MAN SE (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg), formerly MAN AG, is a German mechanical engineering company and parent company of the MAN Group.^[3] MAN SE is based in Munich, in the German State of Bavaria. Its primary output is for the automotive industry, particularly heavy trucks. Further activities include the production of diesel engines for various applications, like ship propulsion, and also turbomachinery.^[4]

MAN supplies trucks, buses,^[4] diesel engines and^[4] turbomachinery. MAN SE is one of the top 30 companies listed on the German stock exchange (DAX).^[4] It also is the oldest company within the DAX. The company celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2008.^[4][5] In 2008, its 51,300 employees generated annual sales of around €15 billion in 120 different countries. The company operates through fully owned subsidiaries or joint ventures with local companies in India,^[6] Poland, Turkey, China,^[7][8][9] United States, United Arab Emirates,^[10] South Africa,^[11] Uzbekistan,^[12] Portugal and Germany/Austria.^[13]

Corporate overview[link]

The MAN Group currently operates its production output through three main subsidiaries, with each subsidiary's output destined for different geographic locations.

• MAN Truck & Bus is one of Europe's leading commercial vehicle manufacturers.
• MAN Diesel & Turbo is a world leader in large diesel ship engines, stationary engines and turbomachinery.
• MAN Latin America has a leading position in heavy trucks in Brazil.

History[link]

This logo is on the front of all MAN trucks and buses. The lion comes from Büssing AG, a company that MAN acquired in 1971. It resembles the coat of arms of the city of Brunswick.

Foundation[link]

St. Antony

MAN traces its origins back to 1758, when the "St. Antony" ironworks commenced operation in Oberhausen, as the first heavy-industry enterprise in the Ruhr region. In 1808, the three ironworks "St. Antony", "Gute Hoffnung" (English: "Good Hope"), and "Neue Essen" (English: "New Forges") merged, to form the Hüttengewerkschaft und Handlung Jacobi (English: "Jacobi Iron And Steel Works Union And Trading Company"), Oberhausen, which was later renamed Gute Hoffnungshütte (GHH).^[1]

In 1840, the German engineer Ludwig Sander founded in Augsburg the first predecessing enterprise of MAN in Southern Germany: the "Sander'sche Maschinenfabrik." It firstly became the "C. Reichenbach'sche Maschinenfabrik", which was named after the pioneer of printing machines Carl August Reichenbach, and later on the "Maschinenfabrik Augsburg".^[1]

In 1898, the companies Maschinenbau-AG Nürnberg (founded 1841) and Maschinenfabrik Augsburg AG (founded 1840) merged to form Vereinigte Maschinenfabrik Augsburg und Maschinenbaugesellschaft Nürnberg A.G., Augsburg ("United Machine Works Augsburg and Nuremberg Ltd."). In 1908, the company was renamed Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nürnberg AG, or in short, M·A·N.

While the focus initially remained on ore mining and iron production in the Ruhr region, mechanical engineering became the dominating branch of business in Augsburg and Nuremberg. Under the direction of Heinrich von Buz, Maschinenfabrik Augsburg grew from a medium-sized business of 400 employees into a major enterprise with a workforce of 12,000 by the year 1913.

Locomotion, propulsion and steel building were the big topics of this phase. The early predecessors of MAN were responsible for numerous technological innovations. The success of the early MAN entrepreneurs and engineers was based on a great openness towards new technologies. They constructed the Wuppertal monorail ("Wuppertaler Schwebebahn") and the first spectacular steel bridges like the Großhesseloher Brücke in Munich in 1857 and the Müngsten railway bridge between 1893 and 1897.

Suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany

The invention of the rotary printing press allowed the copious printing of books and newspapers and since 1893, Rudolf Diesel puzzled for four years with future MAN engineers in a laboratory in Augsburg until his first Diesel engine was completed and fully functional.

Rudolf Diesel's first engine.

During 1921, the majority of M.A.N. was taken over by the Gutehoffnungshütte Actienverein für Bergbau und Hüttenbetrieb, Sterkrade (GHH), (founded 1873).^[1] Through well-directed equities and acquisitions of processing industries, e.g., Deutsche Werft (1918), Ferrostaal (1921), Deggendorfer Werft und Eisenbau (1924), MAN advanced to a nationwide operating enterprise, with a workforce of 52,000 by 1921.

Crisis and World War II[link]

At the same time the GHH’s economic situation worsened. The causes for this were amongst others the reparations after World War I, the occupation of the Ruhr region and the world economic crisis. In only two years the number of the MAN employees sank from 14,000 in the year 1929/30 to 7,400 in 1931/32. While the civil business was largely collapsing, the military business increased with the armament under the national socialist regime. GHH/MAN enterprises supplied diesel engines for submarines, Panzers, cylinders for projectiles and artillery of every description. MAN also produced gun parts, including Mauser K98 rifle bolts. Their Waffenampt code was WaA53, and ordnance code was "coc".

The MAN works in Nuremberg were often the target of massive bombing attacks during World War II, because 40 percent of all Panther Panzers built in Germany were produced there.^[1]

Postwar period[link]

After the end of World War II the allies deconcentrated the GHH group. A vertical integration in which mining, iron and steel production are consolidated was not allowed any more. The “Gutehoffnungshütte”, together with the MAN firms of Southern Germany, therefore concentrated on engineering, plant construction, commercial vehicles and printing machines. This process has been supported by strategic acquisitions and dispositions; one the most important was the take-over of the truck and bus division of the commercial vehicles manufacturer Büssing (1971), the disposition of the shares of the shipyard Deutsche Werft (1966/67) and the acquisition of the printing machine producer Faber&Schleicher as well as its fusion to MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG (1979).^[1]

In 1982/83 the “Gutehoffnungshütte” plunged into a deep corporate crisis. The enterprise suffered from the late effects of the second oil crises and a bad economic situation. This was particularly displayed by the dramatic downturn of the commercial vehicles sales figures. Besides external factors, the chief course of these problems was the obsolete company structure with extensive cross-subsidisation between the divisions. At this time the former director of GHH presented a reclamation concept that envisioned a complete consolidation of the subsidiary with the holding company. This concept encountered great resistance with GHH's major shareholders Allianz AG and Commerzbank. The media speculated about a “Bavarian conspiracy” against the Management in Oberhausen.^[1]

In 1986, with Klaus Götte, the group got a new company structure and became a contractual group with economically independent division at several locations. This was also attended by the transferring of the MAN headquarters from Oberhausen to Munich and by the new company name MAN AG.

MAN VW Constellation truck

Rudolf Rupprecht repelled a takeover attempt in 2003. Furthermore, the disposition of the 50-percent share of the SMS Group and the strengthening of the turbomachinery division through the takeover of Sulzer Turbo induced MAN’s focusing process.

In 2006, MAN entered into an agreement with Indian company Force Motors to establish a 50:50 joint venture for the production of trucks and buses in India for the domestic and export markets.^[14] The joint-venture established a truck manufacturing plant in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh and launched its first truck for the Indian market in 2007. At the end of 2011, MAN bought out the stake of its Indian partner, and its operations in India became a wholly owned subsidiary of MAN in early 2012.^[15]

In September 2006, MAN produced an offer for the take-over of the Swedish competitor Scania AB. The European Commission approved the takeover on December, 14. Nevertheless, MAN voluntarily withdrew the offer on January 23, 2007, after Scania’s major shareholders Volkswagen AG and the influential Wallenberg family had declined the offer. On December 24, 2008, MAN published to possess further stock options of Scania and to therefore maintain more than 20 percent of the voting rights.

In 2008, the MAN group celebrated its 250 years anniversary with numerous events, like exhibitions in several museums, a vintage car tour with the motto “MAN on the road again” and a great anniversary gala. At the beginning of December 2008 MAN took over the company VW Truck and Bus Brazil and changed the firm’s name to MAN Latin America. Therewith, MAN now is market leader in Brazil with a market share of 30 percent.

Since May 2009, the group is incorporated as European corporation MAN SE.^[16] In July 2009 MAN published to merge the two divisions MAN Turbo and MAN Diesel into one business area called Power Engineering. In addition the group contracted a strategic partnership with the Chinese truck manufacturer Sinotruk. In the course of this focusing process many smaller subsidiaries and division have been sold.

In 2009, investigators of the Munich Prosecution Department uncovered a corruption affair, in which MAN has been corrupting business partners and governments in over 20 countries during the years 2001 to 2007 to get large orders for buses and trucks. MAN CEO Håkan Samuelsson and further Board Members had to resign. The board of directors appointed Dr.-Ing. Georg Pachta-Reyhofen, the former CEO of MAN Diesel, as successor. On December 17, 2009 Pachta-Reyhofen was assigned as speaker of the board and CEO of MAN SE by the board of directors.

MAN steam turbine

Takeover by Volkswagen[link]

In July 2011, Volkswagen AG acquired a 55.9% voting stake and 53.7% of the share capital in MAN SE. Pending regulatory approval, Volkswagen planned to merge MAN and Scania to create Europe's largest truckmaker. The combined trucks group is planned to save about 400 million euros per year, mainly by bundling procurement.^[17][18] Regulatory approval was granted, and the takeover completed, in November 2011.^[19]

In April 2012 MAN SE announced that Volkswagen had increased its interest to a 73.0% voting stake and 71.08% of the share capital.^[20]

Other holdings[link]

Renk (76% stake)

Manufacturers of special gears, components of propulsion technology and test systems.

Ferrostaal (30% stake)

Former MAN subsidiary, now owned by International Petroleum Investment Company.

Sinotruk (Hong Kong) ("25% + 1 share" stake)

Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Sinotruk.

See also[link]

Companies portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: MAN AG

• ÖAF
  • Gräf & Stift
• ZF Friedrichshafen
• Voith
• Volkswagen Trucks and Buses

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

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v t e Volkswagen Group Divisions and subsidiaries Passenger cars Audi (quattro) Bentley Motors Bugatti Automobiles Lamborghini (Italdesign Giugiaro (90.1%)) SEAT Škoda Auto Volkswagen Passenger Cars Commercial vehicles MAN (55.9%) Scania (71.8%) Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Motorcycles Ducati Geographic Volkswagen Group of America (Electronics Research Laboratory) Volkswagen do Brasil Volkswagen Group China Volkswagen Group Sales India Defunct Auto Union DKW Horch NSU Motorenwerke Wanderer Shareholdings FAW-VW Automobile (40%) IAV (50%) Porsche (49.9%) Shanghai Volkswagen (50%) Suzuki Motor Corporation (19.9%) Products and technologies Platforms Vehicles Engines Diesel: Current/ Discontinued Petrol: Current/ Discontinued North America Technologies BlueMotion Digifant DSG ETKA FSI Pumpe Düse SDI TDI VAG-COM Places Autostadt Ehra-Lessien Factories People Carl Hahn (Chairman Emeritus) Ivan Hirst (Former Managing Director) Rudolf Leiding (Former CEO) Kurt Lotz (Former CEO) Heinrich Nordhoff (Former Managing Director) Ferdinand Piëch (Chairman of the Supervisory Board) Bernd Pischetsrieder (Former CEO) Toni Schmücker (Former CEO) Martin Winterkorn (Current Chairman of the Board of Management) Annual revenue  €126.88 billion (2010) Employees 399,380 (2010) Stock symbol FWB: VOW3 Website VolkswagenAG.com Category Commons

Method Man
December 21, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Clifford Smith
Also known as	Meth, Tical, Johnny Blaze, Methtical, Shakwon, Iron Lung, Hot Nikkels, MZA, John J
Born	(1971-04-01) April 1, 1971 (age 41)[1][2] Staten Island, New York City, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, actor
Years active	1990–present (rapping) 1995–present (acting)
Labels	Def Jam
Associated acts	Wu-Tang Clan, Redman, Erick Sermon, LL Cool J, The Notorious B.I.G., DMX, Xzibit, Shyheim
Website	method-man.com

Clifford Smith (born April 1, 1971),^[3] better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man & Redman. He won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" with Mary J. Blige. In 2007, the writers of About.com placed him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007).^[4]

Method Man appeared in the motion pictures Belly, How High, Garden State as well as a minor role in The Wackness. More recently, he appeared as a crewman in George Lucas' film Red Tails. On television, he and hip-hop collaborator Redman co-starred on the short-lived Fox sitcom Method & Red, and he had a recurring role on HBO's Oz as Tug Daniels and as Calvin "Cheese" Wagstaff on the acclaimed HBO drama series The Wire.

Early life[link]

Born in Staten Island, New York, on April 1 , 1971, Clifford Smith divided his childhood between his father's Long Island residence and his mother's home in the Park Hill section of Staten Island aka Killa Hill.^[5] He has two sisters, Terri and Missy.^[5]

Rapping career[link]

[edit] 1992–96: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and Tical

As Wu-Tang Clan ascended to hip hop stardom, Method Man was always one of the most visible members of the collective. He was one of only two members to get a solo song on the group's debut album Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers and he was the first to release a solo album under the Clan's unusual contract which allowed its members to release albums under any record label (Method chose to sign with rap label Def Jam). Method Man's solo debut, Tical (1994) was critically acclaimed and well received, entering the American charts at #4 and eventually selling in excess of one million copies. That album featured the hit single "All I Need" which was later remixed featuring Mary J Blige, which won a Grammy "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need,"). during this time Method Man also became close friends with The Notorious B.I.G., and was the only guest rapper featured on his debut album Ready to Die. He was also featured on Spice 1's album "AmeriKKKa's Nightmare" on the track "Hard 2 Kill". In 1995, he was also featured on "Got the Flava" off Showbiz and A.G.'s album Goodfellas. In 1996, Method Man appeared on Tupac Shakur's album All Eyez on Me, on the song "Got My Mind Made Up" alongside his rhyme partner Redman, The Dogg Pound (Daz and Kurupt) and Inspectah Deck (Rebel INS), whose verse did not make the released album version (although his nickname "Rebel INS" can be heard as the song fades).

[edit] 1997–98: Wu-Tang Forever and Tical 2000: Judgement Day

On June 3, 1997 the Wu-Tang Clan released their Grammy-nominated multiplatinum double CD Wu-Tang Forever, the long-awaited follow up to 36 Chambers. The album has sold over 8.3 million copies to date worldwide.

His second solo album was Tical 2000: Judgement Day, released in 1998, which was heavily influenced by the apocalypse theories surrounding the forthcoming end of the millennium, and which featured myriad guest appearances from his fellow Wu-Tang MCs, proving for the world that Method Man is in fact America's most blunted(with the help of Red Man). The album was certified double platinum. Other guest appearances include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, D'Angelo, Chris Rock, Mobb Deep, Redman, and brief cameos from Russell Simmons, Bishop Don "Magic" Juan, Janet Jackson, and Donald Trump. The album sold better than his first fueled by the party track "Judgment Day" and the D'Angelo collaboration "Break Ups 2 Make Ups", earning Platinum and Gold certifications in the U.S. and Canada respectively. Reviews for the album were mixed and its long runtime and abundance of intermittent comedy skits were widely criticized. Producers on this album included True Master, 4th Disciple and the RZA.

[edit] 1999–2000: Blackout! (with Redman)

Method Man was part of the very successful Hard Knock Life Tour with Jay-Z, Redman, Ja Rule, and DMX. During this tour, Method Man & Redman recorded Blackout!, a light-hearted, bass-heavy, profanity-laced, party record with an EPMD-evoking emphasis on funky beats and the mischievous wit and cool flows and good rhythm of the two MCs. The album reached platinum status quickly, both in the U.S. and Canada, fueled by "Da Rockwilder", "Cereal Killa", "1, 2, 1, 2", "Tear It Off" and "Y.O.U.". This album also featured three previously released tracks on which the two collaborated.

Their success would lead the duo on to star in movies and TV shows, become product spokespersons and household names, but also associated them with marijuana use in the media. The most immediate results of their success was their co-starring roles in the major motion picture film How High, their endorsement deal for Right Guard, Redman's starring role in Seed of Chucky and a short-lived sitcom on Fox Television entitled Method & Red.

[edit] 2000–04: The W, Iron Flag, and Tihkal 0: The Prequel

The Wu-Tang Clan released The W on November 21, 2000 and Iron Flag on December 18, 2001. The W received both critical and commercial success for the group, while Iron Flag did receive some but not to the effect of The W. The efforts earned two more platinum plaques for the Wu-Tang Clan.

In 2004, Meth released his third solo album Tical 0: The Prequel, which featured the hit party single "What's Happenin'" with Busta Rhymes. Hip hop critics voiced their displeasure with the album, many agreeing that Tical 0 felt like generic party rap and featured too many mainstream guests, detracting from his own performances. Regardless, this album sold reasonably well and was certified gold record by the RIAA relatively quickly, but would not see the platinum success of his previous solo releases. There was trouble even before the album's release when Method apparently complained to the press about excessive interference from Def Jam over the album's beats (Meth supposedly desired more input from Wu-Tang leader RZA). On its release, many fans and critics were taken aback by its strong "mainstream" or "commercial" sound, highlighted by the guest appearances of pop-rap stars like Missy Elliott and P. Diddy, two artists that are involved with much different facets of rap music.

P. Diddy was one of the executive producers for the album, although Meth later voiced his displeasure with the final product. "On the third LP, it was suggested (by Def Jam) to bring in Harve Pierre and P. Diddy. Who am I to argue? Puff knows how to sell some records. But that wasn't the direction to go in, and I know that."^[6]

[edit] 2006–07: 4:21... The Day After

Method Man at the 2007 Eurockéennes.

Method Man's fourth album, entitled 4:21: The Day After was released in August 2006 with a star lineup of producers featuring Havoc, Erick Sermon, Scott Storch, Allah Mathematics, Mr. Porter, and, most importantly to Meth, RZA. This time around, a more focused Method Man went back to his hip hop roots and both hip hop fans and the media took notice. He did an interview on the ItsHipHop.Tv.^[7] Despite this being one of Meth's strongest solo efforts to date, the album failed to do well commercially due to it having no single or video, which Method Man has held discontent towards his own label for. However, he has been touring strongly all over the world to promote the album, and has appeared onstage with fellow Wu-Tang member Inspectah Deck, as well as New York up and comers Saigon, and Gat Murdah. Meth contributed various reasons for the problems between him and his label, Def Jam. While he puts most of the blame on personal agendas in the Def Jam offices, Meth did take some blame, himself, for giving into his record label.

In early May 2007, Method Man's camp leaked the street single "New York New York" which became a popular track on the internet.^[8]

[edit] 2007–10: Blackout! 2

On March 27, 2007, Redman confirmed on BET's Rap City: Tha Bassment that the sequel to How High, How High 2, is currently being written.

In an April 10, 2007 Onion AV Club interview,^[9] Redman hinted that there would be a second collaborative album with Method Man, with work beginning in midsummer or early September.

In early 2008, a remake of the Smoothe da Hustler and Trigger tha Gambler classic Broken Language was released to the internet by the duo entitled Broken Language 2008, fueling rumors of a Blackout! sequel coming soon. This rumor was further fueled by the duo while performing in Gainesville, Florida at the University of Florida. A Blackout! 2 LP was scheduled for a December 9, 2008 release but was recently pushed back to the first quarter of 2009, with a new release date on May 19. Bun B has confirmed that he will guest star on Blackout! 2 – in April 2009, a single has been released named City Lights, produced by Nasty Kutt ^[10] Also producers such as Erick Sermon, Rockwilder and Pete Rock have announced their presence on the album.

The duo has finished their Still High tour with Termanalogy, the Alchemist, and Evidence of Dilated Peoples.

[edit] 2011–present: Crystal Meth

Crystal Meth is Method Man's upcoming fifth studio album.^[11][12][13] The album has no confirmed release date. The Crystal Meth was first announced before Method Man began working on his and Redman's sophomore collaboration album, Blackout! 2. In the liner notes of that album, it was given a scheduled release date for 2009. The album, however, was further postponed until it was later mentioned in an MTV interview it would be released in early 2010.^[11] no update on the album's progress or release date has been made. At a concert on the 23 of December 2010 Method Man told the crowd to look for his album in March 2011. However the album was pushed back to an unknown release date.

In a recent interview with The Come Up Show following a recent performance in Canada in April 2011, Method Man replied with this regarding his current 'weed-loving' image:"When you get older and you've got kids and your kids are going to school and you know [their] teachers...and they see how active you are and concerned [you are] with your kids' education or well being, it's hard to sit there and be taken seriously if people are always talking about he's always high...which is totally not the case," he said. "When I first came out, I was young, we were doing our thing, we smoked a lot...and we didn't care if the world knew. Now, I have to use more discretion because of my kids. This is not for me; everything I do is for them now, so I use a bit more discretion and I don't put weed as a forefront any more."

On October 5, 2011, a new single from Method Man, titled "World Gone Sour (The Lost Kids)", was released on iTunes.^[14] Recently, he confirmed that the album will come out next year and will have the usual line-up of producers including RZA, Rockwilder, Erick Sermon, 3rd Digala of Digem Tracks and some other new underground producers he's begun to work with.^[15] He also expressed a desire to work with Odd Future frontman Tyler, The Creator.^[16] It was recently announced via Facebook that Crystal Meth will be his last album & to be fully produced by RZA.

Acting career[link]

In the early 2000s Method Man began a career in acting. He has had recurring roles in critically acclaimed television shows such as HBO's Oz as Tug Daniels, HBO's The Wire in which he plays Prop Joe's nephew Cheese, The Twilight Zone and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He and Redman hosted a pilot on MTV called Stung. He has made numerous appearances as himself on TV shows such as Mind of Mencia and Chappelle's Show.

Method Man portrays Drops on CSI, a wealthy Las Vegas party promoter who clashes with the CSI team, specifically investigator Nick Stokes, in their investigations involving his clubs or entourage. His first appearance on CSI as Drops was in the 2006 episode "Poppin' Tags". He resumed the role in the 2007 episode "Big Shots" and again in the 2008 episode "Drops Out".

His first prominent role came in 1998 with the film Belly along with fellow rappers Nas and DMX. He has since added many credits to his name, including roles in the films Garden State, One Eight Seven, and many others, with starring roles in the feature films such as How High and Soul Plane. On March 27, 2007 Redman confirmed on BET's show Rap City that the sequel to How High was being written. The script for How High 2 is being written by Dustin Lee Abraham of CSI, who also wrote the first movie. In 2005 Method Man also had a cameo in the horror movie Venom, where he played a deputy who shortly into the movie is killed. He appears in the 2008 movies The Wackness and also, Meet the Spartans.

Method Man stars in the episode "Snitch" of Law & Order SVU as the main antagonist. The episode was first broadcast December 4, 2007.

Method Man has made an appearance in the Def Jam series of video games. In Fight for NY he voiced Blaze, one of the main characters. In Icon, he voiced Gooch, a major character in the storyline. In Underground, He voiced Meth, one of the major characters. He made a guest appearance in the music video for the 2003 "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, where he played the role of her boyfriend. He also appeared in Beanie Sigel's music video "Feel It in the Air", where Method Man played an undercover cop leading an operation against Sigel.

Method Man has fallen back from pursuing more acting roles after the situation with his sitcom on Fox left a bad taste in his mouth,^[17] and now mostly just acts if the project is being handled by a friend of his, as was the case with CSI and The Wire. He also played an arsonist and a wealthy executive as well as main antagonist in an episode of the fox TV show The Good Guys.

Method Man appears as a hip hop business mogul in an episode of Burn Notice.

Method man had a cameo appearance in the 1997 film Cop Land as a physically violent fleeing criminal that throws Peter Berg's character off of a New York rooftop. Method Man has also appeared in the TV drama Wonderland, as a patient in a mental hospital.

Method man plays a small role in the 2011 film "The Sitter" starring Jonah Hill. In 2012 he played crewman "Sticks" in George Lucas' movie Red Tails about the Tuskegee airmen.

Other ventures[link]

Method Man appeared in the 1995 documentary entitled The Show. There is a memorable scene in which Method Man, on a train in Japan, gets into an argument with U-God and Ghostface Killah, over camera time, radio interviews, and clothing mishaps.

In 2006, Method Man appeared on the MTV reality game show Yo Momma in the first episode of Season 1.

Method Man is the first of the Wu-Tang Clan to produce a series of eponymous graphic novels for Hachette Book Group USA's imprint Grand Central Publishing^[18] (to be followed by GZA and Ghostface Killah).^[19]

Personal life[link]

He became engaged to his wife in 1999 and they married in 2001.^[5] He has three children: two sons (born in 1996 and 2001), and one daughter (born in 1997). Method Man also has collabed with Rochester rapper "Dale Mahoney" on his project "Jordans&Drugs" in 2012.^[20]

Legal issues[link]

On Thursday May 17, 2007 Method Man was arrested in New York City on marijuana charges. His Mercedes-Benz convertible was pulled over at the Battery Tunnel en route to Manhattan, and when he rolled his window down the officer noticed a strong smell of marijuana. "It was like something out of Cheech & Chong. He rolls down the window and the smoke would choke a horse," a source later said.^[21] The arresting officer said he noticed two blunts and a plastic bag with more marijuana in plain view. Upon further inspection more marijuana was found under the driver's seat. The arrest was made at about 10 P.M. Thursday night near the Battery Tunnel toll booths on Hamilton Ave. in Carroll Gardens. He was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of marijuana, operating a motor vehicle under the influence and driving an uninspected motor vehicle. He later made many public service appearances to try to make up for it, most notably at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn.^[22]

On October 5, 2009, Method Man was arrested at his home in Staten Island for income tax violations.^[23] He was accused of failing to file income tax returns for the state of New York between 2004 and 2007 and owes nearly $33,000 in taxes. On June 28, 2010,^[24] Method Man plead guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to a conditional discharge^[25] and paid a $106,000.00 fine.^[24]

Controversies[link]

Wu-Tang management[link]

In 2003, Method Man criticized Oli "Power" Grant and Mitchell "Divine" Diggs, the managers of the Wu-Tang business.^[26] "Number 1 on my shit list right now is Divine from Wu-Tang management. He took something major from me that he had no intention of giving back."^[27] Divine is multiplatinum record producer RZA's brother who along with Oli "Power" Grant took over the business end of Wu-Tang around 1997.

Aside from the financial issues, Method Man was unhappy with the decision to bring Wu-Tang into the fashion world for a brief period of time with Wu-Wear, despite the brand being a major money-maker for the group. "When Wu-Wear started making shoes and sneakers and pants, it was shoddy material. I never rocked that shit."^[27]

Wendy Williams[link]

In 2006 Method Man had a highly personal and highly publicized conflict with TV talk show host Wendy Williams on The Breakdown, an internet show on ONLOQ.com. Williams talked on air about Method Man's wife having cancer, which was something he had wanted to keep very private and even her own family members had not yet known about. He said that people who lived next door to him didn't even know, but Williams had dug it up and made it public over the radio. Because of this leaked information, Method Man and his wife had many problems.^[28]

Williams also reported rumors that Method Man had even been having an affair with his wife's doctor. Method Man first heard of this while in recording sessions in Los Angeles.

Sean Combs[link]

During a concert in 2006, Method Man criticized Diddy's decisions on the posthumous The Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter album, saying that Biggie never would have worked with some of the subpar rappers. "They got niggas on that album Big would have never rocked with," Meth said of the album. "Musically, I ain't fuckin' with Puff Daddy".^[30] He also brought up the fact that he was the only other rapper that Biggie chose to have on his debut album Ready To Die. He was featured on the track "The What".

Previously, Diddy had been one of the executive producers for Method Man's 2004 album Tical 0: The Prequel, to which Meth later voiced his displeasure on the final product. From then on, he focused on production from within the clan and its closely tied collaborators.

Fox Television[link]

He starred in a Fox sitcom called Method & Red in late 2004, however after only a short time on the air the show was put on hiatus and never returned. Method Man later complained in the press about Fox's influence on the show's style, claiming that "there's been too much compromise on our side and not enough on their side" and bemoaning the network's decision to add a laugh track. Before the show even aired for the first time, he was telling fans not to bother watching it. He told the newspaper:

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

Method Man filmography

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Method Man

• Method Man at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website

VJ Andy (born May 31, 1980), from Mumbai, India, aka Anand Kumar is Channel V VJ and the host of Dare 2 Date, a dating reality show.^[1]

Early life[link]

He first appeared in the hit music video Kaliyon ka Chaman and was later offered to host Get Gorgeous 3 on Channel V. He currently is hosting Dare 2 Date.^[2][3] He has also been a part of a lot of national and international plays. He also hosts Channel V's Beauty and the Geek.In most of his shows, his demeanor is rather effeminate.

References[link]

External links[link]

• http://www.channelv.in/
• http://twitter.com/VJAndyQuote