool, but not as good.

    Love the record shopping skit.
  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
    Even though Peebles is all over it, it's really well done and all of the lines work with the raps. I'm not even sure how he did it. It sounds like a very spontaneous record that I can't figure out how you'd make spontaneously. Getting high I guess.
  • HollafameHollafame 844 Posts
    Wasn't there some beef between Lib and PUTS on some "loop digga" nonsense?
  • drbrownscelraydrbrownscelray 648 Posts
    I love this album, I think it's a totally self-contained world and has so much repeat listening value. In general but not always it's also an awesome litmus test to suss out people who reflexively dismiss all "backpack rap."
  • 4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
    HOLLAFAME said:
    Wasn't there some beef between Lib and PUTS on some "loop digga" nonsense?

    Yes, and was subsequently squashed as soon as it started.
  • StoneHandsStoneHands 341 Posts
    Love that record. Why doesn't Madlib chop/layer anymore? Most of his beats nowadays are lo-bit loops slapped together. Either way, revisited the LP yesterday - surprised how well it aged, which cant be said about most sample heavy records from the late 90's.
  • StoneHandsStoneHands 341 Posts
    4YearGraduate said:
    HOLLAFAME said:
    Wasn't there some beef between Lib and PUTS on some "loop digga" nonsense?

    Yes, and was subsequently squashed as soon as it started.

    Lol! I remember that "fuck a loopdigga, in my city man just stay home"
    I couldnt figure out for the life of me if that actually referred to Madlib. Now i know!
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    this album is great
    madlib at his prime doing what he wants
    great samples and variety and gets a lot of young ''loop diggas'' open
    also the 12'' to this


    is solid as fuck
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Glad this made the list, but I much prefer Part 2 for among other things, its relative deemphasis of Melvin Van Peebles.
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    i really liked part2 but it was more polished this really seems like a an album crafted between 2-4am
  • BeatChemistBeatChemist 1,465 Posts
    The first time heard this album in first year university. The high voice threw me off at first, but the beats and raw sound collage feel hooked me. I have spent a lot of time listening to this record, but it always reminds me of a daytime mushroom trip I took with a friend. We were driving around on a sunny afternoon while enjoying the come down and this album just fit.

    I love the whole thing, too hard to really pick a favourite track. Maybe Axe Puzzles for the beat. Microphone Mathematics remix off the 12" is really good too. I just threw on the lp now, and I can't drop the needle on a song I don't enjoy. Madlib's spaced out rhyme patterns don't get enough credit because everyone's about the beats.

    I can't really get into the second album. Mostly because I never feel like it ever gets into any kind of rhythm or groove. Just teases you and then bam... the next interlude comes in.

    This album would be in my hip hop top 10. Maybe top 5.
  • tape_hisstape_hiss 4 Posts
    Love that my girl hates it as much as I love it. Admittedly, she will sit through and even enjoy most of the records I put on - even the really out-there, avant-garde stuff - but when Lord Quas comes on, she's out!
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