I was browsing through the stacks of vinyl at my local hip-hop record store, The Fifth Element a while back when I heard a helium coated voice calling out from a record. I glanced at the album cover. It featured a pink Cadillac, the title of the album: The Unseen, and the artist name: Quasimoto. I brought it over to one of the turntables so I could sample what the album had to offer. I cued up the first track and I heard a sample of older man describing the most horrible, violent people known to man. This track led directly into the first track, Bad Character, where Quasimoto glorified all sorts of violent things and expresses joy about how he's regarded as a bad character. I sampled a few more tracks and eventually purchased the album
I brought the album home and I was smitten by it. The Jazz, R&B, and Funk samples that Madlib crafts the beats with weren't typical tools used for hip-hop beats. Other artists on the Stones Throw label used similar sounding beats, but these ones were incredible. The style of the production was very different from song to song, but every sample and drum break seemed to fit together very well. The lyrics were also crafted from the same standards. Madlib rapped on a few tracks, but for the most part, it was Quasimoto's distinct voice. There were distinct rhyming patterns that I hadn't ever heard before. Most of the lyrics were silly and far-out, but I guess the helium voice of Quasimoto inspired such lyrics. After I finished listening to The Unseen, I decided to find out who this Quasimoto character really was.
I did a few google searches and it turned out that Quasimoto was Madlib's villain alter-ego. Quasimoto explored things that Madlib usually didn't. He locked up people in his dungeon, robbed banks, and committed other devious crimes. Quasimoto is comparable to Tyler Durden. He is all the desires that people try to hide from others, but he ends up manifesting himself in various forms anyway. Quasimoto's world isn't one of nihilism, though. His philosophy is based on the consumption of jazz records, marijuana, and devious acts.
Discography:
Vinyl Only singles and EPs:
Hittin Hooks 7" (1999)
Microphone Mathematics 12" (1999)
Come on Feet 12" (2000)
Basic Instinct 12" (2000)
Astronaut EP 12" (Antidote Records, 2002)
CD and Vinyl
The Unseen (2000)
The Unseen Instrumentals (2000)
(sources: www.stonesthrow.com)