Quasimoto
's
The Unseen
is one of the most imaginative albums of the new
West Coast
underground
, a puzzling,
psychedelic
jazz-rap
gem riddled with warped humor and fractured musical genius. Producer
Madlib
actually outdoes his inventive work on
the Lootpack
's debut album,
Soundpieces: Da Antidote!
, crafting deep, dreamy
jazz
loops littered with found sounds and wiggy vocal samples.
's helium-huffing voice is actually
's, electronically altered for an effect not unlike
Prince
's abandoned
Camille
project. It might put some listeners off as gimmicky, and it's really a shame if it does, because it isn't really the focal point of
's left-field brilliance. It's more of an added textural element for
's off-kilter soundscapes and a vehicle for the cartoonish humor hinted at in his choice of samples. The lyrics are highly free-associative (that is to say, stoned beyond belief), and by turns paranoid, threatening, or hallucinatory. But it all melts into the warm, druggy haze of the music; unlike, say,
the Wu-Tang Clan
or
Dr. Octagon
, this dream isn't supposed to be a nightmare.
Quas
' scattershot flow isn't what you'd call technically accomplished, but that's by design -- he's supposed to be fragmented, not quite all there. The song structures are similarly loose, with rhymes coming from nowhere and disappearing just as quickly; the tracks are short (all under four minutes) and end abruptly, as though
is too blunted to think of anything else to say. (
does appear as himself on occasion, and usually sounds just as noncommittal as his "collaborator.") Highlights are plentiful, and include the brilliant singles
"Microphone Mathematics"
and
"Come on Feet,"
the bizarre trash-talking of
"Bad Character"
"Put a Curse on You,"
and the joy-of-music cuts
"Return of the Loop Digga"
"Jazz Cats, Pt. 1,"
which recount
's obsession with record collecting and name-check his favorites. It takes some time to assimilate, but
gradually reveals itself as one of the most unique and rewarding albums of its era. ~ Steve Huey