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 WolfsonDirector of Photography: Constantine EconomidesEditor: Evan AllanLine Producer: Joseph BuscemiAssociate Producer: Brandon WhiteProduction Manager: Peter BrunetteTalent Booker: Jenna CaldwellCamera Operator: Christopher EustacheSound Mixer: Lily Van LeuwenProduction Assistant: Sonia ButtPost Production Supervisor: Christian OlguinPost Production Coordinator: Ian BryantSupervising Editor: Doug LarsenAssistant Editor: Billy Ward
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00:00What's up, y'all?
00:00What it do?
00:01This Method Man right here,
00:02and this is the Wired Autocomplete Interview.
00:05♪♪
00:07All right.
00:10♪♪
00:13All right.
00:14Where did Method Man grow up?
00:16Long Island and Staten Island,
00:18because my mom's, we moved to Staten Island
00:19from Brooklyn, actually,
00:21a place where you couldn't stay too long.
00:22Kind of like a shelter, but not a shelter.
00:24The lady that was one of the people that worked there,
00:27her and my mom got really tight,
00:28and that's how we ended up in Staten Island.
00:30Long Island, I was born there,
00:31so I always got a place in my heart for Hempstead,
00:34Long Island as a whole, period.
00:35Method Man, the Rock Wilder.
00:38This record, done by the person we named it after.
00:41I wanted to name it after him, show homage.
00:43Came up through the ranks
00:44with Eric Sherman, Redman, and those guys.
00:46Redman didn't like the record.
00:48It wasn't that he didn't like the record.
00:49He knew that Rock Wilder could do way better,
00:51because, like I said, they all came up through those ranks,
00:54so he was a little bit harder on Rock Wilder,
00:56but it turned out to be a hit.
00:57Rock Wilder, microphone checker.
00:59Method Man, Jay-Z tour.
01:01What was actually the Hard Knock Life tour?
01:03Yes, it was definitely Jay-Z's tour.
01:04Shout out to Jay-Z, doing magnificent things, man,
01:07big things for hip hop, as well as our culture as a whole.
01:11When we were asked to go on that,
01:12we knew what it entailed.
01:13We knew who the artists were.
01:15I mean, DMX, Jay-Z, you know, those are heavyweights,
01:18so myself and Redman,
01:19being that we were already veterans in the game,
01:21we kind of fit right in,
01:22and plus, I'm pretty sure Jay knew what me and Redman
01:25were capable of doing on stage,
01:26and it was a very successful tour.
01:28We did 54 dates, all of them sold out.
01:30There was even, I mean, we was getting so much money.
01:33When the thing happened in Columbine,
01:34everybody donated their paycheck,
01:36or rather, their show money to that cause
01:39for the kids that lost lives.
01:41We probably would've did it anyway,
01:42even if we weren't getting money,
01:43because sign of the times, that's what it is.
01:45But yeah, it was a pretty lucrative tour for everybody.
01:48Method Man, The Riddler.
01:51Love this record.
01:52Actually, the guitar riff is played
01:54by Old Dirty Bastard's older brother.
01:56Not too many people know that.
01:57Fun fact, we did this in RZA's basement before the flood.
02:01You know, us blurds, us black nerds,
02:04we love our comic books.
02:06And when the opportunity presented itself, The Riddler.
02:09I knew off the top that I wanted to do a bad guy song.
02:12The riff that Old Dirty Bastard's brother
02:15came up with was perfect,
02:17and I believe The Riddler played a major part
02:19in that album, you know, the whole soundtrack
02:22going 10 times platinum, you know.
02:24I like to say that in my head,
02:25but it was really sealed.
02:27Kiss from a Rose.
02:28And U2, U2, U2 had a great record on there as well.
02:32Yeah, The Riddler.
02:33Finally, what's happening Method Man?
02:39I don't know, chilling.
02:40Actually, that's a song that picked me.
02:42Busta had a record, and he came to me,
02:46and he was like, you need this record, Lord.
02:48And when Busta tell you you need a record,
02:51and it became the first single.
02:52So yeah, what's happening?
02:55What does Takao mean?
02:57Takao can mean a lot of things,
02:58but right now it means the top is cold and lonely.
03:02Well, I mean, it came from a word we used to use
03:04to describe trees, plants, flower.
03:07It was a word made up by a friend around my way
03:10named Loungin' Low.
03:11It took on its own life.
03:13So yeah, Takao means a lot of things,
03:14but right now, the top is cold and lonely.
03:18What the blood clot, Method Man.
03:20I was actually mad at the Klan when I wrote that record.
03:22I was on an airplane, playing my radio like that, right?
03:26Times have changed.
03:27They would never let me do that now.
03:28But I was playing my radio,
03:30and I kept rewinding an Eric Sherman record
03:34called It's All in the Mind.
03:35That's what I wrote What the Blood Clot to.
03:37I remember, because we got into a big argument
03:39before we got on the plane,
03:40and I was just mad at all of them,
03:42like Wu-Tang Clan ain't nothing to f*** with, f*** you guys.
03:46The what, Method Man, Biggie.
03:48This is crazy too,
03:49because I actually snuck to go do this record with Biggie.
03:53Tracy Waples, salute to Trey Walk.
03:56She came and scooped me up that night.
03:58And now, like I said,
03:59I wasn't supposed to be doing any records with anybody.
04:01I had my own album coming.
04:03Wu-Tang had steam, and we wanted to keep that,
04:05and home, you know, and the money as well.
04:07So I went and did the Biggie record.
04:08Big was mad cool.
04:10Contrary to what everybody believes,
04:11he wrote his rhyme right there when I wrote mine.
04:14Nobody was doing anything inside the head.
04:16And it was a fun time, man.
04:17The what, Method Man, Biggie.
04:19Brooklyn.
04:22All right, y'all got me embellishing too much.
04:24Is Method Man in power?
04:26Yes, I'm in power.
04:27I play Davis McLean on power.
04:29Very savvy lawyer.
04:31Anybody that follows the power universe
04:32know that lawyers don't fare too well on this show.
04:36So I think the fact that Davis is still alive
04:39for this fourth and final season
04:42says a lot about his character and a lot about me.
04:45Is Method Man in train wreck?
04:48Yes, I'm in train wreck.
04:49Had a lot of fun with the old cat, Norman.
04:52I forgot his last name, but he's been around forever.
04:55He was actually in the scene with me.
04:56He was the older cat
04:58that used to talk about Bade Roof all day.
05:01First time working with Judd Apatow.
05:02Not my first time.
05:04No, matter of fact, it wasn't my first time working with him.
05:06I actually read for the movie he did
05:08with Adam Sandler that RZA got.
05:10But Judd said that it is his life's mission
05:13to have every Wu-Tang member in at least one of his films.
05:16So he's got two down.
05:17He's got about seven more to go.
05:19Train wreck.
05:20Dope.
05:21Shout out to Amy Schumer.
05:22Hey, Muffin.
05:23Is Method Man a Jets fan?
05:25Abs-a-freaking-lutely.
05:27I'm a Long Island kid.
05:28I mean, we grew up on Jets and Mets.
05:31Not too big on basketball, but Jets and Mets
05:33were always synonymous with Long Island, Queens.
05:35You know what I'm saying?
05:36New York Sack Exchange.
05:38Those guys, I mean, even Richard Todd.
05:40You know what I mean?
05:41He was my guy for a minute.
05:44Wesley Walker.
05:45Freeman McNeil.
05:45The Big Tuna.
05:46We had Keyshawn for a while.
05:48Rob Moore, who I grew up with.
05:50Rob Moore was a wide receiver for the team.
05:52So yeah, I've been a Jets fan for life.
05:54Salute.
05:56Where did Method Man get his name?
06:01Took it from a n***a.
06:02No, actually, it's a block name.
06:05Like I said, we had different terminology for trees
06:07and Method was one of the terms that we used
06:10to describe trees.
06:11And I felt like the man.
06:13So yeah, Method Man.
06:14Just fit.
06:15Is Method Man in the wire?
06:17Yes, I am in the wire, but I am not wired
06:19because I am no snitch.
06:21I actually played a character called Melvin Cheese Wagstaff.
06:27Nephew of Prop Joe.
06:28Cheese was a piece of work.
06:29I think Cheese was a survivor,
06:30but anybody that watched the show
06:33would think he's a piece of s***.
06:34I won't give any spoilers away,
06:35but he does something that's against code
06:38and he deserved everything that he got.
06:40Is Method Man going on tour?
06:43No, sir.
06:44Method Man is more focused on acting.
06:47That is first position for me.
06:49So unless the movie is about a tour,
06:52Method Man would not be on tour anytime soon.
06:55But we do actually have a residency in Vegas, Wu-Tang.
06:58If you can catch it, come out.
06:59It's pretty fun.
07:00You know, bring you and your old lady.
07:02No kids.
07:03Method Man best songs?
07:05I got one.
07:06One that I think is my best song
07:09and it's definitely all I need, of course.
07:11Got me a Grammy.
07:12It actually was Mary's first Grammy.
07:15She's gotten plenty more after that, as she should.
07:18The fact that it was a song
07:20that I didn't even want to put out
07:21and it did what it did
07:23just shows how much I know about music.
07:26Why did you want to put it out?
07:28In my eyes, it wasn't a traditional love song,
07:31but it was still a love song,
07:32which wasn't, in my idea,
07:34something that I wanted to put out at that point in time.
07:37Look, keep Googling,
07:39Starbucks, whatever, man.
07:40I don't even entertain any of that s**t.
07:44Y'all be good.
07:45Stay out of trouble.