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RZA revealed the real story of how Method Man got his name in a recent interview, stunning fans tuning in as well as the hosts of the show.
The RZA was a guest on the EBROINTHEAM show on HOT97, co-hosted by Ebro and Peter Rosenberg last Thursday (November 9), and Rosenberg played a snippet from the hit “Method Man” off of the Wu-Tang Clan’s debut album, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). It prompted him to ask, “Why did Method Man get his own song on the album? And again, did you have a hunch that this one would go off?” The RZA replied, “Method Man was Shakwon until he made that song — Shakwon the Panty Raider. Then, after he made that song, everybody in the hood called him Method Man.”
Rosenberg and co-host Laura Stylez were both surprised. Ebro then asked, “So Method Man was just the chorus, it wasn’t his name or the concept?” “It was the concept because meth is weed. He’s the king of smoking weed. So he’s the method man. A year later, he’s Method Man,” RZA responded. When asked if the streets were the major weight behind the decision, he said it was the Clan’s decision ultimately. “It was a conscious decision by us as a crew, but the streets did push it.”
The revelation caused a shockwave among the hosts. “That makes so much sense! Now that I think about it,” Rosenberg said before continuing: “See, RZA, this is something that to you is so built-in that it’s a nothing burger, whereas to us, it makes so much sense! It was always a little weird that there’s one song on the album named after a member. We thought it was named after the member, but that’s not what it was; it was the name of a song that then became the name of a member!”
Method Man himself talked about the name change in his appearance on the Drink Champs podcast hosted by N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, specifically citing legendary funk artist Bootsy Collins along with John Legend, Masta Ace, and Hall & Oates as inspirations for the song.
