The most known member of the Wu-Tang Clan, Method Man emerges at the #17 spot on the P³ Entertainment All-Time Rap Artists list.
Method Man received his name from the 1979 kung fu movie, Method Man; and the fact that he smokes so much weed, RZA appointed the name to him since "method" is a slang term for weed.
Success came early in the career of Method Man, as he emerged as the face of the Wu-Tang Clan, with the group releasing his solo Method Man, as the group's lead single. From there, his skills and lyrical delivery kept the listeners wanting more outside of the group. Method Man has a very distinctive flow and voice that sets him apart from other artists. His cadence draws in listeners and made him the sought after group member others wanted to work with.
When his solo debut, Tical, was released in 1994, it was met with critical acclaim, selling over a million copies, and the single All I Need, later remixed as I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need, with R&B Queen, Mary J. Blige, gained Method Man a Grammy win. He is also the only feature on The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready To Die album, featured on the song, The What?.
In the midst of the media driven East/West rivalry, Method Man appeared on both 2Pac's Got My Mind Made Up (with Redman, Tha Dogg Pound, and Inspectah Deck), and Spice 1's Hard 2 Kill. The appearance of Meth on these songs should have shown the world that there were no issues between the two coasts, but the logic of the collaborations went ignored.
It was his collaborations with Redman that sent Method Man to another plateau of stardom. How High was a crossover hit in the summer of 1995, which saw Red & Meth go on a worldwide tour, star in a movie and television show on FOX with the same name.
Wu-Tang Clan went on to release their second album, Wu-Tang Forever, in 1997, selling over 8 million copies; and with that successful wave, Meth released his second album, Tical 2000: Judgement Day. Though the album sold over 2 million copies, surpassing his debut, critics panned the album for too many features, skits, and overkill of the albums' length. The album did create two new hits in Judgement Day and Make Ups 2 Break Ups, going platinum and gold, respectively.
Through the years, Meth has released a few more albums with his Wu-Tang brethren and has taken on several acting gigs. He is always in talks to take part in various movie and television projects, as he has broadened his range as an actor. Meth still flows better than most and his guest features on songs are still some of the best in the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment