Method Man is a highly versatile MC who has been a constant presence since the late 1980s. Rising to prominence as part of the legendary Staten Island crew The Wu-Tang Clan in the mid-1990s, the rapper (real name Clifford Smith Jr.) is loved for his intricate lyricism, partnership with Redman (real name Reginald Noble) and his famous stoner comedy How High, a must-watch that will have viewers laughing out loud. Known as one of hip hop’s greats, Method Man is undoubtedly a talent.
In 2009, Method Man and Redman released a sequel to their 1999 debut album Blackout! entitled, Blackout 2. The two wrote and recorded the album on their tour, and in an interview with MTV, Smith detailed the process of making the project.
When explaining how they wrote the tracks, Smith unveiled, “A lot of it was written during the tour and the Canada tour. We came home and went right in. Within a month, month and a half, we had some solid joints.”
Noble added, “We’re more advanced now than the first one. We went in, had fun. I have my own studio now, so it’s more relaxed. I engineer now. It ain’t no rush for time, paying the studio and engineer. It’s fun. We treated [the album] like a mixtape, really. If we really got in there and sat, it’ll be a beast. But it’s a beast now, and we treated it like a mixtape.”
The first track released by the two was ‘A-yo’ featuring Saukrates, which contains a sample of the Phyllis Hyman song ‘Magic Mona’. The pair revealed this track was also written on tour.
During his conversation with MTV about their single ‘Mrs International,’ Redman strangely revealed, “It’s a record we’re dedicating to the women, whether you’re fat, ugly, skinny…it don’t matter. You’re all beautiful inside. ‘Miss International’ is a state of mind.”
However, Method Man added another perspective to the track, revealing, “‘Miss International’ is a state of mind. It’s not around the way; it’s around the world. You could be in a messed-up neighbourhood or messed-up background, it doesn’t mean you can’t change for the better.”
You can listen to ‘Miss International’ in the video below.
