New Jersey emcee Redman is a legendary figure in hip-hop who has been around since the 1990s. The lyricist (real name Reginald Noble) has worked with a number of people over the years, including many members of the iconic Wu-Tang Clan.
As the crew slowly fractured at the turn of the millennium, Noble paired up with the Staten Island artist Method Man, and together, they released two albums, Blackout! and Blackout! 2. Moreover, they put out a 2001 movie, How High.
As such, it is no surprise that during an interview with RZA, Redman’s name came up when he was reflecting on the recording of Ghostface Killah’s second solo studio album, Supreme Clientele, in 2000.
RZA (real name Robert Diggs) was the executive producer of Supreme Clientele, which boasted features from the likes of Redman, Method Man, Cappadonna and Masta Killa. As such, Diggs wanted to make sure the project was of the highest quality and in an interview with HipHopDX, he unveiled how, during the 1990s, cars were a massive part of Wu-Tang’s recording process.
Speaking with the publication about producing tracks, Diggs explained, “If it bumps in the whip, it’s going to bump everywhere else. Especially in my phase of hip-hop — you know what I mean? It was all about the Jeeps, the boomin’ systems, the long road trips — all those different vibes took place in the car, even hanging out with your shorty.”
He continued, “A lot of things took place in the car. Hip Hop eventually moved and became more club, but in the foundational days of it, it was just having that phat tape in your car with a nice system. If it sounded good there, you was good!”
However, while speaking about automobiles, RZA suddenly recalled a funny story concerning Redman, disclosing, “When Wu-Tang had success, and we built our first studio, we would make the songs and then bring it downstairs to the car and play it in there. I’ll never forget when Redman came to the studio and he actually wrote his verse in the car. We put the beat on tape, and he’s just going to take the beat downstairs and write the verse in the car!”
Supreme Clientele peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200 and was released through Epic Records as Ghostface’s sophomore studio album. Redman appeared on the track ‘Buck 50’ alongside Cappadonna and Method Man.
You can listen to the track below.
