Method Man refuses to speak to hip-hop press again after single-copy album row
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Version 0 of 1. Method Man has clarified his position on the single-copy Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, in the wake of an interview in which he told XXL magazine his reaction to the plan not to make it commercially available for 88 years: “Fuck that album. I’m tired of this shit and I know everybody else is tired of it, too.” He has now said he was not fully informed about the process behind releasing Once Upon a Time in Shaolin by either XXL features editor Miranda Johnson, who conducted the interview, or Wu-Tang bandmate RZA, who has masterminded the album – but made it clear that he still believes in the artistic merit of the album itself. Related: Method Man says Wu-Tang Clan's 88-year ban on releasing album is 'stupid' “I was misinformed by Miranda Johnson at XXL, who did the interview. Shame on you, Miranda,” he said, in an interview on Huffington Post Live. “The information she gave me was: ‘No one will be able to hear this album for 88 years.’ And I’m like, really, what? Cos I had no idea.” Method Man went on to say that he felt RZA and album producer Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzougarh had not kept him in the loop about the album’s unusual private sale process. He said he might have been able to give XXL clearer answers had he known the details about keeping the album off mass commercial sale for the first 88 years after its unorthodox release via a private sale. Related: Wu-Tang Clan unveil sole copy of their new album “Basically, I got tired of the questions about the album and not being in the know about what’s going on with the day-to-day things of this,” he said. “So when Miranda hit me with the 88 years thing, it’s like ‘I’m about fed up with this now.’ I’m tired of the gimmicks. It’s never us coming with the gimmicks, it’s always someone from the outside.” Method Man did not mince words, making it clear that aforementioned “someone” was producer Cilvaringz, who he felt hijacked the album’s release process and turned it into a “crazy weird” product rather than a strong collection of songs. He also made his disgust at the hip-hop press clear, saying he would no longer be giving interviews to hip-hop outlets. “This is the reason I don’t like doing interviews for anything hip-hop as far as magazines go, because they are the blood-suckers of the culture, if you ask me. They’re the reason why a lot of this crap coming out now flies. Creating beefs.” As unimpressed as Method Man may be, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’s sale through online auction house Paddle8 is due to continue as planned. |