Ol’ Dirty Bastard

Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s Epic ‘Wu Tang Forever’ Double CD LP Turns 25 Years Old!

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On June 3, 1997, the Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game gave the world a double dose of their killer bee stings when they dropped the Wu Tang Forever double CD LP.

The album was executively produced by the Abbott himself, RZA, along with assistance from 4th Disciple, Inspectah Deck and True Master. Released to the public under the Loud/RCA imprint with direction from the illustrious Steve Rifkind, this album was certified gold in its first week and was certified 4X platinum by the RIAA within four months of its release.

Some of the hits include the album’s lead, “Triumph”, “Older Gods”, “Duck Season” and the prophetic title of their current album, A Better Tomorrow. The Clan just celebrated 20 years together in 2013 looking back on two decades of music. The Clan is also currently working on an album with Ghostface Killah running the show.

Peace to the entire Clan for giving us such a monumental project without the assistance of radio/video play, which is the mark of true artistry. Salute to RZA, Divine, Power, Steve Rifkind and everyone who helped make this album a timeless classic!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s Epic ‘Wu Tang Forever’ Double CD LP Turns 25 Years Old! appeared first on The Source.

Today in Hip-Hop History: Wu-Tang Clan Released Their Debut Single “Protect Ya Neck” 29 Years Ago

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On this day in 1993, the legendary Wu-Tang Clan began their reign as one of the most powerful and influential rap groups in history by releasing their debut single, “Protect Ya Neck.” With this track, Wu-Tang took the rap game by storm with a style unheard and an attitude unseen. “Protect Ya Neck” set a tone in Hip Hop that shifted the genre toward a more hardcore, rugged sound.

Originally recorded in a different order with a completely different beat, group member RZA took the liberty to reconstruct the song in post-production to the goliath that we all know and love. According to him, all he needed was the vocals of the group. The original beat used was just a placeholder used to get the verses. RZA’s unique style also incorporated the kung-fu film dialogue and fought scenes throughout the track. This unique style of production became a trend for Wu-Tang Clan.

To clarify any confusion about who is who on the song, the order of verses is as follows: Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, Method Man, U-God, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah, RZA, & GZA. The single was first released independently through Wu-Tang Records and had “After the Laughter Comes Tears” as the B-side. Loud Records later re-released it with “Method Man” as the B-side. It sold 10,000 copies.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Wu-Tang Clan Released Their Debut Single “Protect Ya Neck” 29 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

A Documentary On Ol’ Dirty Bastard Is Coming To A&E

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Getty Image / Al Pereira

A two-hour documentary on the late rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard will air on A&E. Approved by the “Got Your Money” rapper’s estate, the documentary, tentatively titled Biography: Ol’ Dirty Bastard, will feature never-before-seen archived footage filmed by his wife, Icelene Jones, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I am thrilled to tell the full story of my husband. With this documentary the world will learn about the son, the husband, the father and the artist,” Jones told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m proud of the team that we built, including Pulse, my producing partners Nicole Beckett and Messiah Jacobs at Four Screens, and our directing team, the Pollards.”

Produced by Pulse Films, alongside Four Screens, the documentary will showcase ODB from the beginning of his solo career in 1995 up until 2004, when he died of a drug overdose. The documentary will also provide looks back to the Wu-Tang Clan founder’s “trauma-filled” childhood and how it influenced his craft. Fans, close friends, and family will also share stories of ODB.

“Biography: Ol’ Dirty Bastard will present viewers with the untold story of the man and the musician who made an immense cultural impact across just a few short years,” said A&E’s executive vice president and head of programming, Elaine Frontain Bryant, to the magazine.

Today in Hip-Hop History: Ol’ Dirty Bastard Released ‘Return Of The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version’ 27 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip-Hop history, Wu-Tang Clan’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard released his debut solo LP, Return of the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version. Released by Elektra Records, Return of the 36 Chambers was only the second solo LP by any Wu-Tang member. Largely produced by fellow Wu-Tang emcee RZA, the album had a mostly positive commercial reception.

Peaking at number seven on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart, Return of the 36 Chambers sold 81,000 albums in its first week and was certified gold later that year. The album was also nominated for “Best Rap Album” at the 1996 Grammy Awards.

Coming off such a successful group debut, there were little critics could say to discount the record. The Source, Rolling Stone and Allmusic have all given the project four out of five stars. In 1998, The Source selected the album to be a part of its 100 Best Rap Albums list.

Following Return of the 36 chambers: The Dirty Version, ODB went on to release one more solo album, Nigga Please, before his untimely demise in 2004. Ol’ Dirty will forever be remembered as one of the most talented and unique emcees to ever grace the mic.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Ol’ Dirty Bastard Released ‘Return Of The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version’ 27 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

ODB’s Widow Sues Wu-Tang Clan For $1 Million In Unpaid Royalties

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Icelene Jones, the widow of the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, sued the rapper’s band, Wu-Tang Clan, on Tuesday, citing a decade’s worth of unpaid royalties, according to Variety. Jones is asking for at least $1 million, alleging that Wu-Tang Clan Productions paid no royalties to ODB’s estate from 2011 to July 2021. When royalties were paid out, it was only in the paltry sum (relatively speaking) of $130,000.

The basis for the suit is a 1992 recording agreement between ODB and Wu-Tang Clan Productions, which is owned and operated by Wu-Tang founder RZA, that promised 50% of net earnings on the publishing of his copyrighted songs as well as 50% of net earnings from the sound recordings — two very similar but slightly different subsets of income generated by artists’ music. Think of the first as all the money from the use of the songs in movies, TV shows, film trailers, and during sporting events, while the latter would be the actual sales of the songs via online and physical purchases, streaming, and radio play (not to mention, the auctioned, ultra-rare album, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin). The suit says that royalties from merchandise have been withheld, as well.

Although the estate has received some payments from Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. in 2019 and 2020, the suit alleges that this is well short of the royalties actually owned. The estate has requested accounting from the time period in question but says it has not received it in all this time.

RZA Reveals That A Long-Rumored ODB Biopic Is Indeed Happening

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Mike Relm

Earlier this year, Wu-Tang’s Once Upon A Time In Shaolin album was sold by the government to pay off part of ultra-weasel Martin Shkreli’s $7.4 million forfeiture judgment. But members of The Wu-Tang Clan have stayed plenty busy with other endeavors. For starters, the second season of the Hulu show Wu-Tang: An American Saga came out, and one of its members, RZA, re-launched his series Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater on his platform 36 Cinema, which hosts screenings of old school kung-fu and blaxploitation films, complete with guests and live commentary.

In a recent interview with Mic, where RZA spoke about An American Saga, the 2019 Sacha Jenkins-directed documentary Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, and the need for Black voices to tell Black stories. He also revealed that he is working on a biopic about Ol’ Dirty Bastard. If you’ve heard about this before, it’s because in 2018, The Hollywood Reporter ran a story revealing the project was green-lit by Columbia Pictures, that it would be produced by RZA, and that a search for a director and screenwriter were underway. Not only that, but he shared that it’s part of a bigger vision:

“The documentary was to capture the story as best we can in the reality of it, and then the TV series was to dramatize it. The third tier of the plan, which I’m in progress of, is an ODB movie biopic. Like the five-year Wu-Tang plan, this was a five-year media plan that I concocted, I meditated on, and I’m striving to live out. So far, it’s working well.”

ODB was a polarizing figure, to say the least, and his life was shrouded in equal parts flamboyance and mystique. A RZA-produced biopic is sure to shed light on his fantastic and mad existence.

Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Cousins 12 O’Clock + Murdock Killed In West Coast Shooting

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Wu-Tang Clan affiliates 12 O’Clock and Murdock had their lives taken from them this week. Reports claim both hip-hop artists fell victim to gun violence in Oregon. Wu-Tang Affiliates Killed In Shooting According to reports, 12 and Murdock – whose real names are Odion and David Turner – died from a fatal shooting Tuesday morning […]