Fantastic Damage

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]

Fantastic Damage
Studio album by El-P
Released	May 14, 2002 (2002-05-14)
Recorded	2000–2001
Genre	Underground hip-hop, experimental hip-hop
Length	70:18
Label	Definitive Jux
Producer	El-P
El-P chronology
El-P Presents Cannibal Oxtrumentals (2002) Fantastic Damage (2002) High Water (2004)
Singles from Fantastic Damage
"Stepfather Factory" Released: 2001 "Deep Space 9mm" Released: 2002 "Truancy" Released: 2002 "Dead Disnee" Released: 2002

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
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

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. "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. 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. Huey, Steve. "Fantastic Damage – El-P". AllMusic. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
9. Hermes, Will (May 24, 2002). "Fantastic Damage". Entertainment Weekly. No. 655. p. 94. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
10. "El-P: Fantastic Damage". NME. May 25, 2002. p. 30.
11. Chennault, Sam (June 18, 2002). "El-P: Fantastic Damage". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
12. McGuire, Kathryn (June 20, 2002). "El-P: Fantastic Damage". Rolling Stone. No. 898. p. 83. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
13. Ryan, Chris (July 2002). "Under Dawgs". Spin. Vol. 18, no. 7. p. 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.

External links

• Fantastic Damage at Discogs (list of releases)
• Fantastic Damage at MusicBrainz (list of releases)