I guess we all knew it was coming. Sure, none of us ever wanted to believe it actually would happen, but we all knew.
Even after a new start -- new record label, new name, comeback special on VH1, I guess we all knew that O.D.B. was the musician other than Keith Richards most likely to drop dead for just about any reason at just about any time.
The Wu-Tang clan was, and perhaps still is, one of the greatest and most eccentric hip-hop groups of all time -- RZA's production, with its crazy orchestral string arrangements, Meth's rants about torture, Ghostface's ability to talk convincingly about absolutely nothing and of course, Russell Tyrone Jones, a.k.a. Ol' Dirty Bastard, a.k.a. Osirus [sic], a.k.a. Joe Bannanas [sic], a.k.a. Dirt Dog, a.k.a. Unique Ason, a.k.a. Big Baby Jesus, a.k.a. Dirt McGirt, and his often ridiculous lyrics and antics.
Sure, Dirt could be a little crazy sometimes. Plenty of people go to jail for shoplifting, but only Dirt could go for shoplifting from his own store. Only Dirt could brag about his vast array of STDs and still get laid. Only Dirt could take MTV cameras with him, in a limousine, to pick up food stamps. Only Dirt could walk right out of court-mandated rehab and then show up on stage with the Wu, then slip back into the shadows, only to be arrested at a McDonald's.
But there were moments of beauty from him, too. There was the time that he and a group of friends pulled a car off of a four-year-old girl who had been hit outside his studio, and then, without letting anyone know who he was, he went and visited the girl and her family in the hospital. There was his surprise hit "Got Your Money," which he dedicated to "all the pretty girls of the world, and all the ugly girls too, because to me you're pretty anyway." Dirt was sweet like that.
Dirt was misunderstood. Like the time he jumped onstage at the Grammys before Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech for Best Song of the Year. Some people attacked him for that, but in his defense, I think some people had forgotten the important message he had to deliver -- Wu-Tang is for the children. (Besides, who the fuck is Shawn Colvin? Seriously. Does anyone have any idea?)
I was looking forward to your album, Dirt. Goodbye, man -- I'll miss you, wherever you are, and I'll always keep remembering that God made Dirt and Dirt would bust your ass. Sincerely, Alex Koppelman
