Sometime in the mid-’90s, Method Man & Redman joined the ranks of things that just go together. Like Kobe and Shaq, the two blended their gifts with preternatural synergy, maximizing their strengths. But it took a while for their partnership to become official. Fans got previews on tracks like Tupac Shakur’s “Got My Mind Made Up,” LL Cool J’s “1, 2, 3,” and the hazily stylish “How High.” They finally got the full thing on Blackout! Released in 1999, the project blended Meth & Red’s kinetic chemistry with dynamic production for a showcase that reinforced their solo legacies while securing a new one as a premier rap tandem.
Listen to Method Man and Redman’s Blackout! now.
Blackout! is equal parts mischief and mastery, with Meth & Red’s technical wizardry matching their eccentric imagination. Riddled with inventive threats and somersaulting stanzas, “Mi Casa” feels like it belongs in a comic book. “Actin like bitches/Dirty Dick n****s look suspicious/Ain’t physically fit for the fitness,” Meth spits, flaunting a speech writer’s phonetic control. The catchy two-part hook only reinforces the electricity. “Cereal Killer” makes a ’70s disco sample a canvas for a step-by-step murder guide; it’s a macabre concept, but you could just as easily see your grandparents two-stepping to it on the dance floor. The track becomes a self-contained battle for absurdity, with Meth & Red one-upping each other in successive verses.
Tracks like their “How High” remix injected the LP with some of the weed-positive culture they’d help make even more popular in subsequent years. Their cadences are as varied as their soundscapes; the two can jitterbug around mutated G-Funk (“Y.O.U.” ) or slice through boom bap (“Cheka”). The jittery dystopian bassline of “Da Rockwilder” sounds like a transmission from the future, while Redman’s playful climax — “La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la”— remains one of the most exciting moments of the record.
Decades later, Blackout! stands as an arrival and a victory lap for a legitimate rap supergroup. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and received widespread critical acclaim. It’s gone platinum. As a project, it stands as the rare partnership that succeeds without compromising the folks at its center. They dropped a sequel, Blackout 2, in 2009, and the project was also powerful. But there’s nothing like the first time. Unpredictable, electric and trippy, Blackout! plays out like the most thrilling blunt-ride. Once the smoke cleared, Meth & Red stood as one of the most indelible duos in rap history.
