Published on Sep 23, 2000
I must admit that it’s been quite a while since I listened to a
rap record completely from start to finish. How long? Well, let’s
just say that Death Row Records was still in charge of the rap game
while Master P was trying out for pro basketball for the first time
and the Cash Money Millionaires only had a single Bentley to their
name. Why such a long dry spell? To be honest I grew tired of the
“gangsta” attitude that seemingly every rap artist began to
develop. When MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice got g-tough, that was it
for me. I began to look to other places for music.
Nevertheless, I have on occasion perked my ears up when some new
song comes out that either reeks of originality or has that
old-school fun vibe that is so missing from many artists. (Singles
like 2Pac’s “California Love” and Wyclef’s new “It Doesn’t
Matter.”) But they have been rare. So imagine my surprise when I
heard the first single from Wu-Tang alum Method Man and Def Jam’s
own Redman collaboration. While it was clearly cemented in the new
school, the party feel of it was great and eventually forced me to
go out and buy their album,
Blackout.
Now this wasn’t the first collaboration between the two “Men.”
They first got together for “How High,” a song for the soundtrack
to
The Show. A guest stint on each other’s albums followed.
What’s amazing is that it took them so long to get together. Both
are declared fans of the dream herb. Both are decidedly East-Coast
rappers that can create insightful and funny lyrics at the same
time. And, yes, both feature “man” in their monikers. So, after
much delay, the Funk Doc and Meth-Tical got together for this
album.
Like I said before, there is a great party vibe coming off from
this album. The first single “Tear It Off” is very enjoyable,
featuring danceable beats and great rhymes. That seems to be the
centerpiece of the entire album. Other great tracks like that
include the funny “Da Rockwilder,” the third single “Y.O.U.,” “Mi
Casa” and “1,2,1,2.”
All of the songs have one thing going for them – the interplay
between Redman and Method Man. Both MCs have great chemistry and
their lyric trades rank amongst the best. The problem this raises
is that when they have the requisite rap guest MC’s in here, they
tend to change the flow that we liked on this album. Of the various
guest rappers – Ja-Rule, Ghostface Killah Young Zee, Mally G – the
only one that truly makes a worthwhile contribution is old school
MC LL Cool J in “4 Seasons.” That is not meant as a slight to the
other MC’s, but let’s be honest. We bought a Method Man &
Redman album because we wanted to hear Method Man and Redman. For
the most part this is what we get and is good. It’s the guest work
that tends to bring their songs down.
Among the best things, as I’ve mentioned before, is the lyrics
dropped by both Meth and Red. Just check some of them. In
“1,2,1,2,” you have, “From Bricks to South Park you dyin with
Kenny” Or in “Dat’s Da S#!t,” you have the classic “To ride down
like Hopper from a Bug Life?” In “How High (Remix)” they actually
mention the murder of Notorious B.I.G. in “I breaks em up
proppa/Ask Biggie Smalls ‘Who Shot Ya’/Funk doctor, with the 12
Gauge Mossberg.” LL Cool J drops perhaps the best line though with,
“Them gangsta visions will have you ass up in an ambulance.”
I do have some small complaints though. In the middle of this
party, they drop “Cereal Killer” on you and it seems so out of
place. The song – about them committing murder – is hypnotic and
good, but it just seems to come out of nowhere. Two, though I
clearly understand that East Coast rap is centered on very simple
beats and more work out of the rhymes, I would have preferred a
stronger musical work. The rhymes should make you think, but the
beat should make you bounce.
My final complaint is something that perhaps might not be as big
a deal for others as it is for me. In this album you have 16 brand
new songs and 3 remixes of songs from previous albums – that’s a
total of 19 songs. That, to me, seems a bit like overkill. I would
have preferred twelve or thirteen songs completely done – best of
the best and then release the others as B-sides or in compilation
albums. Hardcore fans might object, but there is such a thing as
too much. Most rap albums, to my eye, seem to dwell here. There’s
nothing wrong with releasing only twelve songs – just make sure
they’re long enough and that they are the best you’ve done.
Fans of hip-hop seem to have taken to this pairing. Both Method
Man and Redman have great senses of humor, strong lyrical
capabilities and good cred with critics and fans. Hopefully this
won’t be their only collaboration They are two of the best MC’s out
there. Period.
Blackout, a few missteps aside, shows that.