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With his 2006 album, 4:21...The Day After, the hip-hop legend known as Iron Lung, Tical, Wu Brother #1, Johnny Blaze, and of course Method Man, was focused on being a true artist. Unlike some previous efforts-where Meth admits his priorities were different-on 4:21, he decided to focus on lyrics. After his previous album, Tical O: The Prequel, he went through an especially rough time in his life-both personally and professionally-which provided him with a bulk of material. "I had a lot on my mind at the time and the second thing was, I decided to really talk about something and I had a lot to draw from and when the pen hit the paper it was like damn, remember this? And by the time I was done it was like shit, let's go." The result was his most personal and introspective work yet.

Doing the work behind the boards on 4:21, are Wu Tang mastermind and long-time collaborator, RZA as well as Scott Storch, Havoc, K1 and Eric Sermon. The latter provided the beat for the album's lead single, "Say," featuring Lauryn Hill. The track finds Meth addressing critics, fickle fans and haters for disrespecting him and his Wu Tang brethren. Meth says his ability to let himself be so open is in line with the entire concept of the album, and its title. "The national weed smoking day is 4/20, so I named my album 4/21 the day after. Because after that day, you have this moment of clarity when you're not high and you see things clearly." The Grammy-winner continues, "You feel like you're not in on the joke, and everyone's laughing at you. I felt like no one was taking me seriously. I got real angry and I just starting writing."

Anger proved to be a great motivator, as the Ticalion Stallion wrapped up the album in a few short months. The creative process was also cathartic, and though his skin hadn't gotten any thicker, he was able to use his writing talent to inspire self-confidence. "It's real talk, I'm going to keep my spirits up and not let things get to me. You know, if you start reading your own press and feeding into it, and you start questioning yourself, like, 'am I wack?' and you have to be like, 'No!' I learned to pat myself on the back, and that it's OK to pat myself on the back sometimes."