Information AboutMethod Man |
Clifford Smith (born , How High , The Wire , Garden State '', and '' Soul Plane '', among others. He took his stage name from the 1979 film ''The Fearless Young Boxer'', also known as ''Method Man''. His name also refers to the slang "method", meaning Marijuana in his native Staten Island . He is one half of the rap duo Method Man & Redman . BIOGRAPHY Early life Method Man was born in Hempstead, New York but moved back and forth between Staten Island and Hempstead during his teenage years because his parents got divorced. In an apparent precursor to his career in hip hop, he was introduced both to playing drums and to poetry by his father. Fans of Method Man often refer to him by the shorthand nickname "Meth"; the man himself has self-applied a variety of nicknames, the most common being variations of "Johnny Blaze." ]] Not only was Meth interested in music, he was also fascinated by Comic Books and particularly '' Ghost Rider '', a fascination which manifested itself years later in several of his many rap aliases. His pre-hip hop life was mostly split between drug dealing and low-paid jobs (including a stint working at the Statue Of Liberty , along with future Wu-Tang colleague U-God ). He has often spoken out against the ways of his past and regrets having gotten involved in the world of dealing drugs. Tical/36 Chambers As Wu-Tang Clan ascended to hip hop stardom, Method Man was always one of the most visible member of the collective. He was one of only two members (the other being GZA/Genius' performance on Clan in Da Front) to get a solo song on the group's debut album '''' and he was the first to release a solo album under the Clan's unusual contract which allowed its members to release albums under any Record Label (Method chose to sign with legendary rap label Def Jam ). Method Man's solo debut, '' Tical '' (1994) was critically acclaimed and extremely popular, entering the American charts at #4 and eventually selling in excess of one million copies. He soon collaborated with Mary J. Blige and Redman for a series of hit singles, one of which (the Blige duet " I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need ") won a Grammy. He also appears on Tupac Shakur's album '' All Eyez On Me '', on the song "Got My Mind Made Up" and 'The What' on the The Notorious B.I.G. 's album ''Ready to Die''. '']] Tical 2000/Wu Tang Forever On June 3 , 1997 the Wu Tang Clan released their Grammy-nominated multiplatinum double CD '' Wu-Tang Forever '', the long-awaited follow up to 36 Chambers. The chart-topping phenomenon made CNN for the massive sales the group achieved without the mainstream or Pop sound and appeal. The hip hop album has sold over 8.3 million copies to date worldwide. His second solo album was '''' was very well-received in the underground hip-hop culture, due to the fact that Meth favored the lyrical aspect of rapping, rather than going along with the Timbaland-style pop production that mainstream hip-hop. Producers on this album included Tru Master and the RZA. Standouts include "Step By Step", "Spazzola", "Elements", "Killin' Fields", "Cradle Rock", "Suspect Chin Music", "Retro Godfather", and "Shaolin What (skit)", which is one of the previously mentioned lyrical "skits" with no chorus. Blackout! Method Man was part of the hugely successful Hard Knock Life Tour with Jay-Z , Redman, and DMX . During this tour, Method Man & Redman recorded '' Blackout! '', a light-hearted, bass-heavy, profanity-laced, party record with an EPMD -evoking emphasis on funky beats and the mischievous wit and cool flows of the two MCs. The album reached platinum status quickly, both in the U.S. and Canada, fueled by ''Da Rockwilder'', "Cereal Killa", "1, 2, 1, 2", ''Tear It Off'', and ''Y.O.U.''. This album also featured three previously released tracks on which the two collaborated. Their success would lead the duo on to star in movies and TV shows, become product spokespersons and household names, but also associated them with drug abuse in the media. Tical 0/The W/Iron Flag The Wu Tang Clan released The W on November 21, 2000 and Iron Flag on December 18, 2001. The W received both critical and commercial success for the group, while Iron Flag did receive some but not to the effect of The W. The efforts scooped up a couple more platinum plaques for the Wu Tang empire. In 2004, Meth released his third solo album '''', which featured the hit party single "What's Happenin" with Busta Rhymes . Hip Hop critics voiced their displeasure with the album, many agreeing that Tical 0 felt like generic party rap and featured too many mainstream guests, detracting from his own performances. Regardless, this album sold reasonably well and was certified Gold by the RIAA relatively quickly, but would not see the platinum success of his previous solo releases. There was trouble even before the album's release when Method apparently complained to the press about excessive interference from Def Jam over the album's beats (Meth supposedly desired more input from Wu-Tang leader RZA). On its release, many fans and critics were taken aback by its strong "mainstream" or "commercial" sound, highlighted by the guest appearances of pop-rap stars like Missy Elliott and P. Diddy , two artists that are involved with much different facets of rap music. Diddy was one of the executive producers for the album, although Meth later voiced his displeasure with the final product. "On the third LP, it was suggested (by Def Jam) to bring in Harve Pierre and P Diddy. Who am I to argue? Puff knows how to sell some records. But that wasn't the direction to go in, and I know that." {Link without Title} 4:21/8 Diagrams/Crystal Method Method Man's fourth album, entitled '', as well as New York up and comers Saigon , and Gat Murdah . Meth contributed various reasons for the problems between him and his label, Def Jam. While puts most of the blame on personal agendas in the Def Jam offices, Meth did take some blame, himself, for giving into his record label. In early 2007 Method Man confirmed that he has been in the studio with Rza working on the Clan's upcoming Summer 2007 release, '' 8 Diagrams ''. In early May of 2007 Method Man's camp leaked the street single ''New York New York'' which became a popular track on the internet.http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20038258,00.html He will be contributing to LL Cool J 's highly anticipated album Exit 13 On August 17th, Method Man told MTV he is working on a new album called 'Crystal Method'. Confirmed producers for this upcoming album are RZA , Erick Sermon & DJ Scratch Feuds Wu-Tang Management In 2003, Method Man criticized Oli "Power" Grant and Mitchell "Divine" Diggs, the managers of the Rza's brother who along with Oli "Power" Grant took over the business end of Wu Tang around 1997. Aside from the financial issues, Method Man was also unhappy with the decision to bring Wu Tang into the fashion world for a brief period of time with Wu Wear, despite the brand being a major money-maker for the group. "''When Wu-Wear started making shoes and sneakers and pants, it was shoddy material. I never rocked that shit.''" {Link without Title} Wendy Williams In 2006 Method Man had a highly personal and highly publicized conflict with New York radio host Wendy Williams on The Breakdown, an internet show on www.itshiphop.tv . Williams talked about Method Man's wife having cancer on air, which was something he had wanted to keep private and even her own family members had not yet known about. He said that people who lived next door to him didn't even know, but Williams dug it up made it public over the radio. The Breakdown, an internet show on www.itshiphop.tv
The Law On Thursday May 17 , 2007 Method Man was arrested in New York City on marijuana charges. His Lincoln Navigator was pulled over at the Battery Tunnel en route to Manhattan , when he rolled his window down the officer noticed a strong smell of marijuana. "It was like something out of 'Cheech and Chong.' He rolls down the window and the smoke would choke a horse," a source said.http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2007/05/19/2007-05-19_phewtang_clan_posse_guy_in_dopefilled_ca.html The arresting officer also said he noticed two "blunts" and a plastic bag with more marijuana in plain view. Upon further inspection more marijuana was found under the drivers seat. The arrest was made at about 10 P.M. Thursday night near the Battery Tunnel toll booths on Hamilton Ave. in Carroll Gardens. He was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of marijuana, operating a motor vehicle under the influence and driving an uninspected motor vehicle.http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=7105 Sean "Diddy" Combs During a concert in 2006 Method Man called out . He was featured on "The What", the one and only guest appearance on the entire album. Diddy was also one of the executive producers for Method Man's 2004 album , to which Meth later voiced his displeasure on final product. "On the third LP, it was suggested to bring in Harve Pierre and P Diddy. Who am I to argue? Puff knows how to sell some records. But that wasn't the direction to go in, and I know that now".http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1533408/20060601/puff_daddy.jhtml Acting career In the Early 2000s Method Man began a successful career in acting. He has had recurring roles in critically acclaimed television shows such as HBO's . He hosted a series on MTV for a brief period called ''Stung'' and has made numerous appearances as himself on TV shows such as Mind Of Mencia, Chappelle's Show, and others. He also co-starred with Redman in his own Fox , a wealthy Las Vegas party promoter who clashes with the CSI team in their investigations involving his clubs or entourage. His first appearance on CSI as ''Drops'' was in the 2006 episode "Poppin' Tags", he resumed the role in the 2007 episode "Big Shots". His first prominent role came in 1998 with the film '' Belly '' along with fellow rappers Nas and DMX . He has since added many credits to his name, including roles in the films '' Garden State '', '' One Eight Seven '', and many others, with starring roles in the feature films such as ''How High'' and ''Soul Plane''. On March 27 , 2007 Redman confirmed on BET '' Rapcity '' that the sequel to ''How High'' is currently being written. The script for How High 2 is being written by Dustin Lee Abraham of ''CSI'' fame, who also wrote the first movie. In 2005 Method Man also had a cameo on the Pop/Indie/Horror movie Venom, where he played a deputy who shortly into the movie was killed. Other work Method Man has made an appearance in the Def Jam series. In Fight For NY he voiced Blaze, one of the main characters. In Def Jam: Icon, he voiced Gooch, a major character in the storyline. He made a guest appearance in the music video for the 2003 " If I Ain't Got You " by Alicia Keys , where he played the role of her boyfriend. Beanie Sigel also called upon Method Man's acting skills for his 2005 video "Feel It In The Air", where Method Man played an undercover cop leading an operation against Sigel. Method Man appeared on the MTV reality game show '' Yo Momma '' in the first episode of Season 1. Method Man has fallen back from pursuing more acting roles after the situation with his sitcom on Fox left a bad taste in his mouth, {Link without Title} and now mostly just acts if the project is being handled by a friend of his, as was the case with and The Wire . Method Man had a brief but memorable cameo appearance in the Samuel L. Jackson film "187". At the beginning of the film, Jackson's character, a high school teacher, is attacked and nearly killed by Method. Method Man also appeared in the indie documentary "Rhyme And Reason". While on a train in Japan, there is a memorable scene in which Method Man and U-God get into a argument over camera time, radio interviews, and clothing mishaps. DISCOGRAPHY AWARDS
MUSIC VIDEOS See Also: Method Man videography FILMOGRAPHY See Also: Method Man Filmography REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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