The Fundamental Elements of Southtown

Limited edition bonus EP
Limited edition bonus EP
EP by P.O.D.
Released	August 24, 1999
Length	18:51
Label	Atlantic
Producer	P.O.D.

The Fundamental Elements of Southtown
The Fundamental Elements of Southtown
Studio album by P.O.D.
Released	August 24, 1999
Recorded	February – April 1999
Studio	The Gallery, Sherman Oaks, California; Sparky Dark, Calabasas, California; Mates, North Hollywood, California
Genre	Rap metal; rapcore; nu metal;
Length	57:43
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Howard Benson
P.O.D. chronology
Alternative cover
	Censored cover
Singles from The Fundamental Elements of Southtown
	"Southtown"; Released: February 2000; "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)"; Released: August 2000;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Cross Rhythms	^[2]
HM	^[4]
Jesus Freak Hideout	^[5]
Q	^[6]

The Fundamental Elements of Southtown is the third studio album and major label debut of Christian nu metal band P.O.D., released on August 24, 1999. It went on to become the band's first platinum album, peaking at No. 51 on the Billboard 200 chart in April 2000.^[7] It was the 143rd best-selling album of 2000 in the United States.^[8] "Southtown" and "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)" became the album's singles, both of which were accompanied by music videos. The album also includes a cover of U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky".

Cover art

The cover art displayed on The Fundamental Elements of Southtown was censored when sold in Christian bookstores. Retailers complained about the depiction of a cigar and also argued that the artwork featured "pagan" imagery.^[9]^[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Greetings"	1:29
2.	"Hollywood" (featuring Lisa Papineau)	5:22
3.	"Southtown"	4:08
4.	"Checkin' Levels"	1:06
5.	"Rock the Party (Off the Hook)"	3:24
6.	"Lie Down"	5:09
7.	"Set Your Eyes to Zion"	4:06
8.	"Lo Siento"	0:33
9.	"Bullet the Blue Sky" (U2 cover) (featuring Lisa Papineau)	5:18
10.	"Psalm 150"	0:55
11.	"Image"	3:32
12.	"Shouts"	0:55
13.	"Tribal"	4:26
14.	"Freestyle"	3:57
15.	"Follow Me"	3:43
16.	"Outkast" (ends at 4:16, hidden track "Tambura" begins at 6:22)	9:33
Total length:		57:43

Awards

2000 San Diego Music Awards

Album of the Year
Song of the Year - "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)"

2001 GMA Dove Awards

Short Form Music Video of the Year - "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)"

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[11]

P.O.D.

Sonny Sandoval – vocals
Marcos Curiel – lead guitar
Traa Daniels – bass
Wuv Bernardo – drums, rhythm guitar

Additional musicians

Lisa Papineau – background vocals (5, 9)
DJ Circa – turntables
Santos – percussion
Howard Benson – keyboards

Production

Robert Green Brooks – engineer, mixing
Ernie Vigil – assistant engineer
Marc Moncrief – assistant engineer
Matt Silva – assistant engineer
Howard Benson – mixing
Chris Lord-Alge – mixing (2, 3, 5, 7, 9)
Gavin Lurssen – mastering

Imagery

Michael Robinson NYC – Art Direction + Design
Jean Bastarache – paintings
Chapman Baehler – band photos
Eric Altenburger – band photo retouching
David Allen – band logo

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1999–2000)	Peak position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[12]	32
US Billboard 200^[13]	51

Year-end charts

Chart (2000)	Position
US Billboard 200^[14]	143

Limited edition bonus EP

The Limited edition bonus EP was released by P.O.D. as a free CD given away with the purchase of their first mainstream album, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, in 1999. It contained a new version of the song "Draw the Line" (from the album Snuff the Punk) and the demo version of "Lie Down" (on The Fundamental Elements of Southtown). It also has the new track "It's About Time", the instrumental demo "Estrella", the intro "Warriors Come Out to Play...", and a track with "Messages for Your Answering Machine". Because of its limited release, it is now considered a collector's item.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Warriors Come Out to Play..."	0:40
2.	"Draw the Line" (Fundamental Version)	3:16
3.	"It's About Time" (Demo)	4:13
4.	"Lie Down" (Demo)	4:23
5.	"Estrella" (Demo)	4:33
6.	"Messages for your Answering Machine"	1:42