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| Fantastic, Vol. 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 13, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 1997−1998 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | GoodVibe | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Slum Village chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fantastic, Vol. 2 | ||||
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Fantastic, Vol. 2 (also referred to asFantastic Volume II) is the second album byAmericanhip hop groupSlum Village, released on June 13, 2000. During the time of its release the group was still composed of its earliest members T3,Baatin andJ Dilla.
The album was initially completed in 1998 forA&M Records shortly before the label became obsolete, leavingSlum Village in limbo for over a year. During this period, however, the group's producer Jay Dee greatly increased his profile through work with artists such asCommon,Busta Rhymes,Erykah Badu andA Tribe Called Quest. At the same time tremendous acclaim from notables such asQuestlove ofThe Roots andQ-Tip built up anticipation for the long-delayed LP.
Slum Village eventually found an outlet with Goodvibe Recordings & Barak Records, and releasedFantastic, Vol. 2 in spring 2000. Although sales were slow (due to heavybootlegging[citation needed]) the group nevertheless had a huge impact on theunderground circuit and were proclaimed torch-bearers for the departingA Tribe Called Quest.[citation needed]
In particular Jay Dee's much lauded production work, full of subtle grooves and soul claps, was a blueprint for the direction thatneo soul would take in the coming years. The album was re-released minus the original version of "Fall-N-Love", which was replaced by the remix due to sample clearance issues, as well as their collaboration with Common, "Thelonius" (which originally appeared on Common'sLike Water for Chocolate). "Raise It Up" uses a sample from the song "Extra Dry" byThomas Bangalter ofDaft Punk. It was initially used without permission, as producer J Dilla obtained a copy of the song from abootleg recording, and assumed that the artist was an obscure producer who was unlikely to notice. Bangalter andGuy-Manuel de Homem-Christo however happened to be fans of Slum Village, and rather than demand a payment for the sample, instead asked the group to remix one of their own tracks; this ended up becoming Slum Village's remix of the song "Aerodynamic".[1]
The album's cover was designed byWaajeed (of the groupPlatinum Pied Pipers).
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Alternative Press | 4/5[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[4] |
| The Independent | [5] |
| Muzik | [6] |
| NME | 6/10[7] |
| Pitchfork | 8.5/10[8] |
| Rolling Stone |  [9] |
| The Source | [10] |
| Spin | 5/10[11] |
The album received highly positive reviews and acclaim upon its release.SF Weekly commented that "(Jay Dee's) production style has been subtly influencing better-recognized producers for years" and even went as far as to claim that "Slum Village is going to single-handedly save rap music".[12] The group themselves have since acknowledged the impact this record had, and while they benefited greatly from it, it has also overshadowed their later, though more commercially successful work.
The twelfth track "Get Dis Money" was originally featured on the soundtrack to the 1999Mike Judge cult filmOffice Space.[13] The second track "Conant Gardens" was featured in the 2002Frankie Muniz filmBig Fat Liar as well as the 2003Steve Martin filmCheaper by the Dozen.[14]
The album was re-issued asFantastic Vol. 2.10 in 2010.
All tracks are solely produced by Jay Dee, except for "Tell Me", which is produced byD'Angelo and co-produced by Jay Dee, and "Once Upon A Time", which is produced byPete Rock and Jay Dee. On subsequent pressings, the album includes the Jay Dee-produced songs "Thelonius" and "Who We Are" as bonus tracks.Questlove produced the preceding interlude to "Thelonius" but as the entire track is lifted from Common'sLike Water For Chocolate, he is not credited.
On February 2, 2010, the album was re-released as the two-discFantastic Vol. 2.10, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the original album. This Barak Records release features additional tracks, alternative versions of a few songs, instrumentals, and a different intro from the original release. The songs changed or replaced are "Hold Tight", "Fourth & Back", "Once Upon a Time" and "2U 4U". This version of "Once Upon a Time" is produced by Pete Rock only. "Climax", while the same version of the song, now features a different ending followed by a skit. "Fall-N-Love" is listed as the 'original version' but is the same version to be found on the original release, this is because of some earlier presses that replaced it with the 12" remixes because of a sample problem. It is notable for including many small skits that appear between songs that never appeared on earlier presses.
Disc 1:
Disc 2:
All of these outtakes are on the re-release of the album.
