“Introducin’—yo FUCK that nigga’s name!

My hip-hop drops on your head like ra-a-ain
And when it rains it pours, ‘cause my rhymes’ hardcore
That’s why I give you more of the raw
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MC’s I be burnin’, burnin’ hot
Whoa-hoa-hoa! Let me like slow up with the flow
If I move too quick, oh, you just won’t know
I’m homicidal when you enter the target
Nigga get up, act like a pig tryin to hog shit!”

Ol’ Dirty Bastard, of the Wu Tang Clan. For the longest time, No one, not even the members of the Clan were sure if ODB’s eccentric nature was a madcap rampage of self-destruction or merely a series of image-building publicity stunts—a living executor of the Wu’s unstoppable nature and mission statement towards the music industry, a hostile breaking of chains from the likes of A&R, Tommy Boy and Geffen Records.

Like all loose cannons, when the truth is discovered, it’s typically too late. The biggest loss artistically-speaking is ODB’s latent talent: He never wrote anything down, every take was a new experience held together by prodigious on-the-spot creation. Whereas many rap stars of the 2000’s and beyond have meticulously-crafted personas based upon statistical outputs and premeditated words, Ol’ Dirty Bastard was exactly who he was, both in-song and on the street. To create a persona so rich using impromptu raps and merely existing is a feat that seems lost in the glitz and glamor of both rap and media 2.0, where authenticity and individuality has covertly been flushed. 

RIP, Peace to the Gods and the Earths.