The title of Method Man's fourth solo album, 4:21...The Day After, may seem like just another mythical date that follows the pattern of his other albums like Tical 2000: Judgment Day or Tical 0: The Prequel. However, cannabis connoisseurs recognize 4:21 as the day after their beloved pot smoking holiday 4:20 (April 20th), sometimes referred to as the "hippie New Year," when many unite over one bong and toke the night away. Meth aka Johnny Blaze, who has a well documented love affair with Mary Jane, claims that the title represents the record's clarity. A clarity that many felt he compromised on his previous album, Tical 0: The Prequel. Maybe the album's ambiguity was a result of the Wu-Tang Clansman puffing one to many joints or Puffy's (aka Diddy) executive production of the joint. Either way, the album went up in smoke critically and commercially. Inevitably, the hip-hop world began labeling Method Man as a has-been, claiming that the only relevant member from Wu-Tang that still brought the pain was Ghostface.
On the opening track, "Is It Me," the best line Mr. Meth can conjure for his detractors is "These critics saw the train for brains and must of missed it." The line is just as unoriginal as the keyboard drenched, Scott Storch production, which sounds like a regurgitated Dr. Dre beat. Meth sounds much more visceral on "Somebody Done F---ed Up," where he effectively executes his rage with a simple "critics eat a d---" to Havoc's crescendoing chords and thumping drums. This rage runs rampant throughout the record, but on the soul baring acoustics of "Say," (which features poignant Lauryn Hill vocals) the Iron Lung ceases his barrage and introspectively dissects his situation: "Then n----s gon' say I lost my skill / when in fact, they all been programmed and lost they feel."
The nostalgic "Presidential MC" not only proves that Tical hasn't lost his skill, but that his Wu brethren can still spit razor sharp rhymes. To RZA's classic production of sampled kung-fu movie scores woven into heavy bass and drums, Meth, Raekwon and the afromentinoned producer prove that Wu-Tung Clan still ain't nothing to f--- with. Unfortunately at times, Big John Stud comes of like Small John Dud because the 20 track playlist dilutes his usually robust rhymes, which range from amusingly silly lines like, "The bigger they are harder they go though / good pu--- put a hump in my back like Quasimoto," on the title track "4:20," to downright corny quips like, "It boggles the mind like trying to ketchup to a bottle of Heinz," on the not so aptly titled "Problem."
With the myriad of nursery rhymes heard in today's hip-hop, a lethargic lyric here and there is almost excusable from the Staten Island veteran. What's not excusable is the conspicuously commercial, "Got To Have it," where Tical fronts about a fortune of "V.S. cuts, a jet plus, a marijuana dealer with the best stuff" (except for the latter part of this line, this sounds nothing like Method Man), or the sappy love songs "Let's Ride" and "4 Ever," which feature heinous hooks by Ginuwine and Megan Rochell respectively. When Method Man delved into relationships on classics cuts like "You're All I Need" and "Break Ups 2 Make Ups," he maintained a raw emotional range that made these songs relatable, however the previoulsy metioned songs on 4:21 are fraught with cliché sentiments and don't-make-me-puke production.
Weed has been known to spark creatvivity, but it's also known to create a sometimes inaccurate euphoria. 4:21...The Day After has its moments of clarity -- that being the frat boy finesse we've come to love from Method Man, but it also contains moments of ambiguity where you ask yourself who the hell is this rapping? The title of the album should be 4:21...Still Feeling The Effects, because its clarity is still somewhat impaired.
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