After a ten year lay off(minus the solo cuts). Methodman and Redman returned with their 2009 sophomore LP Blackout! 2, which is obviously the sequel to their 1999 debut album Blackout!. Most hip hop fans regard their first album as a hip hop classic. Well personally I don't believe that; I feel that album is average at best, and it rarely gets any spins out of me. In fact, I haven't listened to it in years. Like their first album though, this has a couple of tracks that I can go back to, but nothing I would consider to be truly spectacular.
Blackout 2! has some decent production here and there, such as Havoc of Mobb Deep and Pete Rock dropping a good beat a piece, plus several other solid ones, but my problem lies in both Redman and Methodman's delivery. Numerous times throughout the album Red drops a couple of funny verses, but they have a strange feel like he's not into it anymore, and Meth rarely equals Red in his delivery. If one was to compare Red's lyrics on this album to lets say... Muddy Waters. Then you would clearly notice that he has lost a few steps. Now, I always considered Meth to be the most over-rated out of the entire Wu-Tang Clan, but if you were to compare his lyricism to Tical, he's clearly lacking as well too, and their material moves me very little these days, because it has just gotten old.
The opening track Bo2 is a solid opener with the right feel, and background vocals to go with it. They both come pretty hard here, and this track got me into the album and expecting a few jewels. The follow up track I'm Dope Ni**a produced by Havoc, sees the duo playing on the metaphor of "dope", likening themselves to drug lord Frank Lucas and fictional character Nino Brown(New Jack City for those who don't know. And why would anyone want to liken themselves to Nino Brown anyway? He was a snitch.). The track is just decent and nothing more because of the average lyrics, and Meth spits out: I find rhyming easy, but I'm not easy to find. I doubt he believes that himself. Especially, when taking under consideration Tical 0: The Prequel, which is an incredibly horrid album that I plan on tearing apart one of these days.
The Pete Rock produced track A-Yo feat. Saukrates has a nice hook with a catchy piano tune. I won't say that they kill it on it here, but the track is alright. Dangerus Mcees is a braggadocio track with several decent punchlines. Although Red's lyrics can be pretty funny, but we heard far better on Muddy Waters.
Not really much of a surprise, but they're mainly at their best when talking about getting high, especially in the violin laced track Dis Iz 4 All My Smokers. Meth expresses his love for the smoke with this line here: They tried to make me go to rehab no/ Tell my P.O. I'm not tryin' to let the weed man go. City Lights featuring Bun B is a decent track, and kind of has that commercial feel. I like Hey Zulu mainly because of Red paying homage to classic hooks and lines from old school artist, and it just has that right feel to me and doesn't come off as bitin' one bit.
The smoked out duo kicks one to the ladies with Mrs. International, and Red delivers his usual comedic side:I like a girl that's thick in the waist ya know/The kind of girl that'll finish your plate ya know. I chuckle at that one quite often. The best cut which has gotten the most spins so far, and is the only reason why I keep this album, happens to be the posse cut Four Minutes To Lockdown feat. Wu members Raekwon and Ghostface Killah who bless the track with their violent delivery. The album finishes on a very weak note, with three filler tracks that didn't grab my attention in the least bit. In fact, it made me go back to the Lockdown track.
Blackout! 2 is a weak follow up to what I considered an average debut. I have to point out that the album is very limited on subject matter, but if one comes into a Red or Meth album looking for something serious. Then you must be incredibly new to the hip hop genre. Their stuff is meant to be fun. Unfortunately, I had little fun with it.
I only recommend this to the most die hard fans of these two. This album wasn't exactly a disappointment, because I didn't expect much from them anyway. As far as 2009 is concerned, I recommend the Slaughterhouse album by Slaughterhouse. That s*** was raw, and was definitely the sleeper album of that year to me.
Listing:
1-Bo2
2-I'm Dope Ni**a
3-A-Yo feat. Saukrates
4-Dangerus Mcees
5-Errbody Scream feat. Keith Murray
6-Hey Zulu
7-City Lights feat. Bun B
8-Father's Day
9-Mrs. International(skit) feat. Tanisha Green, Michelle Pinckney & Saukrates
10-Mrs. International feat. Erick Sermon
11-How About That feat. Ready Roc & Streetlife
12-Dis Iz 4 All My Smokers
13-Lockdown(skit) feat. DJ Kayslay, C.O. Ellis, Reggie Noble, & Ready Roc
14-Four Minutes To Lockdown feat. Raekwon & Ghostface Killah
15-Neva Herd Dis B 4
16-I Know Sumptn feat. Poo Bear
17-A Lil Bit feat. Melanie Rutherford
Standout Tracks for me:
4 Minutes to Lockdown
A-Yo
Hey Zulu
Honorable Mentions:
Mrs. International
Pros:
-Some decent tracks here and there
Cons:
-Meth brings it down
-Feels uninspired
-Nothing we haven't heard
