Method Man, Redman Team Again For Tour

Rappers Method Man and Redman begin a 31-date tour on March 18 in support of their critically acclaimed record "Blackout!" Starting in Charlotte, N.C., the pair will circle the states, playing a mixture of colleges and clubs, wrapping up on April 30 at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Method Man originally won recognition for his work with the Wu-Tang Clan, the Staten Island, N.Y., hip-hop collective. In the years since his debut with Wu-Tang, Method Man's solo records have gone platinum, and his nimble rhyming on Limp Bizkit's ''N2 Gether'' provided street credibility to its hip-hop/metal hybrid.

Redman got his start guesting on an EPMD record and quickly established himself as a solo artist in his own right. Following the September release of ''Blackout!'' Method Man and Redman also toured together as part of the cross-genre Family Values outing.

Last month, Mistic, a maker of ''herbally enhanced flavored natural energy drinks,'' announced that Method Man and Redman had signed on as spokespersons.