14. Ol' Dirty B**tard - Ol' Crazy B**tard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2zgB93KANE People have speculated as to whether Russell Jones - who came into public prominence as Ol' Dirty B**tard - erstwhile member of The Wu Tang Clan was genuinely a mad man or whether it was his colossal drug abuse that made him act crazy. During the 1998 Grammy Awards when Shawn Colvin was being awarded best song, ODB wandered on to the stage and hijacked the whole affair and gave a rambling speech about how he had spent a lot of clothes in anticipation of winning Best Rap Artist and how Wu Tang were 'for the children'. Global media coverage of the event cemented ODB's mental case status. Further acts of excess dogged ODB. He was shot several times on different occasions. He was pulled up for non-payment of Child Support for his 13 children. He shoplifted. He was done for driving without a license. He was arrested for crack cocaine possession. In fact, he got so much involved with law breaking, it seemed every week he was in trouble for something else which was a pity because he was a really good rapper when he wasn't under the influence. His excesses finally caught up with in November 2004. ODB collapsed and died. The coroner ruled the death to be an accidental overdose from cocaine and the painkiller Tramadol. ODB has been missed, his crazy antics made him a bit of a folk hero for some people. He was definitely one of rap music's more colourful figures to be sure.
Clare Simpson
Contributor
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
See more from
Clare