Customer Reviews

4:21: The Day After

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two years later, and Method Man comes correct again! And this time harder, and more on point! This was a very anticipated album by Wu fans and Meth fans for sure. Some people were dissapointed with his 2004 release "Tical 0", even though I liked the album. But let me explain..

Lyric wise, Method Man comes correct. People say he fell off, how is that? It dont seem like he fell off to me! He never did, hes always been on point. He drops fire and truth on all the songs. He drops the same style he's always had, but this time he delivers on different levels to add a new taste to the album. To sum it up, the same old dope Meth.

Production wise, this is what people wanted to hear. As I said, some people were dissapointed with the production from Tical 0, but this album is sure to prove them wrong. You got one beat by Scott Storch, which I thought was good. Quite a few beats from RZA which is A BIG BIG PLUS!! RZA does miracles lol. Alos Erick Sermon. Quite a few diff producers that add to the album. Overall, the production is off the chain. Since you got some grimey bangers, a couple more up-tempo bangers and so on. "Presidential MC (Produced by RZA)", automatic banger!!!

Overall, Meth comes correct and dope, dont underestimate, cop this!!

My Top 5 Songs
1.4:20 (Grimey)
2.The Glide
3.Ya Meen (Insane beat)
4.Konichiwa Bi*ches
5.Presidential MC

A lot of people base their reviews on how an album compares to one of its precessors. No matter how much effort he might put into the album, another Tical will never happen. Instead, we need to recognize that although 36 chambers, Tical, Liquid Swords, etc. were some of the best albums of all time... the fact is that artists evolve, as well as their sound. So try to not to compare it to music from over 10 years ago... instead compare it to music now, and the state of hip hop at the moment.

When looked at from that perspective, this is an excellent album. For the most part, I dont think it sounds anything like Tical, though I will admit that it has a gritty style that is slightly reminicent. Rest assured, it is much better than Tical 0.

Most of the tracks are real tight, with excellent production from a variety of people. I especially like the intro, Is It Me, Problem, Fall Out, Dirty Mef, 4:20, The Glide, Say, Konichiwa B****s, Everything, and Presidential MC. To be honest, the other tracks are good too. Cop this album cause it's dope, and it's just another example of how Wu-Tang is having a reawakening. With Masta Killa, Ghostface, Inspectah Deck, and Method Man dropping hot albums so far this year, and the highly-anticipated Raekwon album coming real soon, it's a good year for hip hop.... if you know where to look.

YO MEF KILLED IT IF YOUR LOOKING 4 PROOF
CHECK TRACKS:

INTRO (WHERE MEF KILLS IT)
THE GLIDE FT U-GOD,RAEKWON & LA THE DARKMAN
PRESIDENTAIL MC FT RAEKWON AND RZA
EVERYTHING FT INSPECTAH DECK & STREETLIFE
DIRT MEF FT ODB
SAY
WALK ON FT REDMAN

This CD definately shows good improvement compared to recent years. After listening to Method Mans previous CD Tical 0 the Prequel I thought it was over. However on this CD I was surprised to find that the majority of the tracks are tight and more than a handful are slammin. Presidential MC is SICK! Thats in a category of Wu music that goes right back to the roots and I thought songs like that could not be made anymore. I was one of those from back in the day when Method Man first came out and was almost speachless listening to him flow sometimes. I would have said he was like the definition of raw underground hip hop at one point. However when judgement day hit the shelves it was all down hill from there. Only shining on other peoples tracks and getting to seem more and more commercial as the years went by. His rhymes never fell off or anything but I cant explain it, he just didnt shine anymore. However I am relived to say that he appears to be making a comeback and this is the most solid effort Ive seen from Meth in years. Stick to RZA production and stay away from R&B hooks and keep it raw! That gritty gritty. Bring back the golden Era of Hip Hop. Hip Hop is NOT Dead!

Thank you for comin out wit something that can have the name method man on it and not be wack. This his 3rd album, as Tical 0 asid from what's happinin and the prelude was so wack it couldn't even have been as bad as G-Unit album. This is definitly not as good as Tical 2000, an album that most ignorantly is slept on as being a perfectly good sophmore release and one of my favority albums. Of course this album ain't not Tical, as that is one of hip-hop all time masterpieces. Meth, holla at RZA and lock him in the office so he can come up with a whole album for you. THen you listen to Tical over and over again a remeber how you was flowin. Then make Tical part 2.

Mef's fourth solo album is a masterpiece. after the so so Tical 2000, and the horrible Tical 0, Mef brings back the style that first made us love him. 4:21... The Day After, comes during a tough time in hip hop. Radio only plays very commercial songs now, and they all song the same. Mef brings it back to the early 90's and reflects his life from then to now. And for the haters, just listen to the song Say, which in my opinion, is one of the best hip hop songs ever. Mef brings himself out on this track and tells everything, from not being able to make a album his way to the death of his friend ODB. Dirty makes a guest appearance on the song Dirty Mef, which really sounds like a song from the old 36 chambers days. The production from RZA and Erick Sermon (two of my favorite producers) bring out Mef at his best. Even the song with Redman, Walk On, has an old school to it and Mef and Red pass verses back and forth. Favorites include Is It Me, Problem, Fall Out, Dirty Mef ft. ODB, The Glide ft. Raekwon and LA the Darkman, Say ft. Lauren Hill, Ya'meen ft. Fat Joe and Styles P, Everything ft. Inspectah Deck and Streetlife, Walk On ft. Redman, Presidential MC ft. Raekwon and RZA, and 4 Ever ft. Megan Rochell. Highly Highly Recommended.

When Tical O came out Method man surprised Wu fans everywhere with the worst album out of the Wu camp(yes even worser than Ugodzilla). Im happy to say that this album is a definite improvement from that slop of an album. Standout Tracks: DIRTY MEF(Rip ODB), INTRO, IS IT ME(is it me or are Scott Storch's beats starting to sound like Dr Dre's s***), PROBLEM, SOMEBODY DONE F***ED UP, FALL OUT, THE GLIDE, YA MEEN(minus Fat Joe's craptastic verse), EVERYTHING etc. Filler: Lets Ride, Got to have it, Presidential Mc(Raekwon and Rza bought this track down with some suspect verses) and 4ever. Konichiwa bitches had the makings of a banger but it is ruined by a stupid hook(konichiwa bitches?). Bottom Line: Method Man came back from a garbage album(Tical O) with a solid fourth effort. He stepped his rap game up and the production was not bad. Definetely a highlight album in 2006!

I have no idea whether or not this is his best album because "4:21...The Day After", Method Man's 4th studio effort, is the only album I've listened to by the Wu-Tang superstar. What I do know is that Method Man has some serious MC'ing and lyrical skills, as displayed on the stellar lead single "Say", an acoustic guitar-driven rap song where Method Man fires back at haters and critics with some of the dopest lyrics I've heard in a while, PLUS the legendary Lauryn Hill is sampled singing a cover of an anonymous Bob Marley hit.

For what it's worth, "4:21...The Day After" is a good album as a whole -ESPECIALLY when put next to today's radio-friendly Pop-Rap and Hip-Pop-, enlisting help from the likes of Erick Sermon, RZA, Raekwon, Kwame, Megan Rochell & O.D.B. amongst others, but if you compared it to Ghostface's latest effort "Fishscale", it'd most likely be crushed.

Method Man's intentions are displayed early on in the intro. Stoners furiously protest about legalizing marijuana and other drugs, and it's not long before Method Man starts spitting some fire before finishing it off by angrily stating, "How could you ever say that I'm washed up/When I'm the dirtiest thing in sight?" It's not long before Method Man's relentless, celebratory hate-fest kicks into full gear, blasting critics and modern rappers with his grimy flow and uncompromising lyrics to varying degrees of success.

Scott Storch's tired-out piano loops (which sound re-used from Paris Hilton's "Fighting Over Me") don't do much damage to Method Man's lyrical assault on the music industry on "Is It Me". The heavy Hip-Hop beat of the hateful anti-critic/music industry tracks "Somebody Done F***ed Up", the guitar-loop-driven/bass-heavy "Problem", the wicked-as-hell "The Glide" and "Dirty Mef" -a catchy collaboration with O.D.B. where Method Man wisely says, "If you don't stand for nothing/You'll fall for anything") are also worthy of repeated listens.

Thankfully, there are still some other highlights that break further away from the album's critic-bashing firestorm. Method Man seeks for love from a faithful woman on the piano-driven "4 Ever", featuring rising R&B songstress Megan Rochell. There's a nostalgic feeling to Method Man's wordplay on the awesome "Everything" and "Presidential MC", while the dark, eerie vibe of "4:20" -an obvious ode to getting stoned for those of you aware of what the 20th April represents in America- makes it one of the album's best tracks.

Unfortunately, Method Man has your typical amount of album filler. The skits are, in every sense of the word, irrelevant to any of the album's subject matter, but lack any form of relieving humour to be of any real value. Then there's summery grooves put to waste on Method Man's stale, lyrical odes to materialism and such on "Got To Have It" and the bland "Lets Ride", where Ginuwine's smooth vocals do little to uplift the latter track's cheesy come-ons and predictable clichés. "Konichiwa B****es", another hateful ode to today's commercial modern rappers, lacks the fire Method Man presented in his other tracks, leaving this bland slice of filler to rot somewhere in the dust.

While many of these tracks -including rock-inflected, Redman-assisted "Walk On" & the Fat Joe-assisted hate-fest "Ya'Meen"- are consistent in terms of production and lyrical quality, "4:21...The Day After" doesn't seem to have the clarity its title may suggest. Sure, Method Man's finally coming back hard with lots of hard rhymes, but this album's subject matter rarely goes beyond his hatred for critics and haters. Worse, he admits to focusing more on sales with some of his previous records, yet he chooses to hate on individuals who chose to belittle him for the lack of effort he deliberately failed to apply in the first place. In other words, his hatred may stand unjustified, but at the very least we're seeing one of the Wu Tang Clan's biggest stars rise back to his prime form. Lets hope he delivers more high-quality Hip-Hop with any future releases. 3.5 stars!

5 Best Tracks:
"Say"
"The Glide" (feat. Raekwon, U-God & La the Darkman)
"Presidential MC" (feat. RZA and Raekwon)
"4 Ever" (feat. Megan Rochell)
"4:20" (feat. Streetlife & Carlton Fisk)

Worst Tracks:
"Konichiwa B****es"
"Lets Ride" (feat. Ginuwine)"
"Got To Have It"
(Every Skit)

Man this is a very good rebirth for meth. He has never been one who has been gifted lyrically but throughout the years meth has proven that he has one of the most potent flows in the business. He rides tracks effortlessly but his words often aren't very powerful. I & u, the reader, should expect that going into this album. The thing that's noticably different about this album is the production. Even though jay-z didn't executive produce this album his obvious fingerprints are still all over it. Young Guru mixed a lot of the songs & jayz must have picked these songs and the album sequence. Sadly meth will never make a classic album & on this album he maximizes his potential. You see when wu-tang said that they form like voltron, they weren't lying. Every member serves a purpose and meth is a glorified hypeman with a very potent flow. Jay-z has a very, very good ear for music. Every def jam release so far has been excellent & even the lupe fiasco album he oversaw was excellent. Meth please, please see jay-z is here to help you and the other artist on the label, jigga wants you to succeed and is not trying to overshadow you because your audiences are different!

Man Method Man really put his foot in this album. This album is banging from beginning to end. Some might look at me crazy when I say this, but this is right up there with Tical. Mef has the cocaine flow on this one. Production is great, and lyrics are great. This really gives me a flashback to the early WU days. In conclusion cop this ASAP!!