Ol' Dirty Bastard

About

Ol' Dirty Bastard, stage name for Russell Tyrone Jones, was an American rapper who was a founding member of hip-hop collective The Wu-Tang Clan. Growin up in New York, Jones and his cousins Robert Diggs and Gary Grice (later known as Rza and Gza, respectively), had an ardent interest in rapping and Kung Fu movies. The trio formed a group called Force of the Imperial Master, which later morphed into The Wu-Tang Clan after the addition of six other rappers. Releasing Enter the Wu-Tang in 1993 gave the group mainstream popularity and Ol' Dirty Bastard an opportunity to launch a semi-successful solo career. While he was a fairly prolific lyricist, he also lead a life of crime and drug use, and would eventually die from an overdose 2004.