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Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004) was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often shortened to ODB). He was one of the founding members of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan.

Ol' Dirty Bastard simultaneously brought a measure of humor and a touch of the absurd to the Wu-Tang Clan. Often noted for his unusual microphone technique (critic Steve Huey writes of Jones' "outrageously profane, free-associative rhymes" delivered "in a distinctive half-rapped, half-sung style"), Jones' stage name came from a 1980 kung fu film entitled Ol' Dirty & The Bastard, the relevance of which was articulated by Method Man's assertion that there was "no father" to Jones' style.

After establishing the Wu-Tang Clan, Ol' Dirty Bastard went on to a successful solo career. However, his professional success was hampered by his erratic personal behavior and frequent legal troubles, including incarceration. He died in late 2004 of an accidental drug overdose only two days before his 36th birthday. There was recently a video documentary made on Ol' Dirty Bastard's life, and is set to be released in November 10, 2009."

Biography

Early life and career

Russell Tyrone Jones was born in East New York, Brooklyn in 1968. As he got older, he started hanging out more and more with his cousins Dante Diggs and Gary Grice; they all shared a taste for rap music and kung-fu movies. Diggs, later known as the RZA, Grice, later the GZA formed Force of the Imperial Master, which subsequently became known as the All in Together Now Crew after they had a successful underground single of that name.

In 1990, Ol' Dirty became close friends with fellow "5 percenter," Freedom Shabazz Allah, "Slumlord Shabazz," while both were residing as roommates in Orlando, Florida. Shabazz, hailing from Plainfield, New Jersey, immediately became close friends with Tom Jones after graduating from Job Corps in upstate New York along with RZA's eldest brother. The two became inseparable and spent countless hours penning rhymes together and working a brief stint at the local Hardee's and at Universal Studios as laborers at the "Jaws" attraction.

The cousins soon added six more friends and associates to the Clan, and released their debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in 1993. 36 Chambers received enormous critical praise, and is now widely regarded as one of the best and most influential albums of any genre to be released in the 1990s, as well as one of the best hip hop albums of all time.

While most of the members received individual praise from critics and fans, Jones became perhaps the best-known member of the group. Armed with a seemingly crazed, slurred, often off-beat, half-sung half-rapped delivery, bizarre lyrics and humorous antics that were unlike anything ever heard before in rap, he seemed to encapsulate and personify the raw, unadulterated and innovative style of the group.

Solo career

ODB's solo career began in 1995, making him the second member of the Wu-Tang Clan to release a solo album, following Method Man's 1994 effort, Tical. Released on March 28, 1995, Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version spawned the hit singles "Brooklyn Zoo" and "Shimmy Shimmy Ya", which helped propel the album to gold status. The album's sound was as raw and gritty as 36 Chambers, producer RZA creating beats even more minimalist and stripped-down than on the group's debut.

That same year, he was featured on the remix of Mariah Carey's "Fantasy". What might have seemed like an unlikely pairing spawned a major hit song.

Around this time, Jones gained notoriety when, as he was being profiled for an MTV biography, he took two of his thirteen children by limousine to a New York State welfare office to pick up his welfare check while his latest album was still in the top ten of the US charts. The entire incident was filmed by an MTV camera crew and was broadcast nationwide.

In 1997, ODB appeared on the Wu-Tang Clan's second and most commercially successful album, Wu-Tang Forever. However, Jones appeared less often on the Clan's second album than on the debut; he contributed a solo track titled "Dog Shit" as well as hooks ("As High As Wu-Tang Get") and spoken introductions ("Triumph"), but other than these appearances and featuring prominently on the songs "Maria" and "Reunited," as well as delivering a very short verse on "Heaterz," he was absent.

In February 1998, Jones witnessed a car accident from the window of his Brooklyn recording studio. He and a friend ran to the accident scene and organized about a dozen onlookers who assisted in lifting the 1996 Ford Mustang—rescuing a 4-year-old girl from the wreckage. She was taken to a hospital with second and third degree burns. Using a false name, Jones visited the girl in the hospital frequently until he was spotted by members of the media.

The evening following the traffic accident, Jones rushed on-stage unexpectedly as Shawn Colvin took the stage to give her acceptance speech for "Song of the Year" at the Grammy Awards, and began complaining that he had recently purchased expensive clothes in anticipation of winning the "Best Rap Album" award that he lost to Puff Daddy. As Colvin took the stage to a round of applause, he implored the audience, "Please calm down, the music and everything. It's nice that I went and bought me an outfit today that costed a lot of money today, you know what I mean? 'Cause I figured that Wu-Tang was gonna win. I don't know how you all see it, but when it comes to the children, Wu-Tang is for the children. We teach the children. You know what I mean? Puffy is good, but Wu-Tang is the best, Okay? I want you all to know that this is ODB, and I love you all. Peace!" His bizarre on-stage antics were widely reported in the mainstream media.

In April 1998, he announced his new stage name, Big Baby Jesus (the first of many alternate stage names; see the list below), but was never able to give a coherent explanation for the very brief switch.

In 1999, he found time to release Nigga Please between jail sentences, which received much success and was even more bizarrely warped than his debut. This release included the single "Got Your Money" which became extremely successful in the US and elsewhere; it was produced by The Neptunes, and its success would serve as one of the production group's main stepping stones to the super-stardom they would later achieve. As well as the Neptunes, the single also put singer Kelis, who sang the chorus, on the map; she went on to have a successful solo career. During the same period, Jones was paid US$30,000 to appear on Insane Clown Posse's 1999 album The Amazing Jeckel Brothers. Completing his track in two days, his recording consisted of him rambling about "bitches." Insane Clown Posse re-recorded the track and reedited Jones' vocals in order to form four rhymes out of his rambling, giving the song the title "Bitches".

In 2001, with Jones again in jail for crack cocaine possession, his record company Elektra Records made the decision to release a greatest hits album (despite there being only two albums in ODB's back catalog) in order to both end their contract with the unreliable, troubled artist as well as make some money off the publicity generated by his legal troubles. After the contract with Elektra was terminated, the label D-3 records released the album The Trials and Tribulations of Russell Jones in 2002, comprised of tracks put together without Jones's input, using the vocals he had recorded with hypewoman Sic-wif-it (Salome), DJ extrodinaire Organix (Eden), and the high- profile lyricist T-Time (Tamara) prior to his capture by authorities. The label recruited many guests including several Wu-Tang Clan affiliates, No Limit Records artist C-Murder, and Insane Clown Posse. However, the album was critically panned and sales were poor.

The year 2003 brought a change in the life of Ol' Dirty Bastard however. The day he was released from prison, with Mariah Carey and Damon Dash by his side, Jones signed a contract with Roc-A-Fella Records, and began a new chapter in his life. Living at his mother's home under house arrest and with a court-ordered probation hanging over his head, he managed to star in a VH1 special, Inside Out: ODB Life on Parole. He also managed to record a new album, originally scheduled to be released through Dame Dash Music Group in 2004; it remains unreleased.

Aliases

The members of the Wu-Tang clan rapped under several personae, each with their own mythology and influences. Ol' Dirty Bastard takes his stage name from the 1980 Meng-Hwa Ho film Mad Mad Kung Fu (Guai zhao ruan pi she, also known as Ol' Dirty Kung Fu or Ol' Dirty & the Bastard). Some of ODB's recurring aliases:

• Big Baby Jesus, Sweet Baby Jesus (from ODB: Dirty Minded Documentary)
• Dirt McGirt, Dirt Dog
• Russell Jones
• Osirus
• Osiris the Father
• Joe Bananas
• Ol' Dirt Schultz
• Hasaan
• Ill Irving the Murderer
• The BZA
• The Drunken Master Styles
• Ason Jones, Ason Unique
• Rain Man

Legal troubles

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In 1993, ODB was convicted of second degree assault for an attempted robbery and in 1994, he was shot in the abdomen following an argument with another rapper.

In 1997, he was arrested for failure to pay child support for three of his thirteen children. His wife, Icelene Jones, claimed he had not paid any support in over a year.

In 1998, he pled guilty to attempted assault on his wife and was the victim of a home invasion robbery at his girlfriend's house. He was shot in the back and arm but the wounds were superficial.

In July 1998, only days after being shot in a push-in robbery at his girlfriend's house in Brooklyn, he was arrested for shoplifting a pair of $50 shoes from a Sneaker Stadium store in Virginia Beach, Virginia, although he was carrying close to $500 in cash at the time. He was issued bench warrants by the Virginia Beach Sheriffs Department to stand trial after he failed to appear in court numerous times. He was arrested for criminal threatening after a series of drunken confrontations in Los Angeles a few weeks later, and was then re-arrested for similar charges not long after that.

During a traffic stop, the details of which remain clouded in multiple versions of events, he was arrested for attempted murder and criminal weapon possession. The case was later dismissed.

In February 1999, he was arrested for driving without a license and for being a convicted felon wearing a bulletproof vest (the first person arrested for this infraction under a new California law). Back in New York weeks later, he was arrested for drug possession of crack cocaine and for traffic offenses. With multiple cases in the past and present, he was arrested with marijuana and 20 vials of crack. After his arrest, ODB reportedly asked the police to "make the rocks disappear". During a court hearing, he once called a female prosecutor a "sperm donor."

This criminal record was commented on by Chris Rock in his 1999 spoken word song, "No Sex (In the Champagne Room)", with Rock asserting that "ODB couldn't've possibly committed all those crimes.

ODB entered rehab while still technically a fugitive from the law, but strange behavior during a subsequent court date sent him to jail for a brief period.

In October 2000, he escaped from his court-mandated drug treatment facility and spent one month as a fugitive. During his time on the run, he met with RZA and spent some time in their recording studio. He then appeared onstage at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York swigging a bottle at the record release party for The W, the third Wu-Tang Clan album. In late November 2000 while still on the lam, he was arrested outside a South Philadelphia McDonald's (at 29th and Gray's Ferry Ave.), after he drew a crowd while signing autographs. He spent a couple of days in a Philadelphia jail and was later extradited to New York City. A Manhattan court sentenced him to two to four years incarceration.

Death

Leading up to his early death, Russell Jones' legal troubles and odd behavior made him "something of a folk hero", according to The New Yorker writer Michael Agger. However, critic Steve Huey writes that "it was difficult for observers to tell whether ODB's wildly erratic behavior was the result of serious drug problems or genuine mental instability. The possibility that his continued antics were at least partly the result of conscious image-making disappeared as time wore on."

Jones collapsed at approximately 5:29 p.m. on November 13, 2004 (two days before his 36th birthday) at Wu-Tang's recording studio (36 Records LLC on West 34th Street in New York City). He was pronounced dead less than an hour later. His funeral was held at Brooklyn's Christian Cultural Center.

The official cause of death was a drug overdose as an autopsy found a lethal mixture of cocaine and prescription drug Tramadol, a synthetic opiate used to treat severe pain. The overdose was ruled accidental and witnesses say that Jones complained of chest pain on the day he died.

A statement was released on Saturday (November 13, 2004) evening by his mother Cherry Jones:

"This evening, I received a phone call that is every mother's worst dream," she said. "My son, Russell Jones, passed away. To the public, he was known as Ol' Dirty Bastard, but to me, he was known as Rusty, the kindest, most generous soul on earth. I appreciate all the support and prayers that I have received. Russell was more than a rapper, he was a loving father, brother, uncle, and most of all, son."

A statement was also released by Damon Dash, who signed ODB to Roc-A-Fella Records in the fall of 2004:

"All of us in the Roc-A-Fella family are shocked and saddened by the sudden and tragic death of our brother and friend. Russell inspired all of us with his spirit, and with a tremendous heart. He will be missed dearly, and our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences go out to his wonderful family. The world has lost a great talent, but we mourn the loss of our friend."

Discography

Albums

Singles

• 1995: "Brooklyn Zoo"
• 1995: "Shimmy Shimmy Ya"
• 1999: "Got Your Money" (feat. Kelis)
• 2001: "Missin My Rock (An Ode to Lithdawg and crew)"
• 2003: "Welcome Home" (feat. Nicole Wray)

Appearances

• 1993 "Show & Prove" (from the Big Daddy Kane album Daddy's Home)
• 1995 "Nuttin' But Flavor" (Funkmaster Flex single)
• 1995 "Duel Of The Iron Mic" (from the GZA album Liquid Swords)
• 1995 "Fantasy" (from the Mariah Carey album Daydream)
• 1996 "Stricly HIP-HOP" ( feat ODB album )
• 1996 "Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check (Remix)" (single by Busta Rhymes)
• 1997 "Fix (Main Mix)" (single by Blackstreet)
• 1997 "Hip Hop Drunkies" (from the Alkaholiks album Likwidation)
• 1997 "Say Nothin'" (from the Omar Lye-Fook album This Is Not A Love Song)
• 1998 "If You Don't Know" (from the Killah Priest album Heavy Mental)
• 1998 "Nowhere To Run" (from Chef Aid: The South Park Album)
• 1998 "Shining Star" (from the Sunz Of Man album The Last Shall Be First)
• 1998 "For The Money" (from the Mack 10 album The Recipe)
• 1998 "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" (from Bulworth (soundtrack))
• 1999 "Bitches" (from the Insane Clown Posse album The Amazing Jeckel Brothers)
• 1999 "Prepare For The Buddha Monk" (from the Popa Wu album Visions Of The 10th Chamber)
• 1999 "Kiss Of A Black Widow" (from the RZA album Bobby Digital In Stereo)
• 1999 "Crash Your Crew" (from the GZA album Beneath The Surface)
• 2000 "Violence" (from the Cam'ron album S.D.E.)
• 2000 "Wreck (Mankind Theme)" (from WWF Aggression)
• 2001 "Black Widow Pt. 2" (from the RZA album Digital Bullet)
• 2001 "Sussudio" (from the album Urban Renewal)
• 2002 "Doe Rae Wu" (from the Wu-Tang Killa Beez album The Sting)
• 2003 "Pop Shit" (from The Neptunes album The Neptunes Present... Clones)
• 2003 "We Pop" (from the RZA album Birth Of A Prince)
• 2003 "When You Hear That" (single by Beanie Sigel)
• 2004 "Dirty" (from the Slum Village album Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit))
• 2004 "Dirty and Thirsty" (from the Melbeatz album Rapper's Delight)
• 2004 "Some Girls (Dance With Women)" (bonus remix of the first single off the JC Chasez album Schizophrenic)
• 2004 "Old Man" (from the Masta Killa album No Said Date)
• 2005 "Blah-Blah-Blah" (from the Brooke Valentine Album Chain Letter)
• 2005 "Break That" (from the Mathematics album The Problem)
• 2005 "Keep The Receipt" (from the Kanye West Mixtape Freshman Adjustment)
• 2005 "Thirsty" (from Blade Trinity OST)
• 2005 "Specially Trained Ninja" (from the Zu Ninjaz album Now Justice)
• 2005 "Where's Your Money?" (bonus track from the Busta Rhymes album The Big Bang)
• 2006 "9 Milli Bros" (from the Ghostface album Fishscale)
• 2006 "Where Brooklyn At?" (from the Bekay single "Where Brooklyn At?")
• 2006 "Build Me Up" (from the Rhymefest album Blue Collar)
• 2006 "Dirty Mef" (from the Method Man album 4:21...The Day After)
• 2007 "Toxic" (Mark Ronson remix from the album Version)
• 2008 "Do it For" (from the Brooklyn Zu and Chamber #9, Verse 32)
• 2009 "Strange Enough" (on the collaboration-project "N.A.S.A., The Spirit of Apollo" featuring Karen O)

References

1. Description at AllMusic
2. as related on track 5 of Enter the Wu-Tang
3. Zahlaway, Jon (December 15, 2004). "Autopsy shows ODB died of accidental drug overdose". LiveDaily. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
4. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002LFPBOW/ref=s9_simz_gw_s0_p74_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=06BBQ8WXY0CJ605JSZ3K&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
5. http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/A890.htm Acclaimed Music - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
6. News - Articles - 1429494 - 19980224
7. Bruce, Joseph. "Big Money Hustlas". In Nathan Fostey (ed.). ICP: Behind the Paint (2nd Edition ed.). Royal Oak, Michigan: Psychopathic Records. pp. 414–433. ISBN 09741846083. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Check |isbn= value: length (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |origdate= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |origmonth= ignored (help)
8. TV.com page on ODB: "Alias Names: Dirt McGirt, Russell Jones, O.D.B., Osirus, Big Baby Jesus, ODB, Dirt Dog, Joe Bananas"
9. Rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard dies suddenly in New York
10. Agger, Michael (2005-01-10). "Not Dirty". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2006-10-09.
11. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1494879/20041215/ol_dirty_bastard.jhtml
12. http://www.nme.com/news/ol-dirty-bastard/18784

External links

• Ol' Dirty Bastard Tells Why He Stormed Grammy Stage
• Ol' Dirty Bastard Discography at Discogs
• BBC News - Rapper collapses and dies aged 35
• MTV News - Rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard Dies
• The Economist - Obituary in brief Ol' Dirty Bastard
• Digging for Dirt: The Life and Death of ODB by Jamie Lowe (Macmillan 2008)
• ODB Storming The Grammy Stage!
• Ol' Dirty Bastard at Find a Grave
• Ol' Dirty Bastard at IMDb

• 1968 births
• 2004 deaths
• African American rappers
• American robbers
• Americans convicted of assault
• Cocaine-related deaths in New York
• Def Jam Recordings artists
• Members of the Nation of Gods and Earths
• People convicted of drug offenses
• People from Brooklyn
• Rappers from New York City
• Wu-Tang Clan members