Method Man is a GRAMMY-winning MC whose nearly 30-year career in music makes his success story one of Hip-Hop’s greatest. Since 1993’s “Method Man” off the Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Meth’s reputation as an elite lyricist has gone unquestioned. But, like most rappers, the Staten Island, New York native’s first rap didn’t earn him any recognition.

In a recent interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, Method Man is asked if he can remember the first rhyme he ever wrote.

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“I was eight when I fell in love with Hip-Hop,” Meth begins (near the 4:57 mark). “When I wrote my first rhyme, I was about 12, 13.” At the time, he didn’t have a Rap name and went by “Cliff,” a shortened version of his given name, “Clifford.” He goes on to tell Colbert he wrote it in his mother’s kitchen, and it was a duet for future Wu-Tang group-mate Raekwon and himself. It was called “I’m On a Mission.” He then delivers a couple of bars, but not before saying “it’s dated, so it might be a little booty”:

“I’m on a mission / Don’t get up because I’m takin’ no shorts / I bust a cap in this like that / And I will give it no thought / Ugly girlies ’round the way / They try to get that rap / Don’t try to riff / My name is Cliff / I’ll put you out on your back / For those suckas out there / That’s playin’ it soft / The GBK gets busy / But never gets lost.”

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Method Man made his appearance on Colbert’s show to promote his involvement on the forthcoming Rap-battle series, Drop the Mic. The competition show, which airs on TNT, is co-hosted by Meth and features celebrities who become battle rappers for the day.

In December 2018, the rapper formerly known as Cliff released Meth Lab Season 2: The Lithium. The month before, Method Man served as a featured guest on J.I.D’s DiCaprio 2, alongside Joey Bada$$.