Many of the underground heads who frequent this site will be familiar with Madlib, the Beat Conductor of the Lootpack. The Loop Digga provides the unique sonics upon which Lootpack's unique sound is based. The Unseen is a project involving his alter-ego, Quasimoto.

Quasimoto is really just Madlib with some effects layered onto his voice, making it sound quite a bit more high pitched. This is normally a great change of pace, but for a whole 24 track album, can get a little annoying. I think the Madlib and Quasimoto pair are supposed to be much like that other famous duo, Reggie Noble and Redman.

Madlib's production is not to be missed. Never content to provide the same old, same old, he is constantly digging for new samples (hence his Loop Digga moniker). At the very least, he flips samples in new ways (often using the same samples as other people just to blow up their spot). He also loves to use long ass loops. Just sit down for a minute and listen to the beat carefully. A lot of the loops go on for 8, 12 even 16 bars, instead of the usual 2 or 4. And when you have a producer like Madlib, why even bother with guest producers? Well, he doesn't.

The lyrics on this album are unfortunately not up to the caliber of the beats. Madlib is an alright vocalist, but with the Quasimoto voice, it becomes difficult to listen for long stretches. Inexplicably, his delivery seems to be more comfortable and flows better as Quasimoto. If only we could get his normal voice and Quas' flow. He does do a pretty good job of breaking the monotony though, rhyming as Madlib on many of the tracks, and having guest emcees like Medaphoar and Lib's Lootpack partner, Wildchild.

The album is solid, but the tracks that really stand out do so because of their beats. Check "Basic Instinct," "Low Class Conspiracy," "Return of the Loop Digga," (peep him playing everyone's samples during the interlude), "MHBs," "Put A Curse on You," "Green Power," and "Axe Puzzles."

This album is not for everyone, even though it's a solid example of how an album should be done. Lyric heads may be slightly disappointed, and some won't be able to deal with Quas' voice for the entire album. You'll definitely be getting your money if you grab this one though. It weighs in at a hefty 24 tracks. This album is really all about the beats, so if you appreciate innovative, deep beats, this is one for you.