Quasimoto Planned Attack

From the smokey, idiosyncratic mind of Madlib emerges Quasimoto. Crudely drawn, yellow (or blue) and constantly armed with either a blunt or a brick, this miscreant has run amok in various soundscapes over the last decade plus.

First emerging on white-label vinyl he made his full debut with The Unseen followed by The Further Adventures of Lord Quas, the ass-grabbing, 40 oz-drinking bully has been bugged out since birth. With a voice that sounds like Alvin and a perspective that's more in line with NWA, it's easy to see that Quas' music is anything but ordinary. A psychedelic re-imagining of classic break beats and old school hip-hop, Quas is informed by the past but in no means a torch bearer, moreso an iconoclast. The Quas projects were always dense, heady experiences. Many folks, myself included, found an initial aversion to the helium-voiced character soon gave way to an odd fondness for him.

After years of die-hard fans salivating for new Lord Quas material, Stones Throw has just announced the upcoming release of Yessir"¦Whatever, a retrospective of sorts that will feature 12 tracks composed over 12 years. It should be made clear this is not a proper Quasimoto album, it seems to be more of a compilation. Some are cleaned up versions of hard to find vinyl cuts, others have leaked onto cyberspace in different (sometimes better) form but some of the material is unreleased. The LP will be satisfying to any Quas collector but at this time it doesn't feel like it packs the punch of the first two weird classics. It's not as meaty, it's actually very accessible considering the parties involved.