Notes & Personnel Info |  | 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. ~ David Jeffries |
Producer: Bink!; DJ Scratch; Nasty Kutt; Erick Sermon; Havoc; Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth; Reggie Noble; Rockwilder; Ty Fyffe; Vinny Idol; Buck Wild |
Engineer: David Strickland; Lou Savage; Erick Sermon; Justin Rossi; Anthony Acid; Reggie Noble |
Musical Guests | | 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 |
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