lockdown : vinyl find #14.

In 1997, my head got messed up by a bunch of guys from Staten Island, New York. And all of a sudden, it was like getting into religion. For a solid decade, I became a Wu addict. 

The adventure started for me with "Forever", a magical album, but I quickly learned that it was far from being the basis of the Wu-Tang Clan. So I had to walk back the path to the source, to "Enter the Wu-Tang : 36 chambers" and the solo albums. Along that path, I came accross a few revelations ; it was the golden age of hip-hop, New York rap and the Wu-Tang. 

Exactly one year after the Wu-Tang Clan's first album, Method Man was the first member to release a solo album in 1994, following a strategy elaborated by the brain of the group, Rza. Method Man, backed by the power of the label Def Jam, quickly became the star of the group. His flow was like no one's else. He was delivering rhymes over Rza's gritty beats, in a fashion that was unheard before. 

The flavor of the previously unseen. 

It took me a while before I started buying Wu-Tang albums on vinyl, as I'd already owned some of them on CD. I located Meth's first album, "Tical" while in Bordeaux, where I used to go frequently, and where I've always enjoyed the record stores and the regular record fair. It was the 2000 limited European reissue, but for 5€, I didn't think too long.

Listening to the album today, I can confidently say it hasn't aged a bit. It's rough, it hits hard, it still sounds relevant, as only a handful of MC's can compete with Meth in his prime. Plus, Rza was untouchable on the boards at the time ; he was bringing so many innovations to the table that he forged the standard of NY sound for the years after.

Method Man - Tical.

Here's the album, as a YouTube playlist.

Here comes the ruckus, the motherfucking ruckus...