Russell Jones was sometimes called The Heart and Soul of Wu-Tang which in many ways is a true statement. Ol' Dirty Bastard was a truly free spirit who never tried to be anyone besides himself and had maybe the most unique personality the music industry has ever wittnessed. There are so many fantastic stories about this man and his wild antics. Take how he just happened to walk through a studio and heard Pras playing a song and asked to take part. Of course he could and that song ("Ghetto Supastar") only happened to be one of the mega smashes of the year. Jones was also the first out of the band of brothers known as The Wu-Tang Clan to collaborate with R&B superstars like En Vouge and Mariah Carey but the word sell-out and Ol' Dirty Bastard could and should never be mentioned in the same breath. He did what he wanted to, when he wanted to and with who he wanted to. And although his crazy living would leave him in many difficult situations later on in his all too short life, he always remained himself and always kept it dirty.
This day, the 13th November, marks the date when Russell Jones returned to the essence. I can still remember the surreal feel when reading the news that he had passed away. Wu-Tang had been a part of my life pretty much since I was a kid and you always had the impression that Dirty was immortal and that the heavy drugs and booze were just part of his wild persona. Eventually living like that will catch up with anybody but it's a tragedy the time striked before the change did. Jones left us with the memory of a man that was truly unique, had mad humor and was one hell of a musician. ODB remains the very definition of not having to be a super lyrical multi-bars emcee to be an entertaining, truly great rapper. In memory of his greatness I have assembled a series of non album cuts from the late, great Ol' Dirty that I hope you'll bump on this day in celebration of his life. Rest in peace homie!
01. "Dirty The Moocher"
02. "Ol' Dirty's Back" (w. 12 O'Clock)
03. "Woo-Hah!" [Remix] (w. Busta Rhymes)
04. "The Park" (w. Coolio)
05. "Words Of Wisdom #1"
06. "Strictly Hip Hop" (w. Afro Jazz)
07. "Get It To Ya Raw"
08. "Don't U Know Pt. II"
09. "Gots Like Come On Thru" (w. Buddha Monk & Drunken Dragon)
10. "Nuthin' But Flavor" (w. Charlie Brown & Biz Markie)
11. "Words Of Wisdom #2"
12. "Who Rock This?" (w. Mystikal)
13. "Drug Free" (w. Deadly Venoms)
14. "Show & Prove" (w. Big Daddy Kane, Shyheim, Jay-Z & Scoob)
15. "Prepare For The Buddha Monk" (w. Popa Wu & Brooklyn Zu)
16. "Words Of Wisdom #3"
17. "Hip-Hop Drunkies" (w. Alkaholiks)
rip odb. one of my favorite joints of his was "Drunken master" on the the rush hour soundtrack. that shit was just the epitome of wu. peace russell.
ReplyDeletethat's one joint i believe i have missed out on so will definitely look it up, thx
ReplyDeletehmmm, are u sure about that? i can't find a song by ODB called "Drunken Master" on the Rush Hour soundtrack. do u mean the Wu-Tang Clan song "And You DOn't Stop" on there?
ReplyDeleteshit u right i was thinking bout streetlifes chorus from that song. there was also two versions of that song. one had a masta killa verse i believe.
ReplyDeleteCan you re-up this, plz?
ReplyDelete