Wu-Tang Clan - Method Man

What this video is

Released in 1993 as the B-side to 'Protect Ya Neck,' 'Method Man' arrived at a pivotal inflection point when West Coast G-funk dominated mainstream hip-hop. The video — shot at Liberty Studios with all nine Wu-Tang members present despite only Method Man rapping — functioned as a collective manifesto, introducing a raw, confrontational Staten Island aesthetic to national audiences. The videos received almost no…

Why it matters

As the showcase track for Method Man — one of only two members to receive a solo song on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) — this video represents the formal introduction of Wu-Tang's most commercially viable frontman. The video's raw collective staging established the visual template for the…

The director

Gerald Barclay is a music video director active in the early-to-mid 1990s hip-hop scene. He is credited on both the Version 1 and Version 2 shoots for Wu-Tang Clan's 'Method Man' (1993), making him one of the first directors to work with the collective on a…