I wrote a post for En Mass earlier, and I think it has sort of drained me. Either that, or I have nothing new to say.
Everything is even-keel right now.
So let me quote from John Waters, who was interviewed in the City Beat magazine in regards to his brand new Christmas album:
"Why didn't Ol' Dirty Bastard ever do a Christmas album? Wouldn't that have been good?"
I gotta admit-- that would've been great.
I didn't eulogize the late Russell Jones when he died last month, and I should have: Ol' Dirty Bastard was a true original, a one-of-a-kind character that comes along every now and then, to deflate everyone else's seriousness.
When I remember the first time I ever heard Wu-Tang Clan, I think of ODB. It was his voice that stood out the most. He sounded weird, due to the gold-plated diamond-encrusted vampire grill he wore while rapping. He was always out of breath and had the most unique slang. And that voice... it was as if Screamin' Jay Hawkins had been reincarnated as an ill MC.
Of course, over time it became clear that Dirty wasn't the greatest rapper out there, and that he had a flair for getting into deep doo-doo that would rival both Robert Downey Jr. and Flavor Flav. But I still loved his style.
And the name... he was an Ol' Dirty Bastard because, as fellow Wu-Tanger Method Man put it so eloquently, "there ain't no father to his style..." It's like he woke up one morning and knew how to rap. He wasn't that old, but he was definitely dirty, and that's what I liked about him.
It's a shame that he went out the way he did, owing thousands of dollars to creditors, paying child support out the ass for his scores of illegitimate children, being hounded by the press and the cops and his fans, all the while straining his relationship with the Wu, whom he felt betrayed him by not visiting him enough when he was locked up.
We all knew that Dirty's number was due to get called up; it was just a matter of time. ODB was too big for this world. He was a loud, drunken mess of a man who thought he knew how to sing and apologized for his language after delivering expletive-laden diatribes at his babies' mamas, NYC cops, and rival rap groups.
He was the guy who did an interview with MTV's Kurt Loder, showing him where he used to go to collect welfare. On a whim, he tried out his old ID, and it worked! He received some money from the government on camera and thought nothing of it. The IRS didn't think it was funny, but I did. A lot of people thought ODB pulled that stunt on purpose, but I knew that it was one of those things that happens to a guy like him.
ODB was the guy who stormed the stage at the Grammys one year, talking about how Wu-Tang is "for the kids" and that they should've won the rap award. Too bad he chose Shaun Colvin's acceptance speech to deliver his incoherent tirade.
ODB was the guy who cursed out the cops at a press conference after he had been wrongfully arrested for a crime. He used the moment to shout out all nine members of Wu-Tang, which I thought was amazing.
They don't make 'em like that anymore. Dirty, for all his horrible flaws and faults, was an honest man, swimming with sharks, slithering alongside the snakes. But he himself wasn't a two-faced liar with an agenda. No, Ol' Dirty Bastard was too honest for this world. You could tell that this was a man who felt uncomfortable lying to people, so he figured he'd rather be truthful and suffer the consequences than to lie and get away with it.
He was extremely likable and well-known. He was the Wu's true star, their soul, their anarchic spirit. He was the clown, the trickster, the rapper with the best name and the best voice but not the best rhymes... although sometimes Dirty could kick some great shit.
I think of "Shame On A Nigga" from the 36 Chambers debut CD. He had the majority of the verses on that cut, with Meth and Raekwon giving support. But it was ODB's song all the way:
I come with that old loco style
for my vocals
Couldn't peep it like a pair of bifocals
I'm no joker, play me as a toker
I'll pee on you like a house on fire-- smoke ya!
Crews be actin' like they gangs, anyway
Be like, "Warriors! Come out and play-yay!"
Dirty, I get into shit, I let it out like diarrhea
Got burnt once, but that was only gonorrhea
Dirty, I keep shit stinks in my drawers
So I can get fzza-funky for yah
Murder, taste the flame of the Wu-Tang RAHH!
Here comes the Tiger vs Crane!
I'll be like wild with my style
Punk! You playing me, chump, you get DUMPED
WU! Is comin THROUGH! At a theatre near YOU!
And get funk like a SHOE!
R.I.P. ODB-- And shame on everyone else for never recognizing his fractured genius.
Have a nice weekend, everyone!
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