User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 30
  2. Negative: 2 out of 30

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  1. Bretron
    May 21, 2005
    9
    Ill Loop Digga' in true form. Madlib is today's Lee Perry/ Herbie Hancock. A true scientist of sound...
  2. [Anonymous]
    Oct 3, 2006
    9
    This album makes The Unseen feel mainstream, to bad there arn't more jazz samples, that was what made Unseen so great, anways it definatly worth the money and a great great album
  3. john
    May 12, 2005
    10
    album of the year
  4. j-ol
    May 17, 2005
    10
    peerless
  5. CosmosKing
    May 20, 2005
    9
    pretty good album! nice concept! Creativity is second to none! the raps are pretty gud but not the best! it gets 10 for concept 9 for music vibes 10-for consistency 8.5 for lyrics! well its somewhere between 9.0-9.5. overall its a pretty dope album but its definately not better than madvillainy.
  6. LamonteF
    May 15, 2005
    9
    Almost as good as The Unseen.
  7. vincentx
    May 16, 2005
    8
    I don't really care much for hiphop, but i like to make exceptions. excellent album!
  8. rikr
    May 17, 2005
    10
    Dope shit man.....there's all kinds of things you need to listen between the lines to actually hear......eg. why does the track bus ride keep breaking up with old willies cries? It's cuz he's on a bus ride......bus' stop and go......ingenious......madlib is the man......buy this album
  9. TA
    Oct 24, 2006
    9
    Takes a couple of listens to get into it but well worth the little effort to do so. BRILLIANT
  10. Simon
    Nov 2, 2005
    9
    Initially it seems overproduced and too layered. Reveals itself after repeated listenings. I had to go back to it a month after I initially got the album to actually enjoy it. Worth the work.
  11. jackg
    May 12, 2005
    10
    wow, just wow... if you liked madvillain... the is 10x better
  12. BaahirK
    Jun 7, 2005
    10
    This is the true manifestation of what hip hop is!!!!!!!
  13. TonyH
    Jul 9, 2005
    10
    The greatest album I've ever heard. NME is clearly lamer than I could imagine. Madlib is the MAN!!!
  14. ArniS
    May 31, 2005
    10
    This is the best hip hop album in years. Madlib is the most creative man on earth right now and anything he touches just seems to turn to gold. On this album he uses soft fusion music from bands such as Weather Report and turns the into this incredible groove like you've never heard before. Bartender talk just blows your mind, as do so many other tracks on this album.
  15. matta
    Jul 27, 2005
    8
    You have to respect Madlib for what he did on this album. Just like some of the negative reviews say, there are some great beats that get interrupted by skits that may lead some to believe that Madlib just didn't take the time to develop his ideas. I disagree. Madlib could have made a straightforward, chart-friendly album if he'd wanted to, but that wasn't the point, and You have to respect Madlib for what he did on this album. Just like some of the negative reviews say, there are some great beats that get interrupted by skits that may lead some to believe that Madlib just didn't take the time to develop his ideas. I disagree. Madlib could have made a straightforward, chart-friendly album if he'd wanted to, but that wasn't the point, and even though everything doesn't work as well as he obviously wanted it to, the end result is impressive and, overall, a fun listen. Expand
  16. salomey
    Sep 18, 2005
    10
    i love this album. perhaps it actually helps me that i have the attention span of a peanut, but this album keeps me entertained for over an hour and i already tend to dislike when an album crosses the 50 minute mark. superior production. insanely entertaining
  17. JeffL
    Jun 15, 2006
    10
    I expected a weaker safer album following the unseen, but instead found a bolder more risky album that's simply fantastic.
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 23
  2. Negative: 1 out of 23
  1. If Madlib were somehow to commandeer a time machine, kidnap Sly & The Family Stone, Prince Paul, The Firesign Theater, Melvin Van Peebles, Redd Foxx, Negativland, and The Last Poets, lock them in a studio together on Haight Ashbury during the Summer Of Love with Hunter S. Thompson's drug supply, then force them to record an album together, the result might sound a little like The Further Adventures of Lord Quas.
  2. Madlib has formed a tighter frame around his productions than ever before.
  3. What's beyond doubt is the magical blend of the surreal and the fantastical that made 'The Unseen' so memorable is once again in the fullest effect on this showcase of fearlessly skewed production, dense organic vibes and hemp & helium-fuelled raps that make up this smoked-out saunter through the back streets of the cosmo-according-to-Lord Quas.