Ol' Dirty Collapses, Dies in Studio

[AdamH]

Nov. 14, 2004 - The rap artist O.D.B., who lived a life as wild as his lyrics, collapsed and died inside a recording studio Saturday, his record label said. He was 35.

O.D.B. had complained of chest pains before collapsing at the Manhattan studio, according to a statement from Roc-a-Fella records.

O.D.B., also known as Ol' Dirty Bastard, Dirt McGirt or his legal name of Russell Jones, was a founding member of the hit rap group the Wu-Tang Clan in the early 1990s. With his offbeat, unorthodox delivery, he segued into a successful solo career and released several hit singles.

But he was frequently in trouble with the law, mostly for drug possession.

In February 1998, he crashed the stage at the Grammy Awards and hijacked a microphone from singer Shawn Colvin as she accepted an award, apparently upset over losing the best rap album Grammy to Puff Daddy. He complained that he spent a lot of money for new clothes because he thought he was going to win. The rapper later apologized. Later in 1998, he was wounded in a shooting during a robbery in his apartment.

In 2001 he was sentenced to two to four years in prison for drug possession; plus two concurrent years for escaping from a rehab clinic. He was released in 2003 and immediately signed with Roc-a-Fella.

O.D.B. would have turned 36 on Monday

[StoneMtn]

That guy was nuts. I remember when he got into a car chase with the cops; pulled over and jumped out and started shooting at them. Later on, he claimed that the police were shooting at him first and he had no idea who was doing it so he had to fire back. I think he even threatened to sue the police over it. I'm amazed he made it to 35.

[purple foot]

RIP BIG BABY JESUS

[TheGoodRev]

Man this is clearly a hoax, my first clue being that it's dated tomorrow. The wording is strangely similar to that article about 6 months back about Rick Moranis being hit by a train and dying...that lasted about 12 hours on the internet.

If this supposed news source has the story about this death, why nothing on a big-time site like, say, allhiphop.com? Today's story on that site is about ODB, but not about his death; rather about him denying allegations of drug abuse.

EDIT: Uh, I should rephrase what I just said. The story on allhiphop.com is dated 11/13/2003, so it's possible it's been a year since it was updated.

[TheGoodRev]

Whoa! How about that. He IS dead!

I take back what I said. Still can't figure why it's dated tomorrow, maybe it's an article from overseas.

[AdamH]

Pardon me bitch while I sh!t on your grass!

[TheGoodRev]

I don't get it.

[purple foot]

"that means bitch, you've been shitted on. i'm not the first dog that shitted on you lawn. HEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH. HAAAAAAAAAAAAA> HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo"

[MarcO]

Like a swan gliding across a sun-kissed lake, ODB was too beautiful for words. His crack-assisted insights into the human condition gave his followers, like those of his close cousin Yassar Arafat, a taste of freedom. The freedom of asking the police to help him make 20 bags of crack "disappear" from his car during a drug bust.......

Let's take pause to reflect on those magical moments that ODB gave us.....

• November 1994: After an argument with a fellow rapper, Ol' Dirty bastard is shot in the belly. It is not the last time he will have a bullet removed from his abdomen.
  November 1997 Ol' Dirty Bastard was arrested for failing to pay nearly a year's worth of child support -- around 35,000 dollars -- for the three children he had with his wife, Icelene Jones (by this point, he'd fathered a total of 13 children, beginning in his teenage years).
  February 1998: In a shocking display of altruism, Ol' Dirty Bastard rescues a 4-year-old girl from a car crash. After witnessing the crash from the window of a Brooklyn recording studio, ODB and a friend rush to the scene, lift the car and carry the girl to safety. The following night, Ol' Dirty Bastard interrupts Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards to protest Puff Daddy's victory in the Best Rap Album category. He tells the audience, "I don't know how you all see it, but when it comes to the children, Wu-Tang is for the children."
  April 1998: Ol' Dirty Bastard announces he will henceforth be known as Big Baby Jesus.
  June 1998: ODB was shot in a robbery attempt in Brownsville, Brooklyn; two assailants pushed their way into ODB's girlfriend's apartment, stole some money and jewelry from the rapper, and shot him once. The bullet entered his back and went through his arm before exiting his body, but luckily the wounds were superficial, and several hours after receiving emergency-room treatment, ODB ignored the hospital's request for overnight observation and simply walked out. Only one week later, ODB was arrested in Virginia Beach for shoplifting, after walking out of a shoe store wearing a pair of 50 dollar sneakers. Adding insult to injury, his SUV was stolen from outside a New York recording studio a couple weeks later.
  September 1998: ODB was arrested in Los Angeles for making terrorist threats. He'd been attending a concert by R&B singer Des'ree at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, and refused to be escorted outside by security who'd grown tired of his drunken rowdiness; after he was kicked out, he returned and threatened to shoot the security staff -- a felony in California, punishable by up to three years in jail. Not two weeks after posting bail, ODB was kicked out of a hotel in Berlin, Germany, for lounging on his balcony in the nude (no charges were filed).
  February 1999: ODB becomes the first person arrested under a new California law that prevents convicted felons from wearing bulletproof vests.
  January 2000: at a hearing in New York, related to his drug charges; apparently exasperated by all the chaos, a sullen ODB ignored the presiding judge, talked dirty to a female DA (in typically bizarre fashion, he reportedly called her a "sperm donor"), and actually took a nap, thereby erasing any inclinations the prosecution had toward leniency. Afterward, he apparently got drunk, violating the terms of his rehab program and probation conditions; upon returning to California, he was kicked out of rehab and transferred to jail.
  October 2000: ODB escapes from a court-mandated drug treatment facility in California. He spent the next month as a fugitive from the law, making his way across the country and secretly recording some new material with the RZA. ODB turned up in a very public fashion at the November record-release party for the new Wu-Tang Clan album, The W (which had been dedicated to him, and featured his vocals on one track, "Conditioner"; other contributions had been deemed too bizarre for release). He took the stage in the Hammerstein Ballroom in front of hundreds of incredulous, wildly cheering fans, and only added to his mystique by managing to leave the facility without getting arrested, despite the large police presence outside. After a few more days on the lam, ODB was captured in a McDonald's parking lot in Philadelphia while signing autographs for a large crowd of fans; in fact, the crowd was so large that the restaurant manager had called police, not knowing what was going on.
  April 2001: ODB accepted a deal from prosecutors that essentially wiped out his other offenses in New York in exchange for a guilty plea to the cocaine possession charges. He received the minimum sentence of two to four years in state prison.
  May 2003: ODB is released from prison. He signs with Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records and announces that his new name will be Dirt McGirt.

ODB, RIP: 1969 - 2004

adapted from: http://www.wtev.com/entertainment/story.aspx?content_id=F01AB3B4-6B22-467A-BA2F-ED250D5F4462 and http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2004/MERC-Nov-04-Thu-2004/25125814.html)

[MarcO]

also, can't forget about the time he tried to sue the city of New York, claiming that his ancestors were among the first to settle in Manhattan, and therefore, Manhattan should be his.

Man, I loved that guy!

[AdamH]

Icelene Jones! Herein my first-born girl's name.

First Born Son will be Big Baby Jesus II as tribute.

[purple foot]

the next wu-tang album will be killer.

[GWB]

did someone say coke???!??

[zimmerman pt3]

"Careful with my balls; they're fragile like eggs!"

RIP Homey!

[LionLocks]

yup, Rest in peace nigga, now No one can steal yo sh!t! He made the best and most enjoyable Rap and hit parellels unheard of in that "type o music". Man, he made good stuff. hea heahea yea! I remember! I wish his album wasnt STOLEN from me though along with 30 other discs from my "then" interesting collection though. that was years ago, but anyways, I never heard anything after his second solo album, was he still kicking out goods or was it all "ruff stuff"? it'd be fun to give him a listen to again.

[zimmerman pt3]

there's a track he released from jail a few years ago; it was HARD!!! It was a foggy night, so I appologize for not providing any other info.

[Thorgnor]

Rest in peace to a pioneer of hip hop

who built the game for cats like Biggie and Pac,

who ran with Jam Master Jay back in the day, and who was more pro-black than N.W.A.

A man who got hooked on crack and fought back.

A man who got shot by cops and shot back.

A man who felt he had to wear a bulletproof vest.

A man who couldn't get away from stress.

Respect, peace and honour to a man who's gone.

Another soldier down,

I hope the war can still be one.

[LionLocks]

Yo, I feel that phrastus................Nice1

[Thorgnor]

Osiris shall come again.

[kc]

[February 1998: In a shocking display of altruism, Ol' Dirty Bastard rescues a 4-year-old girl from a car crash. After witnessing the crash from the window of a Brooklyn recording studio, ODB and a friend rush to the scene, lift the car and carry the girl to safety. The following night, Ol' Dirty Bastard interrupts Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards to protest Puff Daddy's victory in the Best Rap Album category. He tells the audience, "I don't know how you all see it, but when it comes to the children, Wu-Tang is for the children."

So basically what you're saying Marco is, 'he's a hero'. Nice. I hope he's jamin' with Jerry right now.