The Further Adventures of Lord Quas

Five years after *The Unseen*, Madlib resurrected his impish alter-ego Quasimoto for a second full-length. *The Further Adventures of Lord Quas* continues on the path *The Unseen* started, but this journey is far deeper, far stranger, and far more unruly than anything from Quasimoto’s first album. Rhythm-centric with far more texture than melody, the album replaces the gurgling keyboards and jazz loops of *The Unseen* with stuttering electro (“Greenery,” “Shroom Music”), pummeling bass tones (“Civilization Day”), and chattering percussion (“1994,” “Raw Deal”). As with *The Unseen*, the songs shimmer with sub-aquatic mystery, and the Blaxploitation spoken-word raconteur Melvin Van Peebles lends periodic support, shouting encouragement to Quasimoto like some deranged favorite uncle. You have to admire Madlib for retreating even deeper into his own artistic consciousness here. Don’t be afraid to forage; there are gems here (“Rappcats Pt. 3,” “Strange Piano,” and “Privacy” among them), and the more time you spend in this dense, wild forest of music and mischief, the more treasure you’ll turn up.

Second full-length album by Quasimoto and Madlib. The Further Adventures plays something like a smoked-out comedy/crime Blaxploitation flick, with Madlib and Quas in a more chaotic state then on The Unseen. Further Adventures thrills some, confuses and frustrates others, and in the end, continues to cement Madlib's reputation as one of the most creative and fearlessly skewed creators in hip-hop. Cover by Jeff Jank.

Madlib goes Avalanches with this sample bonanza. If you're handy with the fast-forward button, somewhere within its 27 tracks is a glorious album.

His name is already attached to three of underground rap's seminal releases (Lootpack's Soundpieces: Da Antidote!, Madvillain's Madvillainy, and the first Quasimoto LP, The Unseen), so it can't come as a surprise that Madlib's return of Lord Quas takes its place right alongside them.