Blackout! (Method Man & Redman album)

Blackout! is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Method Man & Redman.[4] It is the first full-length release by Method Man and Redman after many collaborations. The album continued a string of highly successful Def Jam releases in the late 1990s. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 254,000 copies[5] and served as a bit of a precursor to the 2001 major studio film How High. Both rappers enjoyed perhaps the height of their popularity as a tandem after the success of the album and its three charted singles. The singles were also popular videos which were mainstays on MTV and BET. The sequel to the album, Blackout! 2, was released on May 19, 2009.

Blackout!
Studio album by
Method Man & Redman
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1999
Recorded1998-1999
GenreHip hop
Length58:36
LabelDef Jam Recordings
ProducerDJ Scratch, Gov Mattic, Mathematics, Reggie Noble, Rockwilder, RZA, Erick Sermon
Method Man & Redman chronology
Blackout!
(1999)		 How High: The Soundtrack
(2001)
Method Man chronology
Tical 2000: Judgement Day
(1998)		 Blackout!
(1999)		 Tical 0: The Prequel
(2004)
Redman chronology
Doc's da Name 2000
(1998)		 Blackout!
(1999)		 Malpractice
(2001)
Singles from Blackout!
  1. "Tear It Off"
    Released: August 17, 1999[1]
  2. "Da Rockwilder"
    Released: October 26, 1999[2]
  3. "Y.O.U."
    Released: January 18, 2000[3]

Background

Originally the name of the album was to be Amerikaz Most Blunted and was advertised as that for months before the release, but they changed it to the more commercially acceptable Blackout!. The CD version of the album features three previously released bonus tracks; "Well All Rite Cha" also appeared on Redman's solo album, Doc's Da Name 2000, "Big Dogz" from Method Man's Tical 2000: Judgement Day and 1995's critically acclaimed single "How High".

The most popular of these previous collaborations was on the song "How High" from the soundtrack to The Show. The album's three singles, "Y.O.U.", "Da Rockwilder" and "Tear It Off", spearheaded the highly hyped release to go platinum on January 6, 2000,[6] more than three months after the album's release. The album has also been certified platinum in Canada (100,000 copies).[7] The album has sold 1,575,000 copies to date. . Blackout is also considered a landmark for both rappers and for East Coast Hip Hop.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone (11/11/99, p. 132) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...a tight-as-drum album in an era of half-assed efforts."

Entertainment Weekly (10/10/99, p. 73) - "...when hip-hop's most playfully creative rhyme stylers throw down like two superballs in a rubber room, they're unstoppable - and make rap's most joyous ride." - Rating: A-

The Wire (1/00, p. 100) - "...skulk-funk...Redman moans a melody of dank basement isolation, while on 'Cereal Killer' he sabotages over vamping guitar....Meth executes some taut syncopation...on which his syllables alternate cadences with producer Eric Sermon's thumpingest track of the LP."

The Source (2/00, p. 95) - Included in The Source's "Top 10 Albums of the Year [1999]."

Commercial performance

Blackout debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 254,000 copies in its first week.[8] On January 6, 2000, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million copies.[9] As of October 2009, the album has 1,575,000 copies in the United States.[10]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
1."A Special Joint" (Intro)Clifford Smith, Reggie NobleReggie Noble1:28
2."Blackout"Smith, Noble, Erick SermonErick Sermon3:39
3."Mi Casa"Smith, Noble, SermonErick Sermon2:57
4."Y.O.U."Smith, Noble, SermonErick Sermon3:55
5."4 Seasons" (featuring LL Cool J and Ja Rule)Smith, Noble, Sermon, James Smith, Jeffrey AtkinsErick Sermon4:04
6."Cereal Killer" (featuring Blue Raspberry)Smith, Noble, Robert DiggsRZA3:57
7."Da Rockwilder"Smith, Noble, Dana StinsonRockwilder2:19
8."Tear It Off"Smith, Noble, SermonErick Sermon4:10
9."Where We At" (Skit)Smith, NobleReggie Noble1:53
10."1, 2, 1, 2"Smith, Noble, George SpiveyDJ Scratch4:30
11."Maaad Crew"Smith, Noble, SermonErick Sermon4:17
12."Run 4 Cover" (featuring Ghostface Killah and Streetlife)Smith, Noble, Diggs, Dennis Coles, Patrick CharlesRZA3:49
13."The ?"Smith, NobleReggie Noble4:50
14."Dat's Dat Shit" (featuring Mally G and Young Zee)Smith, Noble, Ronald Bean, Jamal Phillips, Young ZeeMathematics4:02
15."Cheka"Smith, Noble, Aubrey WilliamsGov Mattic, Reggie Noble2:49
16."Fire Ina Hole"Smith, Noble, BeanMathematics4:21
Total length:58:36
Bonus tracks (CD only)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."Well All Rite Cha" (from the album Doc's Da Name 2000)Noble, Sermon, SmithErick Sermon, Reggie Noble4:11
18."Big Dogs" (from the album Tical 2000: Judgement Day)Smith, Noble, SermonErick Sermon, Reggie Noble3:28
19."How High *" (* Although listed as "How High (Remix)" on all pressings, the actual version included is the original as featured on The Show (soundtrack))Noble, Sermon, SmithErick Sermon4:33
Total length:1:09:14

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[16] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[18] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also
  • List of number-one R&B albums of 1999 (U.S.)

References
  1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/tear-it-off-def-jam-mw0000938625
  2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/do-rockwilder-mw0000443524
  3. https://www.allmusic.com/album/you-us-vinyl-single-mw0001123258
  4. "Blackout: Method Man, Redman: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  5. Eminem's 'Relapse' Tops Billboard 200 | Billboard
  6. Archived November 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Gold & Platinum Certification – July 2001". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  8. "Happy 20th Anniversary to Method Man and Redman debut album Blackout!". September 27, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  9. "RIAA Certifications - Redman". Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  10. "XXL SCANS: DEF JAM'S ENTIRE DISCOGRAPHY & RECORD SALES". October 18, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  11. "Canadian Albums Chart - October 16, 1999". Billboard (magazine). Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  12. "UK Albums Chart - October 3, 1999". OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  13. "Billboard 200 - October 16, 1999". Billboard (magazine). Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  14. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - October 16, 1999". Billboard (magazine). Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  15. "allmusic ((( Dare Iz a Darkside > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  16. "Canadian album certifications – Method Man & Redman – Blackout". Music Canada.
  17. "British album certifications – Method Man & Redman – Blackout". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Blackout in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  18. "American album certifications – Method Man & Redman – Blackout". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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