Method Man was the first solo star to emerge from the groundbreaking Wu-Tang Clan. His mush-mouthed, sandpaper-rough bellow and imaginative rhymes easily made him one of the most recognizable, unpredictable MCs in the group, yet his flow was more deliberate and laid-back than the Wu's resident loose cannon, Ol' Dirty Bastard. On his solo records, Method Man developed a persona that swung from offhand, understated menace to raucous stoner humor. Toward the end of the '90s, his frequent team-ups with Redman produced not only a terrific musical chemistry, but an eventual big-screen comedy team as well. Method Man was born Clifford Smith on March 2, 1971, in Hempstead, Long Island; he split his childhood between his father's Long Island residence and his mother's Staten Island home. It was the latter locale where he met his future Wu-Tang cohorts RZA, Genius/GZA, and Ol' Dirty Bastard; when they set about forming a hip-hop collective in the early '90s, Method Man was one of the first to sign on. Meth was heavily featured on the group's classic late-1993 debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), even getting his own showcase track with "Method Man," which certainly put him out front in terms of name recognition. Thanks to the Wu's innovative contract -- which allowed individual members to sign solo deals with whatever label they chose -- Method Man inked a contract with Def Jam, and in 1994, approximately one year after Enter the Wu-Tang's release, he became the first Wu member to release a solo album, Tical. - via Bio. Over the course of his career, Meth has been featured on numerous television shows and movies; has aged gracefully both on and off the mic, and I believe still has potential classic in him if he can dedicate the time in the studio. Celebrating his born day today, I put together a short playlist of some of my favorite solo, group and featured tracks from Method Man. Dig into it below...