Method Man - Tical 0: The Prequel

Tune in for the latest installment in the ongoing "Son of the Wu" saga, Tical 0: The Prequel, in which Method Man finds himself in a particularly awkward position. One gets the sense that it was a battle between Mista Mef and Def Jam for the soul of this album and that the label won. Meth's third solo outing radiates a blatantly commercial vibe that risks alienating die-hard Wu-Tang Clan fans, yet it contains just enough hot selections to grab the less judgmental listener's interest. And the hot selections are really what we're here for, right? Surprisingly, the album's many guest appearances provide the most excitement. A newly Def Jam-affiliated Puff Daddy produces and comperes the Missy-accented "Say What," Raekwon injects some old-school Wu flavor into "The Turn," and Busta Rhymes straight kills it with a full-throttle assault on "What's Happenin'." Even longtime Wu-Tang sidekick, Streetlife, adds some nice touches to tracks like "The Prequel." At least Meth's kept his friends close during this transitional period. --Rebecca Levine Amazon.com

Hmm what's this? Smells like Fish!!!!!

Every great MC is entitled to one slip up but the problem with The Prequel is that its so bad that Ugod's album(which sucked) that came out in the same year(Ugodzilla) seems more inviting after hearing this. The problem is not just the bad production but Method Man's rhymes were lazy beyond belief. He not only drop some laughables on here but also his punchlines and phrases were extremely dated. Examples: /I tell it like it T I is(Come on Meth, people stopped saying that since SWV was a still a group). /These n***** wanna know how I come ask your dame/(Too Short's been saying that since Shorty The Pimp). /you need to put your walking shoes and step your game up/ and if you aint feeling my style then you can hang up/(WHAT?). Should I go on? It makes no sense for one of the nicest lyricists in the game to spit candy bars like that. The Good: The only decent tracks are The Motto,The Turn featuring Raekwon and Ridin For Outro featuring Black Ice. The Bad:The track The Prequel was a weak way to kick off the album as Meth spits some unenthusiastic bars on the track. Busta Rhymes and Method Man deliver the most dissapointing collabo joints of all time, What's Happenin'(sick beat, mediocre rhymes). I was excited to hear they had a joint together but when I heard it I wasnt impressed. Busta took too long to connect his rhymes and Meth busts some Puffy-style clunkers on here/ wack n***** get pimplapped gimme some powder/click clack running you trap I wont allow it/(SIGH). AfterParty featuring Ghostface, is bland as hell even with the decent beat and how many people are going to bite Snoop Dogg's rhymes from the past? Act Right would clear any dance floor(even though most brain dead ones LOL). The Show is another joke as Meth drops some retarded punchlines like this /Oh you aint crushin sista/ I cant do nothing with ya/ My money celibate honey and we aint f***** with ya/(!!???!!!???). How pointless is Say What? What purpose did Missy serve on the hook and why is Puff Giddy on this song? The Ugly: We Some Dogs featuring Redman and Snoop Dogg could have easily been the worst song on the album until you hear...... Tease featuring Chinky! The worst rap song for the ladies next to Sheek Louch's One Name and that is the most awkward beat I've heard in a while. No disrespect to Method Man and Ludacris but the track Rodeo is gay. The hook is too fruity for comfort. Baby Come On is another timewaster thats relegates the ever so underrated Kardinal Offishall to a lousy hook and Meth keeps dropping this silly lines again. Example: /heard she could suck a ball through a plastic straw/(Uh huh, okay, alright). More diposables: Never Hold Back, Who You Rollin Wit and Crooked Letter I. Bottom Line: Method Man soiled his own reputation with The Prequel. Lazy rhymes, wack beats, wasted guest efforts just a garbage album period. Method Man will always be a sick MC to me but albums like this will remain a distant memory. July 14, 2007

A pretty poor album.

The phrase 'coulda been better' comes to mind... Some nice songs on it, and Method Man is a great MC but this isn't his best work, and a lot of the beats are annoying and make the album hard to listen to. Method Man isnt BAD on this album, its just he can do better, and there's too many guest features on it. Does have some nice tracks, but you're better off just downloading the better songs of iTunes if you're a Method Man fan.

I'd recommend the original Tical album as a better display of Method Man's skills, or Ghostface's 'The Pretty Toney Album' as a better Def Jam/Wu-Tang release released around the same time as this album.

Top 5 Songs:
The Afterparty feat. Ghostface
What's Happening feat. Busta Rhymes
The Turn feat. Raekwon
The Show
Say What feat. Missy Elliot May 2, 2006

Killer Album!

Method kicks it into high gear here with one kick @$$ album. There are some great guest appearances by the likes of Redman and Snoop and Luda and Missy and Streetlife and Busta and Ghostface...just awsome album...The best tracks by far are 'Say What' with Missy and P. Diddy and What's Happenin' with Busta Rhymes...Tease is funny and all and all the entire CD sports great rhymes from the Wu Master...Rodeo is fun where we have two rap masters (Meth & Luda) spitting back and forth trading the spotlight. Meth fans will not be dissapointed! January 19, 2006

Wu Brother #1 I dunno by now thou

Mef's my favorite emcee in the Wu Tang but to see mef fall this hard is hard to hear. there is allot of promise thou on the disc as a dynamic opus to show he's capadible of rhyming over different beats than just rza's, i totally understand that. but at the same time that's the same audience who will turn there back when they don't like what your doing. the tracks are either hit or miss. for the most they hit rather than miss the only one which primary miss is because they just don't work for example "Rodeo"(feat Ludacris) i like how mef outshined luda on the last verse but this just didn't work thou and "Tease"(feat Chinky) because it just didn't sound like a mef track even the risky "Say What"(feat Missy Elliot) was a stretch but mef did his thing for the rest of the cd hits hard "The Turn" feat Raekwon and The Motto are just a few gems dropped on here. overall thei'll give the disc 3.5 pretty dope but needed more rza feel thou. favorite tracks:
The Turn feat Raekwon
The Prequel
The Motto
The Show
Act Right
Afterparty feat Ghostface Killah
Never Hold Back feat E3 & Saukrates January 17, 2006

Method Man - Tical 0: The Prequel

Yes it was this long, 6 YEARS!!! 1998-2004 we had to wait that long for another Meth album! But he didnt hide, he was spittin fire on other albums with other emcees. Now let me explain my thoughts.

Lyric wise, Hmm........ it makes you think a bit. Did Method Man fall off, or is he just trying different sounds? Well I definately think he did not fall off. He spits straight fire. Does he spit bubblegum stuff, not neccessarily but a bit with tracks like "Say What", "Tease", "Baby Come On", those are the only ones I usually skip but they are still decent tracks. Im gradin Meth on the other tracks, all classics! Dope lyrics! On all! Hands down. "The Motto" awesome lyrics. "The Turn" has great lyrics by Meth and Raekwon!!!

Production wise, this is where people are like what the f is wrong with Meth spitting on these beats. Well I feel every single one of you. Im a true Wu fan so dont think I like bubblegum radio rap. I love the grimey sound, but Method Man we couldnt choose what beats he spits on. But for the type of album that this one is the production is great. The best beat on the album is "The Turn" because RZA produced it and it just has that true sound. Recognize this, if you have already heard "Tical" and "Tical 2000" and loved the grimey sound, take note that you wont find a grimey sound in this album. But DO recognize that you will find dope rhymes and good beats beside the grimey stuff!!!

Overall, great Meth release!


My Top 5
1.What's Happenin'
2.The Motto
3.The Turn
4.The Show
5.Afterparty December 30, 2005

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