Blackout! Vol. 2 [Clean] [PA]

Performer: Method Man
Artist: Saukrates; Keith Murray; Bun B; Tanisha Green; Michelle Pinckney; Erick Sermon; Ready Roc; Streetlife; DJ Kayslay; C.O Ellis; Reggie Noble; Ghostface Killah; Raekwon; Poo Bear; Melanie Rutherford
Engineer: David Strickland; Lou Savage; Erick Sermon; Justin Rossi; Anthony Acid; Reggie Noble
Producer: Bink!; DJ Scratch; Nasty Kutt; Erick Sermon; Havoc; Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth; Reggie Noble; Rockwilder; Ty Fyffe; Vinny Idol; Buck Wild
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Audio Mixers: David "Gordo" Strickland; Gimel "Young Guru" Katon. Recording information: Gilla Studios, New York, NY; IDAP Studios, Oslo, Norway; Music Factory Recording Studio, Hempstead, NY; Starks Studios, New York, NY. Photographer: Craig Wetherby. Arranger: Reggie Noble. In the decade that separates the original BLACKOUT! and the follow-up, hip-hop as we know it went through a few mutations while Meth and Red have largely stuck to their guns. Longtime fans will be pleased by the same tag-team rhyme chemistry (built on wise-ass pop-culture references, aggressive verbal quips, and a thriving reefer obsession), strong guest spots (from Wu and Def Squad affiliates) and hard-knock East Coast production (thanks to returning producers Erick Sermon, Rockwilder, DJ Scratch, and Mathematics). Still the Blunt Bros aren't impervious to industry trends; Dirty South influences have crept in (see the H-Town flavored "City Lights" featuring Bun B), the vocoder talk-box is utilized on occasion, and both MCs are prone to over-pronouncing their R's in country-bumpkin fashion. One listen to the wicked weed anthem, "Diz iz 4 All My Smokers," should put any doubts as to Meth and Red's continued compatibility to rest. Overall, BLACKOUT! 2 is a potent blend of hardcore and commercial that, in many ways, outshines the original. With each having individual obligations all over the place, it took ten years for Method Man and Redman to record a follow-up to 1999's beloved Blackout!, but one listen and you'd think it had only been ten days. Interplay during the intro proves that none of the chemistry is lost, then the slow-grinding "I'm Dope Ni**a" declares that happy and horribly high days are here again, with mentions of Club Nouveau plus Tango & Cash putting a date stamp on the duo. Their fine vintage is displayed two tracks later when "Dangerous MCees" spits "Even Herbie Hancock know where to Rockit" over a beat that's identifiably Erick Sermon. It's topped by the Phyllis Hyman loop Pete Rock cuts for the preceding track, "A-Yo," a superior weekend anthem featuring Saukrates from Redman's Gilla House group. With the sound of the South having exploded since the first Blackout!, the hypnotic highlight "City Lights" with guest Bun B plus a UGK sample is identifiable as post-2000. Also of its time is the dreaded Auto-Tune device, which corrects some pitch here and there, although its polish is negated on "I Know Sumptn" by the very Redman lyric "Check my bowel baby/This is the mother load." Mentions of riding jet skis on land and all sorts of other absurdities sit next to innovative viewpoints on sleaze, then "Dis Iz 4 All My Smokers" does the weed song right as the blunt brothers roll over a DJ Scratch track that sounds heavily influenced by RZA. Speaking of Wu-Tang members, Raekwon and Ghostface appear on the key cut "Four Minutes to Lock Down," an intense barrage of Shaolin lyrics that helps anchor an album that's often just a party on wax. The original deserves the top spot, but think of this as the Godfather Part II of reckless boom-bap rap and you've got an idea of how well this Blackout! satisfies. [Blackout! Vol. 2 was also made available in a clean version with all explicit material removed.] ~ David Jeffries

Spin (p.90) - "The pair bring class-clown attitude and drop amusing references to Atari, Herbie Hancock, and the Funky Four Plus One....As a revival, it's a welcome blast." Entertainment Weekly (p.57) - "They trade pop culture jokes and sly bluster over sturdy boom-bap beats as if East Coast rap's late-'90s renaissance never ended." -- Grade: B+ Billboard (p.29) - "[T]his dynamic duo comes off as vital as it has in a decade on the highly anticipated sequel to the pair's1999 collaborative debut, BLACKOUT!" XXL (Magazine) (pp.95-96) - "The production is comfortably rugged throughout....All executed with the veterans' fluid pass-the-mic chemistry."

Method Man (aka Johnny Blaze; aka the Iron Lung) is the Wu-Tang Clan's chief reefer head, not a small distinction in a band that takes pride in their smoke intake. His deep, raw voice and rugged delivery make him one of the most recognizable of the Wu-Tang's many MCs. Meth has released four solo albums, including his 1994 debut, TICAL, the first solo album by a member of the Wu, as well as a collaborative album with Redman. Meth and Red have also had success as something of a hip-hop version of Cheech & Chong, starring in the film HOW HIGH and in their own short-lived sitcom on the Fox network.

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