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2009 USA, 2 LP EX
*Funcrusher Plus* is the debut studio album by the American hip hop group Company Flow. Released by Rawkus Records in 1997, it was reissued by Definitive Jux in 2009. The album is acclaimed as "a landmark independent hip-hop release."
Jon Dolan of City Pages remarked that *Funcrusher Plus* showcases Company Flow's "confrontational critique of 'those signed, big-budget muthafuckas' in a way that hip-hop hadn't seen since EPMD's *Strictly Business*." Andrew Hultkrans of Spin awarded the album 8 out of 10 stars, describing it as a deconstruction of hip-hop conventions that creates "a spare, murky, sputtering soundscape." Jeff Weiss of the Los Angeles Times praised El-P for crafting "an apocalyptic minimalism" that evokes "the clanging and cluttered sound of train cars, city grime, and the ghostly smoke of burning blunts." Brian Coleman of CMJ New Music Monthly deemed it "the most important release of 1997 thus far." The New York Times noted that Company Flow's style involves "fast, rude, free-associative boasts and dystopian visions" over tracks that blend "raunchy old funk snippets with electronic noise," resulting in a sound that is both "propulsive and disorienting."
Nate Patrin of Pitchfork observed that apart from the nocturnal funk of Bigg Jus-produced "Lune TNS" and the frequent scratches by DJ Mr. Len, the album's beats reflect El-P's "dusty-but-digital aesthetic," which anticipated the sound of his later works like Cannibal Ox's *The Cold Vein* and his own *Fantastic Damage*. AllMusic awarded the album a perfect 5-star rating, with writer Steve Huey noting that *Funcrusher Plus* "demands intense concentration but rewards it," highlighting its significant contribution to hip-hop as an art form. Joseph Schafer of Stereogum commented that while *Funcrusher Plus* was an impressive debut, El-P would go on to further refine his craft.
On October 4, 2011, "Lune TNS" was named Song of the Day by NJ.com. In 2003, *Funcrusher Plus* was ranked number 84 on Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s list, and in 2014, Complex placed it at number 86 on their list of the 90 Best Rap Albums of the 90s. In 2015, Fact ranked it number 4 on their list of the 100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time.