Biography of Ol' Dirty Bastard

A member of the Brooklyn hip-hop congregation the Wu-Tang Clan, Ol' Dirty Bastard released his first solo album in the spring of 1995 after the Clan imploded. Produced by fellow Wu-Tang member RZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers sounds identical to the Clan's 1993 debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The colorful ODB, who also began calling himself Big Baby Jesus, made any number of headlines in the years to follow for his regular run-ins with the law; he finally released his second solo effort, Nigga Please, in 1999. True to form, he was unable to shake the mighty arm of the law, and in July of 2001, Ol' Dirty was sentenced to two to four years in the state penitentiary for charges stemming from crack cocaine possession. All of which set the stage for the August 2001 greatest-hits package, Free Dirty. He also managed to scrape together enough vocal parts for a new album while in jail, 2002's The Trials and Tribulations of Russel Jones. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine