By Method Man and Redman’s first collaboration in 1999 was a breakthrough album known as “Blackout!”. However, their second collaboration is truly a masterpiece.
“Blackout! 2” bangs stereos with the infectious pop beats of Jay-Z, mixed with the dirty gangster rhetoric of Method Man and Redman.
The first “Blackout!” was an admirable collaboration with two of the smoothest indo-smoking rappers on the East Coast and RZA, the disc jockey who produced The Wu-Tang Clan’s albums. However, the sequel easily trumps the first with funky old 50s samples.
Certainly, “Blackout! 2” isn’t as original as the first. After all, any dummy can sense that producers Method Man and Redman aimed for a Jay-Z styled album, with plenty of punchy, rhythmic samples of old Motown tracks.
However, they did a great job in mixing samples and beats from some of the most legendary DJs and producers in hip-hop. These DJs include Pete Rock from Pete Rock and CL Smooth, producer Erick Sermon from EPMD and Havoc from Mobb Deep. Method Man and Redman are masters at producing rap, and this album shows off everything from Southern downbeat rap to the futuristic dance rap of recent years.
In fact, rap fans can literally feel the fresh excitement of Redman’s rap in “A-Yo.” There’s nothing more chill than Redman snarling “Watch me! She like, ‘Red’s so cool/any ni**a after me is a déjà vu” to a smooth sample of a funk song.
Probably the hottest dance track is “Errbody Scream,” which bumps with a slow beat, while Method Man and Redman chant “West Coast n***as love gettin’ it started/Down south n***as love gettin’ it started/East Coast n***as love gettin’ it started/But when we in the house, s**t get retarded.” It’s probably the most nonsensical chorus ever crafted, but once the chanting stops and somebody shouts “Errbody scream!”, Method Man and Redman trade off some speedy, saucy solo raps to an up-tempo beat.
Power 106 has already played a boatload of hot songs from “Blackout! 2”, many of which would look great with in video. One of the most notable songs they debuted was “Mrs. International,” a rap song mixing a slow, sexy Motown sample from The Blue Notes with calm raps from Method Man and Redman. The duo’s surreal rap lyrics of “Mrs. International” make for fantastic rhymes about how they would love to meet every girl around the world, no matter what race or body type they have.
However, the best new song is “Dis iz 4 All My Smokers,” a rap ballad which is literally dedicated to marijuana smokers. The track is already smoking hot with a swirling orchestral sample that could have come from a James Bond movie. This song shows off Method Man’s best raps. Method literally confesses, “I’m a pothead. Everyone look and point your fingers/at the bad guy with the cotton mouth and glass eyes/Hunh, f*** it, I’m that high.”
Method has plenty of guts to confess about his drug addiction, but his bitter rap makes for an extremely entertaining argument against the criminalization of marijuana. Method Man is truly high on life in this song.
Truly, “Blackout! 2” demonstrates how much more powerful and controversial Method Man and Redman’s raps have grown over the past few years. They’re already hotter than Slim Shady. Their first collaboration literally took the rap world by storm, but “Blackout! 2” shows that they are now two of the best rappers in America right now.
