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Method Man Answers The Web's Most Searched Questions

Method Man joins WIRED to answer his most searched questions from Google. Who does he play in Power? Where did he get his name? Is he going on tour any time soon? The hip-hop legend answers all these questions and more!

"Power Book II: Ghost” debuts on Friday, June 7, at midnight ET on the STARZ app, coinciding with the 10th Anniversary of Power’s debut on STARZ. Part two premieres on Friday, September 6, at midnight ET on the STARZ app. New episodes premiere every Friday at 8pm on STARZ.

Director: Justin Wolfson
Director of Photography: Constantine Economides
Editor: Evan Allan
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Brandon White
Production Manager: Peter Brunette
Talent Booker: Jenna Caldwell
Camera Operator: Christopher Eustache
Sound Mixer: Lily Van Leuwen
Production Assistant: Sonia Butt
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Billy Ward

Released on 06/06/2024

Transcript

What's up y'all? What it do?

This is Method Man right here.

And this is the Wired Autocomplete Interview.

[upbeat music]

All right.

[upbeat music]

All right.

Where did Method Man grow up?

Long Island and Staten Island,

'cause my moms, we moved to Staten Island

from Brooklyn, actually.

A place where you couldn't stay too long,

kind of like a shelter, but not a shelter.

The lady that was one of the people that worked there,

her and my mom got really tight

and that's how we ended up in Staten Island.

Long Island, I was born there,

so always got a place in my heart

for Hempstead, Long Island as a whole, period.

Method Man, Da Rockwilder.

This record done by the person we named it after,

I wanted to name it after him, show homage,

came up through the ranks with Eric Sherman, Redman,

and those guys.

Redman didn't like the record.

It wasn't that he didn't like the record,

he knew that Rockwilder could do way better,

'cause like I said, they all came up through those ranks.

So he was a little bit harder on Rockwilder,

but it turned out to be a hit.

Rockwilder, microphone checker.

Method man Jay-Z tour.

Well it was actually the Hard Knock Life Tour,

yes, it was definitely Jay-Z's tour.

Shout out to Jay-Z, you're doing magnificent things, man,

big things for hip hop as well as our culture as a whole.

When we were asked to go on that, we knew what it entailed,

we knew who the artists were.

I mean DMX, Jay-Z, you know, those are heavyweights.

So myself and Redman being that we were already veterans

in the game, we kind of fit right in.

And plus, I'm pretty sure Jay knew what me and Redman

were capable of doing on stage,

and it was a very successful tour.

We did 54 dates, all of 'em sold out, there was even,

I mean, we was getting so much money

when the thing happened in Columbine,

everybody donated their paycheck,

or rather their show money to that cause

for the kids that lost lives.

We probably would've did it anyway,

even if we weren't getting money,

'cause a sign of the times that's what it is.

But yeah, it was a pretty lucrative tour for everybody.

Method man, The Riddler, loved this record.

Actually the guitar riff is played by

Old Dirty Brasstards' older brother.

Not too many people know that, fun fact.

we did this in The RZA's basement before the flood.

You know, us Blerds, us black nerds,

we love our comic books.

And when the opportunity presented itself, The Riddler.

I knew off top that I wanted to do a bad guy song.

The riff that Old Dirty Brasstards' brother came up with

was perfect.

And I believe The Riddler played

a major part in that album,

the whole soundtrack going 10 times platinum.

I like to say that in my head,

but it was really Seal, Kiss from a Rose,

and, U2, U2, U2 had a great record on there as well.

Yeah, The Riddler.

Bam.

What's Happenin', Method Man.

I don't know, chilling.

Actually that's a song that picked me.

Busta had a record and he came to me and he was like,

you need this record, lord.

And when Busta tell you you need a record,

you need a record.

And it became the first single.

So yeah, What's Happenin'.

What does tical mean?

Tical can mean a lot of things,

but right now it means the top is cold and lonely.

Well, I mean it came from a word we used to use

to describe trees, plants, flower.

It was a word made up by a friend

around my way named Lounging Low.

It took on its own life,

so yeah, tical means a lot of things,

but right now the top is cold and lonely.

What the Blood Clot, Method Man.

I was actually mad at the Clan when I wrote that record.

I was on the airplane playing my radio at that right,

times have changed, they would never let me do that now.

But I was playing my radio

and I kept rewinding an Eric Sherman record called

It's All In The Mind,

that's what I wrote What The Blood Clot to.

I remember 'cause we got into a big argument

before we got on the plane and I was just mad at all of 'em.

Like Wu-tang Clan ain't nothing to [beep] with,

[beep] you guys.

The What, Method Man, Biggie.

This is crazy too, because I actually snuck

to go do this record with Biggie,

Tracey Waples, salute to Traywap.

She came and scooped me up that night

and like I said, I wasn't supposed to be doing any records

with anybody, I had my own album coming.

Wu-Tang had steam and we wanted to keep that in home,

and the money as well.

So I went and did the Biggie record, Big was mad cool.

Contrary to what everybody believes,

he wrote his rhyme right there when I wrote mine.

Nobody was doing anything inside their head.

And it was a fun time, man, The What, Method Man,

Biggie, Brooklyn.

All right, I got me embellishing too much.

Is Method Man in Power?

Yes, I'm in Power.

I play Davis MacLean on Power, very savvy lawyer.

Anybody that follows the Power universe

know that lawyers don't fare too well on this show.

So I think the fact that Davis is still alive

for this fourth and final season

says a lot about his character and a lot about me.

Is Method Man in Trainwreck?

Yes, I'm in Trainwreck,

had a lot of fun with the old cat Norman,

I forgot his last name, but he's been around forever.

He was actually in the scene with me, he was the older cat,

that used to talk about Babe Ruth all day.

First time working with Judd Apatow, not my first time, no,

as a matter of fact,

it wasn't my first time working with him.

I actually read for the movie he did with Adam Sandler

that RZA got.

But Judd said that it is his life's mission

to have every Wu-Tang member in at least one of his films.

So he's got two down, he's got about seven more to go.

Trainwreck, dope.

Shout out to Amy Schumer, hey muffin.

Is Method Man a Jets fan?

Abso-freaking-lutely.

I'm a Long Island kid, I mean we grew up on Jets and Mets.

Not too big on basketball, but Jets and Mets

were always synonymous with Long Island, Queens,

you know what I'm saying?

New York Sack Exchange, those guys,

I mean even Richard Todd, you know what I mean?

He was my guy for a minute.

Wesley Walker, Freeman McNeil, the Big Tuna.

We had Keyshawn for a while, Rob Moore, who I grew up with,

Rob Moore was a wide receiver for the team.

So yeah, I've been a Jets fan for life.

Salute.

Where did Method Man get his name?

Took it from a [beep].

Nah, actually, it's a block name, like I said,

we had different terminology for trees

and Method was one of the terms that we used

to describe trees and I felt like the man.

So yeah, Method Man, just fit.

Is Method Man in The Wire?

Yes, I am in The Wire,' but I am not wired

'cause I'm no snitch.

I actually played a character called

Melvin Cheese Wagstaff, nephew of Prop Joe.

Cheese was a piece of work, I think Cheese was a survivor,

but anybody that watched the show

would think he's a piece of [beep].

I won't give any spoilers away,

but he does something that's against code

and he deserved everything that he got.

Is Method Man going on tour?

No sir, Method Man is more focused on acting,

that is first position for me.

So unless the movie is about a tour,

Method Man will not be on tour anytime soon.

But we do actually have a residency in Vegas, Wu-Tang.

If you can catch it, come out, it's pretty fun.

You know, bring you and your old lady, no kids.

Method Man, best songs.

I got one, one that I think is my best song

and it's definitely All I Need, of course.

Got me a Grammy.

It actually was Mary's first Grammy,

she's gotten plenty more after that as she should.

The fact that it was a song that I didn't even wanna put out

and it did what it did,

just shows how much I know about music.

[Interviewer] Why didn't you wanna put it out?

In my eyes, it wasn't a traditional love song,

but it was still a love song, which wasn't in my idea,

something that I wanted to put out at that point in time.

Look, keep Googling, stop with whatever, man.

I don't even entertain any of that [beep].

Y'all be good, stay outta trouble.

[upbeat music]

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