Blackout! 2
Encyclopedia
Blackout! 2 is the second studio album
by rap duo Method Man & Redman
. It was their first album in ten years. The album was released on May 19, 2009 under Def Jam. It debuted at #7 on the U.S. Billboard 200
and at #64 on the French Album Charts. The album has sold 160,375 copies in the United States by December 12, 2009, according to SoundScan.
's sixth studio album Relapse and Busta Rhymes
's eighth studio album Back on My B.S.. After finish touring on the Still High Tour with Termanology
, The Alchemist
, Havoc (from Mobb Deep
), and Evidence, Redman and Method Man
finished and set the release date for their highly anticipated sequel.
Method Man stated the reasons for the delay: "
and Erick Sermon
, as Method Man
and Redman promise to satisfy patient fans. The track "A Yo" that was leaked in March is included on the album. Also the track "City Lights" featuring Bun B
leaked over the internet on March 24, 2009. Wu-Tang Clan
members Raekwon
and Ghostface Killah
appear on the album, as well as Def Squad
members Erick Sermon
, and Keith Murray
.
Redman stated about the album's production process to MTV:
album, which was placed at the top of a lot of 1999's best album lists.
Entertainment Weekly
explained how the two lyricists work so well together:
Method Man and Redman have shot music videos for their singles "A Yo" and "Mrs. International
". They also shot a video for the song "How Bout Dat" featuring Ready Roc and Streetlife as a video only single and was released online on September 20, 2009. There was also a fan made video for the song "Dis Is 4 All My Smokers" and was released on May 13, 2009. The song City Lights featuring Bun B
was released as an only radio single. At Best Buy
, both Blackout! and Blackout! 2 are sold together in a boxed set celebrating the 10th anniversary of Blackout.
put a "Ten Year Reunion" mixtape. Featuring several, well-known older songs from the original Blackout!
album, it also includes new songs like "Four Minutes to Lock Down" with Raekwon
and Ghostface Killah
, "Dangerous Mcees," etc. It also featured new singles like "City Lights" with Bun B and "A Yo" with Saukrates
. The mixtape was hosted by DJ Green Lantern
.
, at number 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
, at number 2 on the Top Rap Albums
and digital in charted number 7 on the Digital Albums charts selling 63,000 copes its first week. The album also charted number 10 on Canadian Albums
.
The album fell 11 spots to number 18 on the billboard chart in its second week with sales of 20,000 copies. In its third week the album fell 12 spots landing on number 30 selling 14,000 that week. On it fourth week the album fell 18 spots landing on number 48 with sales of 10,000 copies. The album fell 32 spots it had landed on number 70 selling 7,700 copies it fifth week
The album has sold 160,375 copies in the United States by December 12, 2009, according to SoundScan.
, which stated that the album is overall a "Generally favorable reviews".
Allmusic.com gave it a four out of five stars stating that:
HiphopDX.com gave the album a 3.5 stars out of 5, stating that:
Vibe gave a favorable review, stating that:
Billboard also gave it a favorable review which stated:
IGN.com gave the album an 8/10 stated that:
XXL gave the album a mixed review, giving the album a grade of L out of XXL, stating that:
A-Yo
City Lights
Fathers Day
Mrs. International
Dis is 4 All My Smokers
Four Minutes to Lock Down
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by rap duo Method Man & Redman
Method Man & Redman
Method Man & Redman, also referred to as Red & Meth, Meth & Red, Doc & Meth or Mr. Mef and Funk Doc, are an American hip hop duo, consisting of rap superstars Method Man and Redman ....
. It was their first album in ten years. The album was released on May 19, 2009 under Def Jam. It debuted at #7 on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and at #64 on the French Album Charts. The album has sold 160,375 copies in the United States by December 12, 2009, according to SoundScan.
Background
Blackout! 2 was announced in 2007 by Redman and was originally scheduled for release in 2008, but its release was pushed back a number of times due to numerous reasons. It was finally released on May 19, 2009. It was released on the same days as EminemEminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
's sixth studio album Relapse and Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
's eighth studio album Back on My B.S.. After finish touring on the Still High Tour with Termanology
Termanology
Daniel Carrillo , better known as Termanology is a rapper from Lawrence, Massachusetts. He first came to wide attention with the 2006 single "Watch How It Go Down". A solo album, Politics As Usual, was released in 2008...
, The Alchemist
The Alchemist (producer)
Alan Daniel Maman , better known as The Alchemist, is an American hip hop producer, DJ and rapper. He hails from Beverly Hills, California...
, Havoc (from Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep is an American hip hop duo from Queensbridge, Queens, New York, U.S., that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The duo is "one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast hip-hop groups." The group is best known for its dark, hardcore delivery, as exemplified by the single "Shook Ones...
), and Evidence, Redman and Method Man
Method Man
Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
finished and set the release date for their highly anticipated sequel.
Method Man stated the reasons for the delay: "
Recording and production
The album features production from Pete RockPete Rock
Peter Phillips , better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth...
and Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon , in Bay Shore, New York is an American rapper, musician, and producer.Sermon is best known as half of late-1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for production work. He currently resides in Islandia, New York.- Career :...
, as Method Man
Method Man
Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
and Redman promise to satisfy patient fans. The track "A Yo" that was leaked in March is included on the album. Also the track "City Lights" featuring Bun B
Bun B
Bernard Freeman better known by his stage name Bun B, is an American rapper and was one half of the southern hip hop duo UGK . He is also a guest lecturer at Rice University located in Houston, Texas...
leaked over the internet on March 24, 2009. Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
members Raekwon
Raekwon
Corey Woods , better known by the stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in 1995, and has since recorded four solo albums, as well as work with Wu-Tang and an extensive amount of guest contributions with...
and Ghostface Killah
Ghostface Killah
Dennis Coles , better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and prominent member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success...
appear on the album, as well as Def Squad
Def Squad
Def Squad is a rap supergroup consisting of Erick Sermon, Redman & Keith Murray. Mally G is considered an honorary member of the Def Squad. Before officially forming as a group to release an album in 1998, they had each been featured on tracks by each other...
members Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon , in Bay Shore, New York is an American rapper, musician, and producer.Sermon is best known as half of late-1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for production work. He currently resides in Islandia, New York.- Career :...
, and Keith Murray
Keith Murray (rapper)
Keith Murray is an American rapper and a member of the rap trio Def Squad, which includes fellow rappers Redman and Erick Sermon.-Music career:...
.
Redman stated about the album's production process to MTV:
Release and promotion
Blackout! 2 was released 10 years after the Blackout!Blackout!
Blackout! is the debut album by hip hop artists Method Man & Redman. 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 #2 on the Billboard Top 200 and...
album, which was placed at the top of a lot of 1999's best album lists.
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
explained how the two lyricists work so well together:
Method Man and Redman have shot music videos for their singles "A Yo" and "Mrs. International
Mrs. International
"Mrs. International" is the second single by hip hop artists Method Man & Redman from their album Blackout! 2. The track was leaked on April 3, 2009.-Music video:...
". They also shot a video for the song "How Bout Dat" featuring Ready Roc and Streetlife as a video only single and was released online on September 20, 2009. There was also a fan made video for the song "Dis Is 4 All My Smokers" and was released on May 13, 2009. The song City Lights featuring Bun B
Bun B
Bernard Freeman better known by his stage name Bun B, is an American rapper and was one half of the southern hip hop duo UGK . He is also a guest lecturer at Rice University located in Houston, Texas...
was released as an only radio single. At Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, both Blackout! and Blackout! 2 are sold together in a boxed set celebrating the 10th anniversary of Blackout.
Lights Out (Blackout 10 Year Reunion) Mixtape
As promotion for the new album, Method Man & RedmanMethod Man & Redman
Method Man & Redman, also referred to as Red & Meth, Meth & Red, Doc & Meth or Mr. Mef and Funk Doc, are an American hip hop duo, consisting of rap superstars Method Man and Redman ....
put a "Ten Year Reunion" mixtape. Featuring several, well-known older songs from the original Blackout!
Blackout!
Blackout! is the debut album by hip hop artists Method Man & Redman. 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 #2 on the Billboard Top 200 and...
album, it also includes new songs like "Four Minutes to Lock Down" with Raekwon
Raekwon
Corey Woods , better known by the stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in 1995, and has since recorded four solo albums, as well as work with Wu-Tang and an extensive amount of guest contributions with...
and Ghostface Killah
Ghostface Killah
Dennis Coles , better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and prominent member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success...
, "Dangerous Mcees," etc. It also featured new singles like "City Lights" with Bun B and "A Yo" with Saukrates
Saukrates
Karl Amani Wailoo , better known by his stage name Saukrates , is a Canadian rapper, singer, and record producer of Guyanese descent. He is the co-founder of Capitol Hill Music, and lead singer of hip-hop/R&B group Big Black Lincoln...
. The mixtape was hosted by DJ Green Lantern
DJ Green Lantern
James D'Agostino , better known by his stage name DJ Green Lantern, is an American-Italian-Puerto Rican DJ and hip hop music producer from Rochester, New York. In 2002, D'Agostino was signed by Eminem to become the official DJ for Shady Records after DJ Head stepped down for undisclosed reasons...
.
Commercial performance
Blackout 2! was released on May 19, 2009. It debuted at number #7 on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, at number 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
, at number 2 on the Top Rap Albums
Top Rap Albums
Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004....
and digital in charted number 7 on the Digital Albums charts selling 63,000 copes its first week. The album also charted number 10 on Canadian Albums
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
.
The album fell 11 spots to number 18 on the billboard chart in its second week with sales of 20,000 copies. In its third week the album fell 12 spots landing on number 30 selling 14,000 that week. On it fourth week the album fell 18 spots landing on number 48 with sales of 10,000 copies. The album fell 32 spots it had landed on number 70 selling 7,700 copies it fifth week
The album has sold 160,375 copies in the United States by December 12, 2009, according to SoundScan.
Critical response
Reviews of the album were generally positive. It has a score of 79 out of an overall score of 100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which stated that the album is overall a "Generally favorable reviews".
Allmusic.com gave it a four out of five stars stating that:
HiphopDX.com gave the album a 3.5 stars out of 5, stating that:
Vibe gave a favorable review, stating that:
Billboard also gave it a favorable review which stated:
IGN.com gave the album an 8/10 stated that:
XXL gave the album a mixed review, giving the album a grade of L out of XXL, stating that:
Track listing
Samples
BO2 (Intro)- "Magic Mona" performed by Phyllis HymanPhyllis HymanPhyllis Linda Hyman was an American soul singer and actress.-Early years:Phyllis Hyman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the St. Clair Village, the South Hills section of Pittsburgh...
A-Yo
- "Magic Mona" performed by Phyllis HymanPhyllis HymanPhyllis Linda Hyman was an American soul singer and actress.-Early years:Phyllis Hyman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the St. Clair Village, the South Hills section of Pittsburgh...
City Lights
- "One Day" as performed by UGKUGKUGK was an American hip hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas formed in 1987 by the late Chad "Pimp C" Butler . He then joined with Bernard "Bun B" Freeman, who became his longtime partner...
Fathers Day
- "Walking Down Lonely Street" performed by Joe SimonJoe Simon (musician)Joe Simon is an American chart-topping, Grammy Award winning, soul and R&B musician. Amongst other chart singles, Simon secured three number one hits on the US Billboard R&B chart between 1969 and 1975.-Career:...
Mrs. International
- "Here I Am" performed by The Blue NotesThe Blue NotesThe Blue Notes were a South African jazz sextet, whose definitive line up featured Chris McGregor on piano, Mongezi Feza on trumpet, Dudu Pukwana on alto saxophone, Nikele Moyake on tenor saxophone, Johnny Dyani on bass, and Louis Moholo on drums...
Dis is 4 All My Smokers
- "Ain't No Sunshine" as performed by Nancy Wilson
Four Minutes to Lock Down
- "Echo Park" as performed by Brooklyn BridgeBrooklyn BridgeThe Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
Album chart positions
| Year | Album | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard 200 | Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums | ||
| 2009 | Blackout 2 | 7 | 2 |
Singles chart positions
| Year | Song | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
Hot Rap Singles | ||
| 2009 | "A-Yo" | - | 113 | - |
| "City Lights" | - | - | - | |
| "Mrs. International" | - | - | - | |
External links
- Blackout! 2 at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- Release history at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Album Review at About.comAbout.comAbout.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
- Album Review at XXLXXL (magazine)XXL is a Hip-Hop magazine, published by Harris Publications.In 1997, XXL was founded by former Source staffers as well as other Harris Publication employees, who wanted to create their own magazine about the hip-hop music and culture using the model developed by the founders of The Source...