Track Listing

1. Intro
2. Conant gardens
3. I Don't Know - Slum Village & Jazzy Jeff
4. Jealousy
5. Climax (girl shit)
6. Hold Tight - Slum Village & Q-Tip
7. Tell Me - Slum Village & D'Angelo
8. What's It All About - Slum Village & Busta Rhymes
9. Forth And Back - Slum Village & Kurupt
10. Untitled (fantastic)
11. Fall in love
12. Get dis money
13. Raise it up
14. CB4
15. Once Upon A Time - Slum Village & Pete Rock
16. Players
17. Eyes up
18. 2 U 4 U
19. Go ladies

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47126 in Music
• Released on: 2000-05-15
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Somewhere between the old-school revival tactics of Jurassic 5 and the shiny Ghetto Fabulous R&B/rap blurring of Puffy & co, sits one of the most talked about debut albums in hip-hop history. Fantastic Vol II's release was delayed by a year, but record company shenanigans caused the Detroit trio of Jay Dee, T3 and Baatin to swap labels; in the process, Vol II was widely bootlegged. For once, the pirate's desperation to get the music out there is understandable: hip-hop doesn't come much fresher than this. Take the soulful R&B of D'Angelo, add Q-Tip's laid back flows and mix in a dose of deep 70s funk, and the Slum vision of hip-hop soul starts to take shape. Indeed, both of the aforementioned superstars make their presence felt, appearing on the slow-bumping jazz groover "Tell Me" and the blaxploitation-funk of "Hold Tight", respectively. There's a new school of roots-rap-soul artists, all luscious late-night grooves and chilled rhymes, fusing the elements from funk to electro and soul to hip-hop, and Fantastic Vol II sends Slum Village straight to the top of the class. --Dan Gennoe

CD Description
The progressive hip-hop of Slum Village may use familiar elements (James Brown samples, simple, funky bass and drum samples, tag-team rapping, scratching interludes) as its building blocks, but the group's real talent lies in its ability to transform the commonplace into something new and striking.It's refreshing to hear a hip-hop group that doesn't fall into either the misogynistic, violence-promoting gangsta world, or the self-conscious, self-righteous tendencies of the more politically correct rap acts. It's even more impressive to hear it pull off a coup like this one.
Slum Village isconcerned with the same subjects that have occupied pop artists for decades; love, sex, cars, and neighborhood pride. The band delivers its tales with minimum attitude and much unexaggerated skill. FANTASTIC VOL 2 features a star-studded guest list, including Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, and even retro-R&Bking D'Angelo, who all add their talents to the mix. Ultimately, though, it's the distinctive, funky Slum Village soundthat reels the listener in.

Customer Reviews

A definite for the underground hip hoppers out there
After hearing Slum Village on TV once, late at night, I couldn't get enough of them. I decided to pick up this album after hearing a couple of their songs and once I had heard the album, I was pleased that I purchased it.

Slum Village brings an almost original but old school sound to hip hop, they best remind me of a tribe called quest. Lyrically, they are very talented and some of thier songs, well most of them really stick out. With tracks such as "Raise it up", "Climax" and "What's it all about", you can't go wrong with this album. Damn, even the intro is 'fantastic'. Also, with guest appearances such as Busta Rhymes, Q-tip and D'angelo, it becomes a real treat.

If you like hip hop, then this album is worth the money.

Laid-back jazzy vibes & top rhymes
I bought this CD because of guest appearances from alumni such as D'Angelo and Q-Tip, two artists who have released amazing albums recently. I was not disappointed by this however, jazzy beats but with a street edge, this occupies middle ground between The Roots socially conscious lyrical content and instrumented tracks, D'Angelo laidback jazzy vibe and Q-Tip's perfectly executed delivery and party mood. This gets better with every listen. A hidden gem that I wish everybody could discover and cherish. A must for any true hip-hop fan.

1 of the greatest hip-hop albums. A- Class J.Dilla produxion
Jay Dee has got to be my favourite producer of all-time, and this is the album that did it for me - A TRUE CLASSIC. The strangest thing about his work is that I was already feelin his work with Tribe Called Quest(Ummah)& on Pharcyde's "Labcabincalifornia" it was only on buying this album that I realised I'd been following his work sub-consciously.
There are some sublime beats on this album - cosmic, mellow & jazzy tunes throughout the album. Stand-out tunes include "Hold Tight", "Get dis Money" & "Climax". If you feel this you've got to get J-88 that includes some tunes off Fantastic Vol. 1. Baatin & T-3's lyrical flow really fit into the formula.
This has got to be Jay Dee at his best, his sound's have moved on a bit since this album, I'm guessing - to stay fresh and innovative but this is what he will be remembered for..