Tamika Smith pictured on her inactive Facebook page.
Wu-Tang Clan rapper Method Man furiously quit social media after a private photo of him and his wife leaked onto Twitter. The hip-hop superstar has previously been shown to be private about his personal life. On July 26, he tweeted at “God-Made Millionaire” Farrah Gray and asked him to remove a photo the “Celebrity Entrepreneur” had posted of Meth, real Clifford Smith, 45, and his wife, Tamika Smith, 41. In a series of now-deleted tweets, Method Man wrote, “I guess follows n likes are more important than tastefulness and decency.. Smh.” That was followed by, “I’m done with social media until further notice… I’ve lost faith in human decency and I will not feed the trolls any longer. F**k u all.” The picture was later removed by Farrah Gray.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Famously in 2006, Method Man Destroyed Wendy Williams After the Talkshow Host Publicly Disclosed Tamika Smith’s Battle With Cancer
In 2006, Method Man went to bat for his wife after talk show host Wendy Williams announced publicly that Smith had been battling breast cancer. The rapper said, in the above video, that his family had been trying keep that information quiet and that some their closest friends didn’t know about the diagnosis. Williams later said that her releasing the information caused Method Man problems in his relationship, even alleging that Method Man had been having an affair with his wife’s doctor.
Method Man responded saying, “She said me and [the doctor] was f**king [sic]. What kind of s**t is that, man?,” he said. “You don’t do that to nobody … I was ready. I was so mad, I was crying right there and I’m like I’m gonna kill some f**king body and these [Wu Tang friends] kept me in there, kept me in L.A.”
In a later interview with Rolling Stone, Method Man elaborated on his wife’s battle with cancer saying, “My wife is one of the strongest people on the planet. I just want to make Wendy Williams aware of exactly what it felt like to be sitting in that hospital room, watching the pump this poison into the one you love.”
2. She Previously Worked as Her Husband’s Personal Assistant
(Getty)
According to her LinkedIn page, Smith previously worked as her husband’s personal assistant between 1997 and 2002. She also worked with “adults with physical and/or learning disabilities.”
Smith writes on her page:
I’m a wife and mother of three teenagers. I am the owner of a small business in the beauty industry. Currently, I’m taking a course in entrepreneurship at the College of Staten Island.
I’m also in pursuit of earning my Associates degree in business management/ administration.
On my free time, I like to workout, study real estate, watch football or hang out with my family. I also like to dance, eat a good meal and I always enjoy a good laugh. I’m looking forward to meeting new people and making new connections.
3. Her Nephew Was Shot When He Was 2 Years Old, the Innocent Victim of a Gang War
In April 1994, the Associated Press reported that Tamika Smith’s nephew, Dontae Hawkins, had been shot in Staten Island. The then two-year-old was the innocent victim of a gang war going on in the Stapleton neighborhood. Hawkins would lose a kidney in the shooting but eventually made a full recovery.
The AP article notes that Hawkins’ father is Wu-Tang associated rapper Justin Hawkins and that Tamika Smith, then 18, spent significant time supporting her sister while Dontae was making his recovery.
Dontae Hawkins pictured on his Facebook page.
Nowadays, Dontae Hawkins is an aspiring filmmaker and radio personality on Staten Invasion Radio. Perhaps in some tribute to his uncle’s work with Wu-Tang, Hawkins goes by the moniker Shaolin Lord on Instagram.
4. Method Man Spoke About the Pressure Groupies Put on Performers in an Appearance on MTV in 1999
During an appearance on MTV’s Diary program in 1999, Method Man spoke about the troubles he had avoiding groupies while out on tour. That was the year he became engaged to his wife. Method Man and Smith were married in 2001. The couple has three children, Sha, born in 1996, Rae, short for Raekwon, born in 1997 and a daughter Cheyenne born in 1997. The family lives together in Staten Island, New York, accoding to Method Man’s IMDb page.
5. When a Woman Was Accused of Having Sex With the Members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Method Man Said She Looked Like a Groupie Chaperone
In 2015, a woman appeared on the reality courtroom show, Divorce Court, during which her ex-boyfriend accused her of sleeping with the entire Wu-Tang Clan. A reference to the incident was posted on the Instagram page of the clan’s tour manager Simon Green. In the comments section, Method Man responded, saying:
That s**t’s fake I would’ve remembered her.. I would’ve spotted her and said which one of u b*****s brought the chaperone.
The woman in question, Lia, denied the allegation but said that she did party with the band after one of their shows. Simon Green spoke very highly of Method Man’s on-tour behavior in an interview with the Daily Mirror, saying, “Method Man’s my boy. He’s got my back. He’s the leader of the band and one of the most creative people I’ve ever worked with.”