Funcrusher Plus is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Company Flow.[3] It was released by Rawkus Records in 1997.[4] In 2009, it was re-released on Definitive Jux.[5] The album has been recognized as "a landmark independent hip-hop release".[6]
| Funcrusher Plus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 22, 1997 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 73:52 | |||
| Label | Rawkus | |||
| Producer | Company Flow | |||
| Company Flow chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Funcrusher Plus | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [7] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [8] |
| Los Angeles Times | [9] |
| Muzik | 10/10[10] |
| NME | 7/10[11] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10[12] |
| PopMatters | 9/10[5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [13] |
| Spectrum Culture | [14] |
| Spin | 8/10[15] |
Jon Dolan of City Pages noted "[Company Flow's] evincing a confrontational critique of 'those signed, big-budget muthafuckas' like none hip hop has attempted since EPMD's Strictly Business."[16] Andrew Hultkrans of Spin gave the album 8 stars out of 10, commenting that "[the album] deconstructed hip-hop conventions and rebuilt them into a spare, murky, sputtering soundscape."[15] Jeff Weiss of the Los Angeles Times felt that "El-P conjured an apocalyptic minimalism -- the sublimated sound of clanging and cluttered train cars, city grime buried beneath cuticles, and the ghostly smoke of burning blunts."[9] Brian Coleman of CMJ New Music Monthly called it "the most important release of 1997 thus far."[17] The New York Times wrote that Company Flow "rap fast, rude, free-associative boasts and dystopian visions over tracks that mesh raunchy old funk snippets with electronic noise, making hip-hop that's simultaneously propulsive and disorienting."[18]
Nate Patrin of Pitchfork said: "With the exception of the nocturnal crystalline funk of the Bigg Jus-produced 'Lune TNS' and the frequent scratch contributions from secret weapon DJ Mr. Len, Funcrusher Plus' beats bear the mark of El-P's dusty-but-digital aesthetic, which even back then had the same sort of beautiful-dystopia Blade Runner feel that informed Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein and his own Fantastic Damage a few years later."[12] AllMusic gave the album a perfect 5 star rating, and writer Steve Huey stated: "[Funcrusher Plus] demands intense concentration, but also rewards it, and its advancement of hip-hop as an art form is still being felt. It's difficult, challenging music, to be sure, and it's equally far ahead of its time."[7]
Joseph Schafer of Stereogum said, "Funcrusher Plus made for a hell of an opening salvo, and most emcee/producers would envy having such a record in their discography, but El mostly improved upon his work here later."[19]
On October 4, 2011, "Lune TNS" was chosen by NJ.com as the Song of the Day.[6]
In 2003, Funcrusher Plus ranked at number 84 on Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s list.[20] In 2014, Complex listed the album at number 86 on the 90 Best Rap Albums of the 90s.[4] In 2015, it was chosen by Fact as number 4 on the 100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time.[21]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bad Touch Example" | El-P | 3:26 | |
| 2. | "8 Steps to Perfection" |
| El-P | 4:43 |
| 3. | "Collude/Intrude" (featuring J-Treds) |
| El-P | 5:25 |
| 4. | "Blind" |
| El-P | 3:42 |
| 5. | "Silence" | Ingleton | El-P | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Legends" | Meline | El-P | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Help Wanted" | El-P | 2:13 | |
| 8. | "Population Control" |
| El-P | 4:26 |
| 9. | "Lune TNS" | Ingleton | Bigg Jus | 3:39 |
| 10. | "Definitive" | Meline | El-P | 5:47 |
| 11. | "Lencorcism" | Mr. Len | 0:36 | |
| 12. | "89.9 Detrimental" | Meline | El-P | 1:03 |
| 13. | "Vital Nerve" (featuring BMS) |
| El-P | 5:01 |
| 14. | "Tragedy of War (in III Parts)" |
| El-P | 3:49 |
| 15. | "The Fire in Which You Burn" (featuring The Brewin from the Juggaknots & J-Treds) |
| El-P | 5:02 |
| 16. | "Krazy Kings" | Ingleton | El-P | 4:52 |
| 17. | "Last Good Sleep" | Meline | Mr. Len, El-P | 5:59 |
| 18. | "Info Kill II" |
| El-P | 3:48 |
| 19. | "Funcrush Scratch" | Mr. Len | 2:48 | |
| Total length: | 73:52 | |||
Notes
- "Population Control" features uncredited vocals from R.A. the Rugged Man
- The vinyl version contains a track originally featured on the Funcrusher EP, titled "Corners '94".
Personnel
edit- El-P – producer, lead vocals, mixing
- Bigg Jus – producer, lead vocals
- Mr. Len – producer, scratching
- R.A. the Rugged Man – vocals
- J-Treds – vocals
- BMS – vocals
- Breezly Brewin – vocals
- Vassos – recording, engineering, mixing
- Jeff Cordero – recording, engineering, mixing
- Walker Bernard – recording, engineering
- Chris Athens – mastering
Singles chart positions
edit| Year | Song | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[22] |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Blind" | 44 |
References
edit- ^ "50 Greatest East Coast Hip-Hop Albums of the 1990s". The Boombox. October 20, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ Preezy (July 25, 2017). "Company Flow's 'Funcrusher Plus' Epitomized Hip-Hop's Independent Spirit". The Boombox. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ Johnson, Fatima (January 7, 2013). "Respect. Your Elders: Company Flow". Respect. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ a b Bengston, Russ (April 24, 2014). "The 90 Best Rap Albums of the '90s - 86. Company Flow, Funcrusher Plus (1997)". Complex. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ a b Newmark, Mike (September 13, 2009). "Company Flow: Funcrusher Plus". PopMatters. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ a b McCall, Tris (October 4, 2011). "Song of the Day: 'Lune TNS,' Company Flow". NJ.com. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ a b Huey, Steve. "Funcrusher Plus – Company Flow". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Company Flow". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ a b Weiss, Jeff (May 7, 2009). "Album Review: Company Flow's 'Funcrusher Plus' reissue". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ Ashon, Will (August 1997). "Company Flow: Funcrusher Plus (Official/Rawkus)". Muzik (27): 125.
- ^ Moody, Paul (September 27, 1997). "Company Flow – Funcrusher Plus". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
- ^ a b Patrin, Nate (May 15, 2009). "Company Flow: Funcrusher Plus". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ Seward, Scott (2004). "Company Flow". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 187–88. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ Hanover, Nick (May 19, 2009). "Company Flow: Funcrusher Plus". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
- ^ a b Tompkins, Dave (August 1997). "Lateef and Lyrics Born: Latyrx / Company Flow: Funcrusher Plus". Spin. Vol. 13, no. 5. pp. 116–18. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
- ^ Dolan, Jon (November 26, 1997). "Company Flow: Funcrusher Plus". City Pages. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ Coleman, Brian (September 1997). "Hip-Hop". CMJ New Music Monthly: 51.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (14 Jan 1998). "Uncovering Good Music That Few Got to Hear". The New York Times. p. E1.
- ^ Schafer, Joseph (January 29, 2014). "El-P Albums From Worst To Best - Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus (1997)". Stereogum. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ Linhardt, Alex (November 17, 2003). "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s (2/8)". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ "The 100 best indie hip-hop records of all time (98/101)". Fact. February 25, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ "Hot Dance Music". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 31. Aug 2, 1997. p. 34.
External links
edit- Funcrusher Plus at Discogs (list of releases)