Rapper O.D.B. is dead

[ghost of miles]

ODBdies

[.:.impossible]

I can't say that I have much sympathy for the guy, but RIP Baby Jesus.

[GregK]

who is odb?

[Guest akanalog]

much respect.

[BERIGAN]

If you saw the VH1 show on him a few months back, it isn't at all surprising. He said he couldn't stand to live like others, a boring drug free life basically. I feel badly for his Mom, she didn't deserve a son like him....

from the linked story...

When MTV News followed him around at the height of his popularity, he took the camera crew and several of his kids (he was said to have more than a dozen, by numerous mothers) to the welfare office — in a limousine — to get an allotment of food stamps.

And he received them.

[Guest Chaney]

Sounds like a charming fellow.

November 14, 2004

O.D.B., Controversial Rap Artist, Dies at 35

By THOMAS J. LUECK

Russell T. Jones, the rap artist known as O.D.B., collapsed and died yesterday at a recording studio in Manhattan, the police said. Mr. Jones, a 35-year-old native of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, was a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan and made a large imprint on rap music in the 1990's.

Gabriel Tesoriero, a spokesman for Roc-a-Fella Records, for which Mr. Jones recorded, said that Mr. Jones complained of chest pains before he collapsed. The police said the cause of death would be determined by the city's medical examiner, but they said there was no evidence of foul play.

Mr. Jones was found unconscious at the recording studio, at 545 West 34th Street, at 4:40 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the authorities said.

Mr. Jones formed the Wu-Tang Clan with two of his cousins, Robert Diggs and Gary Grice, and their first album, "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)," released in 1993, was considered widely influential on the evolving genre of rap music.

But Mr. Jones's personal life was tumultuous, and his repeated run-ins with the law stood out even in a field where many performers have garnered criminal records along with commercial success.

His growing stature in rap music was accompanied by increasingly erratic behavior. He was charged in 1997 with failure to pay child support for three of his children, and the next year he pleaded guilty to attempted assault on his wife.

Later clashes with the law involved charges of menacing security officers, drug offenses, shoplifting and driving with a suspended license. He was sentenced to prison in 2001 for drug possession and for fleeing a drug rehabilitation clinic. After his release in 2003, he signed with the Roc-a-Fella label.

Damon Dash, a founder of Roc-a-Fella, said last night in a statement that Mr. Jones "inspired us all with his spirit, wit and tremendous heart."

Cherry Jones, Mr. Jones's mother, said, "This evening I received a phone call that is every mother's worst dream." She described her son as "the kindest, most generous soul on earth."

[sal]

Agree with his personal life or not, he was a talented, unique artist, and the hip hop community is worse off without him.

[Noj]

Damn, I love Ol' Dirty Bastard. RIP.

[.:.impossible]

Unique, yes. Talented may be up for discussion. He was the 1990s version of Flava Flav. I found him very entertaining at the very beginning. His solo efforts were weak, and the more I learned about the guy, the less I respected the rest of Wu Tang for including him.

Still, in the beginning, his verses had a swagger that I had never heard before and his subjects were pretty outrageous!

[Noj]

Return To The 36 Chambers is a classic in my book, some of RZA's best beats and ODB's lyrics are insane--I remember my friends and I saying, "It's like they put a drunk bum on the microphone." Hilarious!

He was the 90s Flava Flav, I agree--but I think ODB had more skills.

Not recommended for anyone who wants to be "introduced" to rap, to say the least.

[sal]

Return To The 36 Chambers is a classic in my book, some of RZA's best beats and ODB's lyrics are insane

Agree 100% Noj. I haven't really listened to my hip hop collection in years, and pretty much stopped buying new hip hop CDs around 98 or so, but Return to the 36 Chambers is absolutely a certified hip hop classic, and one of the best Wu Tang solo efforts.

[RDK]

I could never think of him as ODB ever since he appeared on the old Larry Sanders show and Hank Kingsley mistakenly called "Dirty Old Bitch." Completely ruined that nickname for me.

Still, not a fan but R.I.P.