Reader Review: Method Man - 4:21...The Day After (August 29, 2006)

(For today's Reader Review, D-Silbs brings our attention back to one of the better examples of recent Wu-Tang Clan output, Method Man's 4:21...The Day After. Be sure to leave your comments for D-Silbs below.)


On the heels of an undisputed classic (Tical) and a lesser quality-yet-highly popular follow-up (Tical 2000: Judgement Day), Method Man released his worst album ever, Tical 0: The Prequel, in 2004. Allegedly it sold enough copies to earn him a golden plaque, bit I highly doubt it, seeing as it sucked ass and all. (Not that something like poor quality has ever hurt anyone before, of course.). The story goes that Def Jam Records, his label home since the dawn of time, got all up in his grill about the beats: Meth (and, by proxy, Wu-Tang Clan fans) wanted The RZA to handle more of the production, whereas the label felt Puff Daddy should have more input (because of his amazing track record? What could have possibly caused this train of thought to leave the station? It couldn't have been a budget issue, because I would think that keeping The RZA happy would be much less expensive than paying for Puffy's entourage). As expected by everyone except the label brass, Diddy proceeded to screw everything up, so with his fourth album, 4:21...The Day After, Method Man was finally granted his wish, and The RZA was allowed in the building once again.


Hopefully this will hold up when compared to when I first heard 4:21...The Day After, retaining the Wu-Tang sound that we all miss, although considering that Ghostface Killah and GZA/Genius don't make any appearances on here, I somehow doubt it.


However, this quote from Meth, taken from dubcnn.com, is both fitting and funny: "This is just more RZA on production, shit like that. But some of the shit I couldn't do, because some of these producers were screaming out these n----s want a $100,000 for a track. Fuck that! Kiss my ass. I'm not paying nobody a $100,000 for shit, unless I can live in that mothafucka. Straight up. So that's what that is right there. But it's what I feel is the best I could do."


1. INTRO
After a sound bite from an educational DVD about weed, Method Man takes over your mind, ripping shit over a sick RZA beat. The beat reminds me of “Buck 50” from Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele, which I suppose isn't that surprising, as they are both RZA productions. The song is too short, but who cares? It's still awesome.


2. IS IT ME
Although Max wrote that he hated this song, I will go in the opposite direction and say that I loved it. Meth flows effortlessly over this Scott Storch instrumental, which sounds like a modern-day version of “C.R.E.A.M.” from Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). This may not be the old school Wu-Tang that we all love, but it's still nice. The hook is stupid, but you should expect that, since this is still a rap album.


3. PROBLEM
The beat is classic Erick Sermon, but I haven't yet decided if that's a good or bad thing yet. Meth sounds good, sure, but the song is just boring.


4. SOMEBODY DONE FUCKED UP
Havoc (of Mobb Deep) brings a string-laced instrumental, and I kind of liked it. Method Man sounded pretty good, and his lyricism and delivery was on point. His line, "There ain't no pedophile that could fuck with the kid", is funny and creepy: however, I'd like to point out that he reused it on Blackout! 2, which is just lazy.


5. SHAOLIN SOLDIER (SKIT)
Whatever...


6. FALL OUT
The instrumental is utter piffle, and even Method Man's above average delivery can't save this mainstream piece of shit. Sounds like a Soulja Boy Tell 'Em beat. Ugh.


7. DIRTY MEF (FEAT OL' DIRTY BASTARD)
Erick Sermon and Mathematics (representing the Wu Elements) craft a simple beat around some old Dirt McGirt lyrics, and it works extremely well. Dirty's opening words ("Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!") are inspiring, to say the least, as they immediately set the tone for a burst of nostalgia from the 1990's. Meth rides the beat flawlessly, and compliments the late ODB very nicely. Straight banger right here.


8. 4:20 (FEAT STREETLIFE & CARLTON FISK)
Yes! Another RZA production, and this one is even better than the first! The beat is perfect: eerie and awe-inspiring at the same time. Sadly, The RZA doesn't actually spit a verse, but Meth sounds amazing, and Carlton Fisk and Streetlife sound damn good as well. Hell, when even Max admits a song is perfection, then it is perfection. (I left that last line in there to stroke my ego, but I will say that this song still fucking bangs today.)


9. LET'S RIDE (FEAT GINUWINE)
The beat is a little boring, which is strange, as I typically like Mr. Porter's production work. This track doesn't mesh with the overall flow of 4:21...The Day After, and for that reason alone, this is a skip. Also, the song sucks.


10. THE GLIDE (FEAT RAEKWON, LA THE DARKMAN, & U-GOD)
RZA reworks a technically-unreleased Ol' Dirty Bastard beat (for "Skrilla", off of A Son Unique) and the results are fantastic. This Wu-tang posse cut is my second favorite on this album, and here's why: U-God spits an extremely good verse for being the worst member in the clan, Raekwon sounds awake for once, and Meth spits fire over an amazing beat. A fantastic cut.


11. KIDS (SKIT)
Pointless, really.


12. GOT TO HAVE IT
The sample is a little annoying, and the G-Funk, West Coast-ish beat doesn't fit Johnny Blaze at all. Nice try Meth, but it didn't work. Skip.


13. SAY (FEAT LAURYN HILL)
Every rapper has their one mandatory track per album that addresses all of the haters: “Say” is Method Man's contribution. To his credit, Meth manages to sway my opinion and blame his last shitstorm of an album on Def Jam and not himself, so bravo for being overly convincing.


14. YA'MEEN (FEAT FAT JOE & STYLES P.)
There was some controversy surrounding this song upon the release of 4:21...The Day After, because Meth didn't know that Joey Crack and Styles P were going to make guest appearances (apparently Def Jam forced it upon him). As for the song itself, the beat rocks my socks, Meth sounds fantastic, Fat Joe sucks, and Styles P. does that annoying thing where he talks in the background of his verse. Overall, Meth shouldn't have been that worried, as I've heard worse.


15. KONICHIWA BITCHES
RZA provides a strings-laced beat for Meth to basically freestyle on, but don't expect anything like “Knowledge God” off of Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Johnny Blaze sounds pretty good on here even without the burdedn of following a specific theme. This was an enjoyable listen.


16. EVERYTHING (FEAT INSPECTAH DECK & STREETLIFE)
Allah Mathematics provides the beat for this one and it is a banger, but I disagree with Max, as I feel "The Glide" is the better track. The hook sucks ass (Streetlife should hone his songwriting craft a bit), but the Rebel INS drops a quality verse, even though he claims that Masta Killa is alongside him when we never hear a verse from the guy. But hey, a Wu-Tang posse cut is a Wu-Tang posse cut after all, so its still a banger.


17. WALK ON (FEAT REDMAN)
Reggie Noble never ceases to amaze me. He teams up with his “How High” partner for another fantastic collaboration, with RZA, Erick Sermon, and Versatile behind the board. Why they needed that many producers is beyond me, but hey, at least it worked out well.


18. PIMPIN' (SKIT)
This interlude is actually pretty funny.


19. PRESIDENTIAL MC (FEAT RAEKWON & THE RZA)
It's about damn time! A traditional Kung-fu sound bite leads into one of the most Tical-like beats I've heard from The RZA in a long while. The beat perfectly complements Rae's sleepy ass flow, and RZA and Meth rip this track to shreds. This song is flawless.


20. 4 EVER (FEAT MEGAN ROCHELL)
Sure, this is the usual Def Jam radio friendly single-slash-contractual obligation, but the beat really isn't too bad for that sort of thing. The love rap happens to be Meth's forte, so he seems pretty comfortable with the subject matter. All in all, pretty good.


FINAL THOUGHTS: 4:21…The Day After is definitely not an old school Wu-Tang Clan album. However, the fact that it has any RZA production at all puts it above a lot of the group's output as of late. The second half of the project is much better than the first, but the production on the album as a whole is consistently good. Method Man sounds rejuvenated when he spits, making this pretty damn close to being a modern day Wu-Tang classic.


BUY OR BURN? Don't expect another Liquid Swords, but you should absolutely buy this shit. It's pretty damn good, and Wu fans will not be disappointed.


BEST TRACKS: "Intro"; "Is It Me"; "Dirty Mef"; "4:20"; "The Glide"; "Ya'Meen"; "Konichiwa Bitches"; "Everything"; "Presidential MC"


-D-Silbs


(Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave your comments below. And if you're interested, here's a link to my original write-up.)