''Fantastic Damage'' is the first solo studio album by American hip hop artist El-P. It was released through

Definitive Jux Definitive Jux was a record label based in New York City. It was co-founded in 1999 by El-P and Amaechi Uzoigwe. History Definitive Jux was initially known as Def Jux. However, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the nam ...

on May 14, 2002. It peaked at number 198 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Music videos were created for "Stepfather Factory" and "Deep Space 9mm". ''Fandam Plus: Instrumentals, Remixes, Lyrics & Video'' was released through Definitive Jux on October 1, 2002.

Production

The majority of ''Fantastic Damage'' was made after the breakup of El-P's previous group

Company Flow Company Flow was an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York City, consisting of Bigg Jus, El-P and Mr. Len. The group was at one time associated with the independent record label Rawkus Records. Rapper/ producer El-P and DJ/produ ...

. El-P recorded the album in his bedroom in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

using turntables, an Ensoniq EPS-16 Plus sampler, a Kaoss Pad and an

Oberheim OB12 The Oberheim OB•12 is a Virtual Analog synthesizer, designed and realised by the Italian musical instrument manufacturer Viscount, in production between 2000 and 2005. The synth used Oberheim brand name under license from Gibson, which bought ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

. According to El-P, he primarily used a

DA-88 The DA-88 was a digital multitrack recording device introduced by the TASCAM division of the TEAC Corporation in 1993. This modular, digital multitrack device uses tape as the recording medium and could record up to eight tracks simultaneously. It ...

and "barely touched

ProTools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-producti ...

." It took over a year and a half to record the album.

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

was a big influence on El-P's production style on the album. The album contains references to Philip K. Dick and

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...

, who El-P credits as influences on his worldview and lyrics.

Critical reception

Steve Huey of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

wrote, "''Fantastic Damage'' constitutes some of the most challenging, lyrically dense hip-hop around, assembled by one of the genre's true independent mavericks." Kathryn McGuire of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' called it "a heavy, turbulent affair." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' placed ''Fantastic Damage'' at number 11 on its list of the top albums of 2002, while ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' placed it at number 27 on its list of the year's best albums. In 2015, ''

Fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scie ...

'' placed it at number 21 on its "100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time" list. Although interpreted as a "

post-9/11 The post-9/11 period is the time after the September 11 attacks, characterized by heightened suspicion of non-Americans in the United States, increased government efforts to address terrorism, and a more aggressive American foreign policy. Pol ...

record" which channeled the feelings of New Yorkers and Americans after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, the album was written and largely recorded before September 11, 2001.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. * El-P – vocals, production, recording, mixing, art direction *

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emer ...

– vocals (6) *

Ill Bill William Braunstein (born July 14, 1972), known by his stage name Ill Bill, is an American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York City. Having gained fame in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known for his diver ...

– vocals (6) *

Rob Sonic Robert Smith, better known by his stage name Rob Sonic, is an American rapper and record producer from the Bronx, New York. He has been a member of the groups Sonic Sum and Hail Mary Mallon. He is a founder of the record label Skypimps Music. ...

– vocals (7) *

Vast Aire Theodore Arrington III (born February 5, 1978), better known by his stage name Vast Aire, is an American rapper from New York City. He is one half of the New York hip hop duo Cannibal Ox, which consists of him and fellow rapper Vordul Mega. He is ...

– vocals (8, 12) * Cage – vocals (9) *

Camu Tao Tero Smith (June 26, 1977 – May 25, 2008), better known by his stage name Camu Tao, was an American rapper, singer, and producer. Early life Tao was born Tero Smith in Columbus, Ohio, on June 26, 1977. Career Tao was signed to Definitive Jux ...

– vocals (9) * Nasa – vocals (15), recording, mixing *

C-Rayz Walz Waleed Shabazz (born August 3, 1975), better known by his stage name C-Rayz Walz, is an American rapper from the Bronx, New York. He has been a member of the collective Stronghold. Early life Waleed Shabazz was born and raised in the Bronx, New ...

– vocals (16) * Mr. Lif – vocals (16) *

DJ Abilities Gregory Keltgen, better known by his stage name DJ Abilities, is an American underground hip hop producer and DJ signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment who is based in Minneapolis. He is a founding member of Eyedea & Abilities alongside Eyedea, S ...

– turntables * Dan Ezra Lang – art direction, design, painting * Alexander Calder – painting * Phase Two – painting

Charts

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2002 debut albums Definitive Jux albums El-P albums Albums produced by El-P