Ol' Dirty Bastard

Ol' Dirty Bastard, born Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), also known as ODB, Dirt McGirt, Dirt Dog, Ason Unique, Osirus and Big Baby Jesus, was an African American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. As well as being well-known as one of the most distinctive hip hop artists of the 1990s, he became notorious for his problem-plagued private life and erratic public behavior.

Biography

Russell Jones founded the Wu-Tang Clan in 1992 with his cousins, the RZA, and the GZA (with whom he had previously comprised the underground trio 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). 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 (1993 in music). Most of the members of the group received individual praise from critics and fans for their contributions to the album, but Ol' Dirty became perhaps the most well-known member of the group in the aftermath of its release. 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 (his rap name comes from the claim that "he has no father to his style"), he encapsulated and came to personify the raw, unadulterated and innovative style of the group as a whole. The 36 Chambers album received enormous critical praise, and is now 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. http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/A890.htm

Related Topics:
1992 - RZA - GZA - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - 1993 - 1993 in music - Off-beat - 1990s

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ODB's solo career began in 1995, 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, spawned the hit singles Brooklyn Zoo and Shimmy Shimmy Ya, and powered 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, which put the focus on ODB's crazed antics. That same year, he was featured on the remix of Mariah Carey's hit single "Fantasy", the first popular pop-R&B/hip-hop collaboration that has inspired the trend in modern music. Around this time, he 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 broadcasted nationwide. The incident would eventually make #22 on Spin Magazine's list of Music's 100 Sleaziest moments. http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1436858/08292000/id_0.jhtml

Related Topics:
1995 - Method Man - 1994 - Tical - Gold status - Mariah Carey - Fantasy - MTV - Limousine - New York State - Welfare - Spin Magazine

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In 1997, the rapper appeared on the Wu-Tang Clan's second and most commercially successful album, Wu-Tang Forever. However, he was not as present on the group's sophomore LP as on its first; 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 song "Maria" as well as delivering a very short verse on "Heaterz", he was absent.

Related Topics:
1997 - Wu-Tang Forever

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In February 1998, after ODB 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. ODB, using a false name, visited the girl in the hospital frequently until he was spotted by members of the media.

Related Topics:
1998 - Ford Mustang - Burns - False name

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The following night at the Grammy Awards, Ol' Dirty Bastard rushed onstage unexpectedly during Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech for "Song of the Year" 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. Before being escorted off-stage, he implored the audience, "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. Puffy is good, but Wu-Tang is the best. I want you all to know that this is ODB, and I love you all. Peace!" His bizarre onstage antics were widely reported in the mainstream media. In April 1998, he announced his new stage name, Big Baby Jesus, but was never able to give a coherent explanation for the very brief switch.

Related Topics:
Grammy Awards - Shawn Colvin - Song of the Year - Best Rap Album - Puff Daddy

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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 superstardom they would achieve in the 21st century. 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. In 2001, with Dirty again in jail for crack cocaine possession, Ol' Dirty's record company Elektra Records made the decision to release a greatest hits album (despite there being only two albums in ODB's back catalogue) 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 Ol' Dirty's input using the vocals he had recorded prior to his capture by authorities. The label recruited many guests including several Wu-Tang Clan affiliates, No Limit Records artist C-Murder, and the Insane Clown Posse. However, the album was critically panned and sales were poor.

Related Topics:
1999 - Nigga Please - The Neptunes - 21st century - Kelis - Elektra Records - 2002 - Wu-Tang Clan affiliates - No Limit Records - C-Murder - Insane Clown Posse

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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, Dirty 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 reality television series. He also managed to record a new album, (to be) released in 2005 on his new label.

Related Topics:
2003 - Prison - Mariah Carey - Damon Dash - Roc-a-Fella Records - House arrest - Probation - VH1 - Reality television - 2005

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He had stated that he also planned on collaborating with artists in the electronic music genre, such as Carnage and The Fiasco, Fischerspooner, and possibly even Massive Attack.

Related Topics:
Fischerspooner - Massive Attack

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