Fantastic Damage
2002 studio album by El-P
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Fantastic Damage is the debut solo studio album by American hip hop artist El-P. It was released through Definitive Jux on May 14, 2002.[1] It peaked at number 198 on the Billboard 200 chart.[2] Music videos were created for "Stepfather Factory"[3] and "Deep Space 9mm".[4]
| Fantastic Damage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 14, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 2000–2001 | |||
| Genre | Underground hip-hop, experimental hip-hop | |||
| Length | 70:18 | |||
| Label | Definitive Jux | |||
| Producer | El-P | |||
| El-P chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fantastic Damage | ||||
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Fandam Plus: Instrumentals, Remixes, Lyrics & Video was released through Definitive Jux on October 1, 2002.[5]
Production
The majority of Fantastic Damage was made after the breakup of El-P's previous group Company Flow.[6] El-P recorded the album in his bedroom in Brooklyn using turntables, an Ensoniq EPS-16 Plus sampler, a Kaoss Pad and an Oberheim OB12 synthesizer. According to El-P, he primarily used a DA-88 and "barely touched ProTools".[7] It took over a year and a half to record the album.[6]
Public Enemy was a big influence on El-P's production style on the album.[6] The album contains references to Philip K. Dick and George Orwell, who El-P credits as influences on his worldview and lyrics.[6]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[9] |
| NME | 8/10[10] |
| Pitchfork | 8.9/10[11] |
| Rolling Stone |  [12] |
| Spin | 9/10[13] |
| Stylus Magazine | A[14] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | 5/5[15] |
Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote, "Fantastic Damage constitutes some of the most challenging, lyrically dense hip-hop around, assembled by one of the genre's true independent mavericks."[8] Kathryn McGuire of Rolling Stone called it "a heavy, turbulent affair".[12]
Pitchfork placed Fantastic Damage at number 11 on its list of the top albums of 2002,[16] while Spin placed it at number 27 on its list of the year's best albums.[17] In 2015, Fact placed it at number 21 on its "100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time" list.[18]
Although interpreted as a "post-9/11 record" which channeled the feelings of New Yorkers and Americans after the September 11 attacks, the album was written and largely recorded before September 11, 2001.[19]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fantastic Damage" | 3:22 |
| 2. | "Squeegee Man Shooting" | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Deep Space 9mm" | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Tuned Mass Damper" | 4:05 |
| 5. | "Dead Disnee" | 3:53 |
| 6. | "Delorean" | 5:33 |
| 7. | "Truancy" | 5:04 |
| 8. | "The Nang, the Front, the Bush and the Shit" | 5:37 |
| 9. | "Accidents Don't Happen" | 4:50 |
| 10. | "Stepfather Factory" | 4:11 |
| 11. | "T.O.J." | 4:32 |
| 12. | "Dr. Hellno and the Praying Mantus" | 4:39 |
| 13. | "Lazerfaces' Warning" | 4:36 |
| 14. | "Innocent Leader" | 2:21 |
| 15. | "Constellation Funk" | 4:58 |
| 16. | "Blood" | 4:26 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
- El-P – vocals, production, recording, mixing, art direction
- Aesop Rock – vocals (6)
- Ill Bill – vocals (6)
- Rob Sonic – vocals (7)
- Vast Aire – vocals (8, 12)
- Cage – vocals (9)
- Camu Tao – vocals (9)
- Nasa – vocals (15), recording, mixing
- C-Rayz Walz – vocals (16)
- Mr. Lif – vocals (16)
- DJ Abilities – turntables
- Dan Ezra Lang – art direction, design, painting
- Alexander Calder – painting
- Phase Two – painting
Charts
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[2] | 198 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[20] | 9 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[21] | 14 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[22] | 82 |