Method Man: Tical 2000: Judgement Day

If RZA is The Wu-Tang Clan's eccentric studio genius, and Ol' Dirty Bastard is its batshit-crazy comic relief, Method Man is the closest thing the group has to a leading man. With his off-kilter good looks, irrefutable charisma, and nearly unparalleled lyrical skills, Method Man is not only the group's best rapper, but also the one most likely to cross over into mainstream superstardom. Only his second solo album of the '90s, Tical 2000: Judgement Day is an overstuffed, 28-track tour de force that combines some of Method Man's best work with a fair amount of filler that should have been relegated to B-sides or side projects. Tical 2000 starts off and finishes strongly, but in between, it wavers a bit in quality, with the Ticallion Stallion indulging in the by-now-obligatory ode to sadomasochism, "Torture," and a series of generally witless skits, the worst of which feature supportive answering-machine messages from big-deal celebrities. Note to hip-hop artists tempted to put answering-machine messages from famous people on their albums: Don't. Yes, you are a big, impressive celebrity. Yes, you travel in exclusive circles. You certainly don't need any sort of ringing endorsement from Donald Trump or Carly Simon to convince listeners that you are a big star and a remarkable MC. But, quibbles aside, Tical 2000 is a near-essential album, with Method Man's dynamic, free-associative flow complemented by an all-star team of producers, most notably RZA and a slew of RZA disciples. These include Inspectah Deck, True Master, and 4th Disciple, who generally do an excellent job of replicating RZA's eclectic, kitchen-sink production style. As its title would indicate, Tical 2000 is obsessed with apocalyptic imagery and the violent, trashy side of popular culture, and the album itself often plays like a comic-book amalgamation of Tricky's Pre-Millennium Tension, Public Enemy's Welcome To The Terrordome, and a month's worth of late-night television. It often doesn't work, but when it does, Tical 2000 provides visceral hip-hop thrills on par with anything the genre has produced in the '90s.