Fantastic Damage
Studio album by
El-P
ReleasedMay 14, 2002 (2002-05-14)
Recorded2000 - 2001
GenreUnderground hip-hop, experimental hip-hop
Length70:18
LabelDefinitive Jux
ProducerEl-P
El-P chronology
El-P Presents Cannibal Oxtrumentals
(2002)		 Fantastic Damage
(2002)		 High Water
(2004)
Singles from Fantastic Damage
  1. "Stepfather Factory"
    Released: 2001
  2. "Deep Space 9mm"
    Released: 2002
  3. "Truancy"
    Released: 2002
  4. "Dead Disnee"
    Released: 2002

Fantastic Damage is the first 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]

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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA[9]
NME8/10[10]
Pitchfork8.9/10[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Spin9/10[13]
Stylus MagazineA[14]
Tiny Mix Tapes5/5[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.TitleLength
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

References

  1. ↑ Purdom, Clayton (May 14, 2017). "El-P's Fantastic Damage turns 15 today—too bad you can't find it anywhere". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "El-P Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  3. ↑ Thill, Scott (April 10, 2007). "El-P Wakes the Dead". Wired. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  4. ↑ Thill, Scott (September 10, 2008). "9/11 Rewind: El-P's "Deep Space 9mm"". Wired. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  5. ↑ Heaton, Dave (February 4, 2003). "EL-P: Fandam Plus: Instrumentals, Remixes, Lyrics & Video". PopMatters. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Chennault, Sam (August 1, 2002). "El-P". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Classic album - El-P on Fantastic Damage: "I was throwing everything I had at these tracks - anything could become a bassline if you pitched it down"". MusicRadar. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  8. 1 2 Huey, Steve. "Fantastic Damage – El-P". AllMusic. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  9. ↑ Hermes, Will (May 24, 2002). "Fantastic Damage". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  10. ↑ "El-P: Fantastic Damage". NME: 30. May 25, 2002.
  11. ↑ Chennault, Sam (June 18, 2002). "El-P: Fantastic Damage". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  12. 1 2 McGuire, Kathryn (June 20, 2002). "El-P: Fantastic Damage". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  13. ↑ Ryan, Chris (July 2002). "Under Dawgs". Spin. 18 (7): 111. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  14. ↑ Mueller, Gavin (September 1, 2003). "El-P – Fantastic Damage – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on January 8, 2005. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  15. ↑ Jean-Pierre. "El-P – Fantastic Damage". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on June 4, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2002". Pitchfork. January 1, 2003. p. 4. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Albums of the Year". Spin. 19 (1): 70–73. January 2003. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  18. ↑ Piyevsky, Alex; Geng; Twells, John; Raw, Son; Rascobeamer, Jeff (February 25, 2015). "The 100 best indie hip-hop records of all time". Fact. p. 81. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  19. ↑ Ducker, Eric (15 May 2020). "Thank God For Drugs And Drums: El-P Revisits His Solo Debut". NPR. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "El-P Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  21. ↑ "El-P Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  22. ↑ "El-P Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
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