it wasnt laziness imo. meth was probably one of the hardest working dudes in the clan. always showed up to guest on the other albums, always ready to put in work on the group albums, even when he wasnt focused.
i hate to be the one to say it... but he just wasnt as good as his peers. all-time flow. not a strong lyricist. above average, but not a great song-writer. never evolved as an mc the way ghost, rae, red, and his all-time great contemporaries did.
u listen to the first wu album and meth is no worse than the second best mc on it. and easily the most consistent, imo. steals the show every time he pops up.
by the time wu-tang forever dropped, ghost, rae, rza had all passed him. deck arguably. odb passed him on return to the 36, but was already falling off by group album two.
red demolished him every time they shared a mic, save for one or two joints off blackout (cheka and y.o.u. spring to mind).
ghost and rae both have albums that could probably make the top 10 all-time. meth doesnt have an album that makes the top 100.
wu wouldnt be shyt without meth. but he'll always be remembered more for his impact over the music. even with some truly great, all-time singles (m.e.t.h.o.d. man, the whut, shadowboxin, meth vs chef, ice cream, mind made up, dirty dancin, bring the pain, ur all i need) his overall body of work is just... ok. definitely not comparable to ob4cl, ghosts entire catalogue, liquid swords, return to the 36, etc.
and when u expand the lens to look at albums from non-wu peers?
show me a meth album fukkin with the best efforts from jay, nas, big, cube, busta, snoop, kast, 'face, pac, black moon, dmx, etc.
u cant. not a shot at meth's place in history. he's a legend either way. but still... u cant.
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