Episode #143 | 9.12.23
Method Man (Wu-Tang Clan Chapter 3): Dice Games, Dodged Bullets, and Murder in the Street
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In this episode
As a teenager, Method Man won $800 on a $5 bet in a dice game. He used those winnings to set himself up as a crack dealer on Staten Island. Dealing was dangerous. Meth was chased by drug squads and dragged down the street when a potential buyer stole his product. His life was saved by a friend who pulled him out of the wrong place at the right moment – a moment in which he literally dodged a bullet.
Sources
From the Streets of Shaolin: The Wu-Tang Saga, by S.H. Fernando Jr.
The Wu-Tang Manual, by the RZA
From Staircase to Stage: The Story of Raekwon and the Wu-Tang Clan, by Raekwon with Anthony Bozza
Raw: My Journey into the Wu-Tang, by Lamont “U-God” Hawkins
The Dirty Version: On Stage, in the Studio, and on the Streets with Ol’ Dirty Bastard, by Buddha Monk and Mickey Hess
Wu-Tang: Of Mics and Men (2019, mini series)
A Close Look at the FBI's File on Wu-Tang Clan (Vice)
I got Ol' Dirty Bastard's FBI files (Gun.io)
Method Man on Kitchen Talk (YouTube)
Method Man Ignites Hip-Hop with Blunt Rhyme (Rolling Stone)
Method Man is Ready for his Close-Up (Rolling Stone)
One Neighborhood, Two Lives -- A special report.; A Death on Staten Island: 2 Paths Cross on Familiar Ground (NY Times)
The Wu-Tang Clan's 20-Year Plan (NPR)
Killa Hill: The Ernest Sayon Story
Drug Suspect's Death in Police Custody Ruled a Homicide (AP News)
Method Man on HuffPost Live (YouTube)
U-God on VladTV (YouTube)
Disgraceland is a podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. It melds music history, true crime and transgressive fiction. Disgraceland is not journalism. Disgraceland is entertainment. Entertainment inspired by true events. However, certain scenes, characters and names are sometimes fictionalized for dramatic purposes.
Credits
Hosted by Jake Brennan.
Written by Zeth Lundy.
Copy edited by James Sullivan.
Scored and mixed by Colin Lester Fleming.
Additional music and score elements by Ryan Spraker.
Disgraceland theme song, “Crenshaw Space Boogie” written and produced by Jake Brennan. Performed by Jake Brennan, Bryce Kanzer, Jay Cannava, and Evan Kenney. Mixed and engineered by Adam Taylor.
*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak