Stay Gold: Ol' Dirty fuckin' Bastard!!

Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968–November 13, 2004)
I wrote an obituary for ODB a couple weeks after his death in 04 when i was a young naive inexperienced A&E Editor for my jr college newspaper "The Clipper".
Here it is copied from paper to computer for YOU. (keep in mind, this was written 4 yrs ago)

Ol' Dirty died November 13 at the age of 35. This may be old news to the majority, but his legacy wasn't captured in the last issue of The Clipper. the man, the myth, the reality, who was also known as Dirt McGirt, Big Baby Jesus in the Wu-Tang video game for his drunken fighting style and by his legal name, Russell Jones.

He was the maniacal rapper who didn't worry about offending anyone. There were no boundaries that limited his unfortunate existence. His thoughts and actions were blatantly strewn throughout his albums, guest appearances and notably witnessed at the Grammy's when he crashed the stage and grabbed the mic from Puff Daddy, shouting, "Puffy is great, but Wu-Tang is for the children."

The impulsive act was burned into the minds of many. In fact, the antic was a blessing to the hiphop scene. His infamous personality overwhelmed the faint at heart, and his madness welcomed tragedy after tragedy. Ol' Dirty was in-your-face aggressive while being real and honest. Unlike today's rappers, he walked the talk. The man contracted gonorrhea twice and had over 10 children with numerous women while not seeming ashamed. He let the world in on his crack addiction that consumed his entire integrity. Ol' Dirty is most notorious for his debut album of '95 that sparked national eminence, Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version. This release was bangin' (still is) at the time, along with prior crewmate releases by the GZA, Meth, and a simultaneous release by Raekwon, which led to the unveiling of Ghostface's Ironman release.

These releases only ranked Wu-Tang as a spectacular force of street credibility. They were the most prominent albums that dominated the rap genre in the mid-nineties, thanks to the revolutionary '93 Wu-Tang Clan debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). It was this specific album that caused mass Wu-Tang hysteria, spawned classic record debuts and generated a cult following that seemed as giant and significant to fans as Beattle mania.

Ol' Dirty never lost his ghetto mentality throughout his fame. Fortune only aided in his recklessness. Unfortunately his dysfunctional lifestyle never ceased, and run-ins with the law were a common episode. Through thick and thin, he managed somewhat, even showing his face while on the run from the law at a Wu-Tang publicized appearance. That's ghetto fabulous!
Bold enough (and high enough) to pull a stunt in order to prove he's still the same ODB. He never denied the treacherous lifestyle he led. There was no shame, and that neglect amplified his persona within his music and throughout the limelight.

It's unfortunate many people recognize him for his lunacy and not his accomplishments that seemed to lye beneath them. Whether you appreciated ODB or not, he left a legacy that embellished rap fervor unlike many do. What other rapper would name themself after such a degrading alias and hold true to it with such raw accounts of street life? He left harsh bits of his strenuous life wherever he went, regardless of the affects. For that, he is eternalized. His words will never die.
ODB forever.

*On that note, snort, shoot, and drown in some Ol' Dirty and go postal for a couple hrs to his fuckin' dope!