Quasimoto, aka Lord Quas, is the brainchild of Madlib, so you know he’s got a taste for weirdness. In the video for “Catchin’ the Vibe,” one of the more polemic tracks from last month’s Yessir Whatever, Madlib embraces the weird wholeheartedly. No bricks are thrown, but it’s still pretty weird/funny/alienating. Watch the video below and stream or download Yessir Whatever here.

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With albums from Madlib, Mac Miller, J. Cole and Kanye West all coming out on the same day, June 18th is probably going to murder your wallet (assuming you actually buy music and like all of those artists). Financial concerns aside, it’s just a big day for artists in general. In addition to the artists already mentioned, Big Mibbs of Pac Div is also releasing his solo effort, Free Bass, that day. Produced entirely by Scoop Deville, the project is guaranteed to knock.

“SUPWITHAT” is the first treat and it delivers. Scoop Deville’s production is rarely easy to describe, but it’s worth a shot: this beat sounds like a Decepticon having a nightmare. Mibbs follows suit, spitting casually dark rhymes to match Scoop’s production. Watch the video below and put another mark on your calendar for June 18th.

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The year isn’t even half-way done, but we’ve already seen some very memorable artwork for singles, albums, and mix-tapes. Below is a compilation of ten of our favorites.  While music is their primary medium, these artists clearly understand that strong acoustics are only strengthened by strong visuals.  We doubt that any of these artists would willingly say, “Yeezy taught me,” but in terms of the quality of these covers, Kanye‘s go-to artist  George Condo definitely comes to mind.

 10. The cover art for Harry Fraud‘s Adrift is a beautiful picture of a pier that evokes alienation by contrasting the grey sky with the ocean and emphasizing the distance between the pier and the beach.

9. Thelonious Martin’s From Me to You –artwork has many layers to it. In addition to its dark background, if you look closer you can see some writing that resembles newsprint. Somehow, probably with a meticulous attention to detail, the artist was able to give the viewer the sense that light is coming out of the piece itself.

8.  Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge  know how to go old school with 12 Reasons to Die. This cover is straight out of the blaxploitation thriller playbook.

7. “Creepy” doesn’t even begin to describe Azealia Banks‘ artwork for “Yung Rapunzel “. The cover is brutally nightmarish and the track is just as dark. Notice the similarity between the cover and Rene Magritte’s painting, “The Rape.”

6. Quasimoto – Yessir Whatever – The concept for this art work is innovative and intriguing. Using a sticker that creates an illusion of movement, the art has multiple layers, just like a Madlib beat.

5. Tyler, The creator  artwork for Wolf  shows us a fun portrait of Tyler as a child. This work is admirable due to it’s high attention to details. If you look at the tree you’ll notice a subtle eye; in the bottom right you can see a random doll head on top of a little trunk; and at the bottom left what looks like a chipmunk dressed in a traditional Irish outfit. This art work is fun and a little ridiculous, much like the artist himself.

4. Big K.R.I.T‘s cover for  King Remembered in Time is reminiscent of an ancient Greek vase. The gold color in contrast with the dark-purple galactic background works very well.

3. The art work for ANTHM‘s latest project,  produced by Blu as GODleeBarnes, features a very harmonious fusion of writing and image.

2. Chance The Rapper embraces his weird side , using a combination of psychedelic and galactic imagery to evoke his uniqueness. The intriguing thing is that this uniqueness is contrasted by the trees and the home at the bottom. It’s the perfect combination of being down-to-Earth and out of this world.

1. Finally, the victory goes to Mobb Deep’s Prodigy and The Alchemist artwork for their joint LP, Albert Einstein. This art cover is a piece of art that can stand on its own without the music.The artist’s ability to re-create the well-known portrait of Einstein with originality  and adaptability to contemporary times is beyond admirable.

Let us know who you like best!

The post Best Album and Single Artwork of 2013 (So Far) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Update: You can now stream the entire album here.

Lord Quas is back, kinda. Available online now as individual purchasable tracks, and in complete form on June 18,  is Yessir Whatever. This “new” project is a compilation of, according to the Stones Throw website, “12-tracks recorded over roughly 12 years.” Enjoy the second cut, “Planned Attack” below, and cop Yessir Whatever here.

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A few weeks ago we brought you some of our early favorites for Stones Throw Records‘ excellent video contest. Well, we’d like to think that the RESPECT. co-sign was the lucky charm, as director Tuomas Vauhkonen’s excellent take on J Dilla‘s “Last Donut of the Night” won first place. It’s a great video, but there are some even better, more imaginative takes in the contest’s top five:

Jaylib‘s “The Heist”–Directed by Rory Gamble (video above)

This video is exactly what the Stones Throw contest should be about: a creative interpretation that doesn’t confine itself to the music, but also includes the distinct visual art styles that many of the Stones Throw artists are known for. The animation’s early-South Park feel is perfect for a Jaylib track, with the video’s protagonist (we’ll call him Dilla Donut) even rocking a Stan Marsh stocking cap over his eyes. Bringing over Madlib‘s original artwork for Quasimoto‘s rhymes is also a nice touch, and the entire environment and aesthetic of the video has the same sort of air of understated complexity that both Dilla and Madlib exhude in their music. This video should be the winner, for sure.

Madvillain‘s “Strange Ways”–Directed by Jean-Yves Blanc

The stop-motion, claymation approach in this video is really well done. The sculpted MF Doom would be sitting on my desk this second if made readily available–it just feels right. The ending animation of the Madvillainy cover is particularly dope.

J Dilla‘s “Geek Down”–Directed by Steve Smith (vaguely NSFW)

Director Steve Smith took a very different approach here, trying to attach a Grateful Dead aesthetic to a Dilla instrumental. It isn’t a wholly inappropriate pairing, but the video is just too disturbing to really feel like it fits comfortably. Kind of cool, though.

The post Stones Throw Video Contest: We Have a Winner appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Quasimoto – Low Class Conspiracy (dir. Kristoffer Crook) from Kristoffer Crook on Vimeo.

Stones Throw Records‘ fan video contest wraps up today, with winners announced “sometime around” July 11, but that didn’t stop the label from leaking what is sure to be one of the contest’s best entrants. Kristoffer Crook directed this take on “Low Class Conspiracy”, one of the standout tracks on Quasimoto‘s classic debut, The Unseen. It’s now been six years since his last album, so I’d say it’s time for Lord Quas to make a return.

Via Stones Throw

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