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 mic technique (critic Steve Huey writes of Jones's "outrageously profane, free-associative rhymes" delivered "in a distinctive half-rapped, half-sung style"), Jones's 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's 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 a drug overdose in a recording studio.
Life and Career
Ol' Dirty Bastard was born Russell Jones in Brooklyn in 1968, and grew up in the neighborhood of Fort Greene. As he got older, he started hanging out more and more with his cousins Robert Diggs and Gary Grice; they all shared a taste for rap music and kung-fu movies. Diggs, later to be known as the RZA, Grice, later the GZA, and Jones 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.
Wu-Tang Clan
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). 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 group's 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.
Ol' Dirty Bastard takes his name from the 1980 film by Meng-Hwa Ho called An Old Kung Fu Master, known also as Mad Mad Kung Fu and Ol' Dirty & The Bastard. The movie features Yuen Siu Tien aka Simon Yuen who can also be found in other classics such as Drunken Master. Yuen Siu Tien often played a character of an old drunkard who had mastered the martial art of Drunken Boxing.
Solo career
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. Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, 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.
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. "Fantasy" was among the first popular pop, R&B, and hip hop collaborations.
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 sophomore 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 onstage unexpectedly during Shawn Colvin's 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. 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!" (He evidently was confused between Shawn Colvin and Sean Combs, Puff Daddy's real name). His bizarre onstage 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 superstardom 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.
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 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 Jones'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.
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 reality television series. He also managed to record a new album, scheduled to be released in 2006 through Dame Dash Music Group.
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.
Legal troubles
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 a cousin's house in Brooklyn, he was arrested for shoplifting a pair of $50 shoes in Virginia Beach, Virginia, although he was carrying close to $500 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 routine 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'tve possibly committed all those crimes. Coolio did some of that shit."
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 hooked up with the RZA and managed to log some time in the recording studio. He then appeared onstage swigging a bottle at a record release party for The W, a Wu-Tang Clan album. He was later arrested in a Philadelphia McDonald's parking lot while signing autographs, and extradited to New York City. A Manhattan court sentenced him to two to four years incarceration. Mental problems resulted in a suicide attempt not long after his sentencing.
In May 2003, Russell Jones was released from prison. It was said that long time friend, Mariah Carey, picked him up after his release.
At first, his legal troubles and odd behavior made Jones "something of a folk hero", according to The New Yorker writer Michael Agger. However, 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."
Russell Jones collapsed at approximately 5:29 p.m. on November 13, 2004 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. He was buried at Brooklyn's Christian Cultural Center.
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, wit and 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."
The cause of death remained unknown until December 15, 2004; although he reportedly complained of chest pains prior to collapsing, a heart attack was not listed as the cause of death. During the initial autopsy of the 35-year-old rapper, a doubled plastic bag containing cocaine was discovered in his stomach. Final results from an autopsy show he had a lethal mixture of the prescription painkiller Tramadol and high amounts of cocaine in his system at the time of his death, which was ruled an accidental overdose by the New York Medical Examiner's Office.
Brooklyn Zoo
Ol' Dirty Bastard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Word, I'll bust that nigga ass right now
Ain't no, none of them niggas can't fuck with me
What? Nigga, you could never fuck with me, my nigga
I'll fuck you up right now, what? What? What? (Fuck you niggas)
Bust your motherfucking ass, boy
I ain't no motherfucking joke
You know who you talking to? (Yo, word up, bust that nigga ass, word up)Ol' Dirty Bastard, you know what I'm sayin'?
I'll fuck you up right now
Yeah, what? What? What? (Serve that nigga, yo)
He ain't sayin' nothin', fuck him
I'm the one-man army, Ason
I never been tooken out, I keep MC's looking out
I drop science like Cosby dropping babies
Enough to make a nigga go crazy
In the G building, taking all types of medicines
Your ass thought you were better than
Ason, I keep planets in orbit
While I be coming with deeper and more shit
Enough to make you break and shake your ass
As I create rhymes good as a Tastycake makes
This style, I'm mastered in
Niggas catching headaches, what? What? You need Aspirin?
This type of pain you couldn't even kill with Midol
Fuck around, get sprayed with Lysol
In your face like a can of mace, baby
Is it burning? Well, fuck it, now you're learning
How I don't even like your motherfucking profile
Give me my fucking shit, ch-ch-blaow
Not seen and heard, no one knows
You forget niggas be quiet as kept
Now you know nothingBefore you knew a whole fucking lot
Your ass don't wanna get shot (shot)
A lot of MC's came to my showdown
And watched me put your fucking ass low down
As you can go, below zero
Without a doubt I never been tooken out
By a nigga, who couldn't figure
Yo, by a nigga, who couldn't figure
Yo, by a nigga, who couldn't figure (Brooklyn Zoo)
How to pull a fucking gun trigger
I said, "Get the fuck outta here"
Nigga wanna get too close, do the utmost
But I got stacks that'll attack any wack host
Introducing, yo, fuck that nigga's name
My Hip Hop drops on your head like rain
And when it rains it pours, 'cause my rhymes hardcore
That's why I give you more of the raw
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MC's I'll be burning, burning hot
Whoa-hoa-hoa, let me, like, slow up with the flow
If I move too quick, oh, you just won't know
I'm homicidal when you enter the target
Nigga get up, act like a pig trying to hog shit
So I take yo' ass out quick
The mics, I've had it my nigga, you can suck my dick (dick)
If you wanna step to my motherfucking rep
Ch-ch-bloaw-blaow-blaow, blown to death
You got shot 'cause you knock, knock, knock
"Who's there?" Another motherfucking hard rock
Slacking on your macking 'cause raw's what you lack
You wanna react? Bring it on back (back)
I rock the microphone, kill the M-I-C
I get happy as I wanna be
Nigga, whoever fuck with the Ol' Dirty Bastard
I fuck you up nigga, anytime, any day, any motherfuckin' way
Give it to you, nigga
Take your fuckin' ass home where you belong
I'll fuck around and get busy on your shit, right your motherfuckin' now
You know what I'm sayin'?
In the lyrics of Ol' Dirty Bastard's song Brooklyn Zoo, he boasts about his skills as a rapper and delivers a warning to anyone who dares to challenge him. ODB, as he is also known, declares himself to be a "one-man army," an unbeatable force in the rap game. He proclaims that he drops science like Bill Cosby drops babies and is capable of making even the most seasoned MCs go crazy with his rhymes.
ODB raps about his mastery of his style, which causes headaches for other rappers who try to keep pace. He warns anyone who comes up against him that they'll catch a stray shot, like a can of mace, and will end up learning a painful lesson. The rapper also recognizes that many other MCs have come to challenge him, but they always end up getting taken out, as ODB has never been bested in a rap battle. He also delivers a scathing critique of those who talk behind his back, warning them to keep quiet or face his wrath.
Line by Line Meaning
Shit
I am angry and confrontational
Word, I'll bust that nigga ass right now
I am ready to fight and defeat my opponents
Ain't no, none of them niggas can't fuck with me
No one can beat me
What? Nigga, you could never fuck with me, my nigga
I am challenging and belittling my opponent
I'll fuck you up right now, what? What? What? (Fuck you niggas)
I am threatening and aggressive towards my enemies
Bust your motherfucking ass, boy
I will inflict violence upon you
I ain't no motherfucking joke
I am serious and not to be underestimated
You know who you talking to? (Yo, word up, bust that nigga ass, word up)
Do you realize who you are challenging? Others are supporting my victory
Ol' Dirty Bastard, you know what I'm sayin'?
I am introducing myself and making sure you understand my name
I'll fuck you up right now
I am repeating my threat to beat my opponent
Yeah, what? What? What? (Serve that nigga, yo)
I am rallying support for my cause and urging them to take action against my opponent
He ain't sayin' nothin', fuck him (he ain't sayin' nothin', fuck him)
My opponent is not responding, and I am disregarding him
I'm the one-man army, Ason
I am confident in my own abilities and strength
I never been tooken out, I keep MC's looking out
I have never been defeated and keep my competitors alert and wary
I drop science like Cosby dropping babies
I share knowledge and wisdom with my audience like Bill Cosby allegedly shared drugs with women
Enough to make a nigga go crazy
My words are impactful and powerful enough to have an effect on my listener's mental state
In the G building, taking all types of medicines
I am in a hospital or rehab facility, receiving treatment for a medical condition
Your ass thought you were better than
You assumed you were superior to me
Ason, I keep planets in orbit
I have a significant influence and power over the world and its inhabitants
While I be coming with deeper and more shit
I continue to bring more profound and meaningful content to my rhymes
Enough to make you break and shake your ass
My music and lyrics are so good that they make you want to dance and move your body
As I create rhymes good as a Tastycake makes
My rhymes are smooth and satisfying, like a delicious Tastycake pastry
This style, I'm mastered in
I have perfected my own unique style of music
Niggas catching headaches, what? What? You need Aspirin?
My rhymes are so good that they give people a headache, and I offer them aspirin as relief
This type of pain you couldn't even kill with Midol
The pain I inflict with my rhymes is more severe than menstrual cramps that can't be cured with Midol
Fuck around, get sprayed with Lysol
I will harm you or infect you with my influence, like spraying Lysol disinfectant spray
In your face like a can of mace, baby
My rhymes, presence, and attitude are in your face, like a can of pepper spray
Is it burning? Well, fuck it, now you're learning
If you are feeling the heat or discomfort of my presence, too bad, because it means you are now learning the consequences of underestimating me
How I don't even like your motherfucking profile
I do not respect or appreciate anything about you
Give me my fucking shit, ch-ch-blaow
Hand over my belongings or face the consequences
Not seen and heard, no one knows
I operate underground and beneath the radar
You forget niggas be quiet as kept
You have overlooked the fact that some people are quiet and careful in their actions
Now you know nothing
You are completely ignorant and unaware of the situation
Before you knew a whole fucking lot
You were previously informed and knowledgeable about the situation
Your ass don't wanna get shot (shot)
You do not want to face the consequences of challenging me
A lot of MC's came to my showdown
Many other musicians gathered together to challenge me
And watched me put your fucking ass low down
They observed me defeat and humiliate you
As you can go, below zero
You have reached the lowest possible point, beneath even zero
Without a doubt I never been tooken out
I have never been defeated or removed from the game
By a nigga, who couldn't figure
I have never been defeated by someone who could not understand or compete with me
Yo, by a nigga, who couldn't figure
Again, I have never been defeated by someone who could not figure out how to beat me
Yo, by a nigga, who couldn't figure (Brooklyn Zoo)
This is the setting and context of my triumph and reputation
How to pull a fucking gun trigger
They didn't even know how to use a gun to try and stop me
I said, "Get the fuck outta here"
I dismissed and excluded someone from my presence
Nigga wanna get too close, do the utmost
If someone tries to get too close, I will do everything in my power to stop them
But I got stacks that'll attack any wack host
I have money and power that I can use to defeat any weak opponents
Introducing, yo, fuck that nigga's name
I am introducing myself while intentionally disregarding or insulting someone else
My Hip Hop drops on your head like rain
My music and influence pour over you like a rainstorm
And when it rains it pours, 'cause my rhymes hardcore
I bring a lot of intensity and power to my music, which continues to grow in force and impact
That's why I give you more of the raw
I provide a lot of unpolished and authentic content in my music
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
My unique talent and creativity will disrupt and energize the scene
Mc's I'll be burning, burning hot
I will defeat any other musicians with my fiery presence and skill
Whoa-hoa-hoa, let me, like, slow up with the flow
I need to take a break and adjust the pace of my music
If I move too quick, oh, you just won't know
If I act too rashly or quickly, you won't be able to understand or keep up
I'm homicidal when you enter the target
I am extremely dangerous and violent when you become my target or opponent
Nigga get up, act like a pig trying to hog shit
I am urging someone to get up and be aggressive, like a pig fighting over food
So I take yo' ass out quick
I will defeat or eliminate you quickly
The mics, I've had it my nigga, you can suck my dick (dick)
I am done with this competition and will retire from or dominate the music industry. I also assert my dominance and superiority over my enemies.
If you wanna step to my motherfucking rep
If you want to challenge my reputation or authority
Ch-ch-bloaw-blaow-blaow, blown to death
I will defeat or kill you with gunfire
You got shot 'cause you knock, knock, knock
I shot you because you were persistent or annoying
"Who's there?" Another motherfucking hard rock
The person or opponent knocking on my door is just another weak and tough-talking competitor
Slacking on your macking 'cause raw's what you lack
You are not good enough and do not possess the raw talent I do
You wanna react? Bring it on back (back)
If you want to respond or challenge me, do it, but it will only result in my victory and your defeat
Shame on you when you step through to
You should be embarrassed and ashamed for trying to compete with me
What? My nigga
I am expressing surprise or disbelief at the events that just transpired
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Russell Jones, Robert Diggs, Dennis Coles
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@acorns2345
Nothing will ever top it, ever.
The creativity in the 90's was top tier, but it had to be, it was so much competition out they had no choice.
Same thing for R and B, all those groups hit all at the same time in the 90's
Jodeci, R Kelly, H Town etc etc, the competition was fierce.
I remember the day Forever my lady by jodeci dropped, i was bumpin it on my 12 inch Kickers, with a Rockford Fosgate Amp
@Habeev07
Big Daddy Kane, A Tribe Called Quest, Del The funkee Homosapien, Rakim, EPMD, Souls of Mischief, Wu-Tang, DMX, Big L, Tupac, Hieroglyphics, Nas, Biggie Smalls, O.D.B, The Pharcyde, Eminem.
93' Til Infinity - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXJc2NYwHjw
Make Your Mind Up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYGYEn3K-CA
Brooklyn Zoo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRblYfKwa88
Midnight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljie-zx-pXw&list=OLAK5uy_ncxk2dzMeB4E9vgbWeMvM_O_SydgJR2C0
Ain't no half steppin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqPlF5Mn32M&list=PLgpdlaRTTGdIELIg3KH-9ijaUkqFO5uIw&index=1
You Never Knew - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k729U5AMIKI&list=RDOYGYEn3K-CA&index=8
Drop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqVsfGQ_1SU&list=PLgpdlaRTTGdIELIg3KH-9ijaUkqFO5uIw&index=43
Catch a bad one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CblQx874Eqo&list=PLgpdlaRTTGdIELIg3KH-9ijaUkqFO5uIw&index=3
Mics Of The Round Table - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSCSApoXc3Q
@cilla7778
Natural energy, high intelligence, borderline psychosis, humour, addiction, creativity and mad skills... There will never be another ODB, Rest in Power ❤️
@malcolmglasgow1763
He knew his legacy before he passed RIP legend!!!
@nicolejames3054
The grittiest masterpiece ever made! Video and song💯
@cilla7778
@@nicolejames3054💯 just spitting out lyrics in a narrow hallway and his crew, nothing else 😲
@aaleyah5380
The Accuracy!
@soulsteela01
There will ever gonna be one ODB.
@KarrinaGriffin12
I see why the 90s is the Golden era. So raw.
@acorns2345
Nothing will ever top it, ever.
The creativity in the 90's was top tier, but it had to be, it was so much competition out they had no choice.
Same thing for R and B, all those groups hit all at the same time in the 90's
Jodeci, R Kelly, H Town etc etc, the competition was fierce.
I remember the day Forever my lady by jodeci dropped, i was bumpin it on my 12 inch Kickers, with a Rockford Fosgate Amp
@BoldenFMA
86 to 96
@johnnylane6165
Too raw. Blessed to been born in that era.