Method Man and Redman are basking in the glow of BLACKOUT 2, their critically acclaimed new Def Jam collaboration released in May – the long-awaited (ten years!) follow-up to their essential Blackout, one of the defining hip-hop events of 1999 (with “Tear It Off,” “Y.O.U.,” and “Da Rockwilder”). BLACKOUT 2 blasted off with a trifecta of new single releases showing off Meth and Red at their very best: “A-Yo” featuring Saukrates, produced by Pete Rock; “Mrs. International” featuring Erick Sermon, produced by Buckwild; and “City Lights” featuring Bun B, produced by Nasty Kutt. The album debuted on top 10 on Soundscan and has drawn unanimous raves from print and web media. Ghostface Killah, W-TC’s most prolific member, will release his 6th Def Jam album (and 10th major label career album) in September, THE WIZARD OF POETRY, described as “an R&B-influenced rap album.” Ghost’s most recent release was Ghostdeini The Great (December 2008), his first official archive collection on the Def Jam label, blending “classic tracks with remixes and new verses,” as Billboard.com described it. Guests included W-TC, fellow Def Jam artists Kanye West and Ne-Yo, Amy Winehouse, Mary J. Blige, Ice Cube, and others. The collection also drew tracks from three of Ghost’s Def Jam albums: Fishscale (March 2006), More Fish (December 2006), and The Big Doe Rehab (December 2007). Redman exploded on to the hip-hop scene in 1992 with Whut? Thee Album, his RIAA gold debut album. It was followed by Dare Iz a Darkside.(1994), Muddy Waters (1996), Doc’s da Name 2000 (1998), Malpractice (2001) – all RIAA gold-sellers – and El Nino with Def Squad (1998, with Keith Murray and Erick Sermon), and Red Gone Wild (2007). Always larger than life, Method Man became a vital part of hip-hop culture in 1992 as a founding member of the seminal hip-hop supergroup Wu-Tang Clan with their classic debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Solidifying himself as a superstar in his own right, Meth went on to record for Def Jam and release Tical (1994), Tical 2000: Judgement Day (1998) – both RIAA platinum – Tical 0: The Prequel (2004, RIAA gold), and 4:21 The Day After (2006). THE FOOT PRINT IN HIP-HOP TOUR Starring METHOD MAN, REDMAN & GHOSTFACE Date City Venue July 22 Asheville, NC Orange Peel 23 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theater 24 Washington D.C. 9:30 Club 25 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom 26 New Haven, CT Toad’s Place 29 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live 30 New York, NY Nokia Theater 31 Providence, RI Lupo’s Aug. 1 Martha’s Vineyard, MA Nectar’s 2 Burlington, VT Higher Ground 6 New Orleans, LA House of Blues 7 Houston, TX House of Blues 8 Dallas, TX House of Blues 9 Austin, TX Emo’s 11 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater 12 Phoenix, AZ Marquee 13 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues 14 San Diego, CA Canes 15 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues (two shows) 16 San Francisco, CA Mezzanine
