Expert Wu-Tang swordsman Method Man has been slicing the best MCs in the game since 1993. With iconic guest spots on his fellow clansmen’s albums and a longterm collaboration with Redman (see Blackout! and movie How High), Meth has always had a strong presence outside his legendary solo career. Meth talked to us about crowd walking and Wu-Tang, but whether or not he actually smoked a dead guy is left up to your imagination.
How do you feel about the resurgence of Wu-Tang, with Raekwon and Ghostface Killah dropping new albums so recently?
Method Man:
Man, I love it. Everyone in there was so talented that there was no doubt some people would still be coming up with shit to this day. Cuban Linx was straight classic and there’s a reason why [Raekwon] waited so long for the follow up. You know, the goal is quality. If there’s one thing, I know that people appreciate quality. Yeah, people will bitch about delays and all that, but at the end of the day, shit’s real.
36 Chambers may be the best rap album, solo or group, ever made. Do you mind your musical career being defined by that rather than your solo work?
MM:
I don’t think any of us would disagree that the group was bigger than us. But, nah, I don’t mind, didn’t ever mind. Like I said, everyone was so lyrically talented, that we were obviously gonna do our own thing. And there was never any thinking, like, what’s going to be better than “C.R.E.A.M.” or whatever. Because, fuck, how you gonna beat that hook? [Editors note: That's the truth.]
You’ve recorded with Tupac, were the only guest rapper on Biggie’s Ready to Die and went on the Hard Knock Life tour with Jay. Rank ‘em.
MM:
Man, fuck that question. There’s nothing to say. I mean, each one was a totally different experience. B.I.G. and I were tight. And don’t even get me started on ‘Pac. We lost two of the greatest. But, Jay was a different deal. [I] met Red on that tour and we did Blackout! That album changed everything. Went from the solo and Wu thing to the whole Meth and Red shit.
Alright. Easy question time. How high are you right now?
MM:
Very.
What’s it like being in the studio with Red?
MM:
It’s a done-deal when I get recording with Doc. There’s nothing else to say. We’ve been doing this thing for so long, that tracks just get done like that.
You’re live show is crazy. Red was out of his mind and you guys were walking on the crowd. How do you even do that?
MM:
[Laughs] You would think it takes some mad practice, right? But, nah. It’s just I get this zone and feed off the crowd and that crowd was going crazy. I just have this feeling of how a show should go. And, if that means walking on peoples’ hands, then fuck it. Imma just walk.