Russell Tyrone Jones, famously known as Ol’ Dirty Bastard was one of the most iconic personalities ever produced in hip-hop. A co-founder of the legendary group Wu-Tang Clan, his charisma helped break them into the mainstream with their classic debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
Ol Dirty Bastard would go on to make a name for himself with unique artistry and outlandish behavior, such as taking an MTV film crew in a limo to pick up his $375 welfare check and interrupting the 1998 Grammys to let the world know that “Wu-Tang is for the children.”
Sadly, on November 13, 2004, ODB died of an accidental drug overdose at 35 years old.
Capturing the highs and lows of his life, A&E will premiere the first official documentary of the Grammy-nominated rapper titled “Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys,” on Sunday, August 25 at 9 pm ET/PT. Featuring never-before-seen footage, Wu-Tang Clan members Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, pop legend Mariah Carey, ODB’s parents, and music industry executives, appear in the doc to share their memories of “Dirt McGirt.”
ODB WAS FOR THE CHILDREN
“Russell Jones was a father. He was a husband. He was a son. He really loved his family,” his widow, Icelene Jones tells HOT97.com. She and his son YDB were very involved in creating the doc. “We had a daughter we named Shaquita, and another named Taniqua. A son, a husband, and a father. That’s what describes him best.”
“I would say that he was a “psychological superhero,” YDB adds. “He had to be two people at once. He was one person when he was performing and another at home.”
YDB also noted that the documentary took years to develop and that most of the footage came from his mother’s archives.
“It seemed like only a few days, but this [documentary] was years in the making. My mother still had all the old recordings on camera. You remember when people had the old camcorders? She captured everything with him, being his natural self and playing and dancing with us,” he says.”My mom has footage that will last for days.”
A SON IS UNIQUE
As they worked on the doc, Icelene sought to portray Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s life from a place of love and authenticity.
“There were a lot of misconceptions about who he was. He had a lot of women. Although he had a wife and children they didn’t care anyway,” Icelene laughs. “But he had a family from the beginning of his career. Even before Wu-Tang was formed he had a wife and children.”
“We were together all the time when he was in a group with RZA and GZA. We got married in 1991 and were together until his death,” she continued. “He’s still here with us in spirit. It’s been a hard, hard struggle but we made it.”
Along with working on the doc, YDB reveals what an honor it is to perform his father’s songs with the other members of the Wu-Tang Clan and keep Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s musical heritage alive.
“He was the soul of the Wu-Tang Clan. He wanted to carry on that tradition of music like Motown and I think a lot of people didn’t see that part of him,” YDB said. “It’s always crazy and a blessing to perform his music.
ALL IN TOGETHER NOW
When the doc airs, Icelene hopes that viewers will see another side of ODB that most of the world has never seen. Outside of his music, his eclectic persona, and well-documented personal struggles, she knew and loved “the real Dirty.”
“He loved the children. He loved all the women. This is his wife saying this okay? He wanted to be recognized. He wanted to be heard,” she explains. “He was always the loudest one in the room. No matter what he’s [got] going on, you were going to hear him. Everyone knew if Wu-Tang was performing, Dirty was going to take the mic.”
“I’m very excited because his story will be told from a good perspective. We wanted to put him in a good light, but also, tell the truth,’ YDB added. “You don’t want to leave out anything but we can’t put everything into a two-hour documentary. At the end of the day, I think we captured the goal, which was to get the point across that he was a great person.”