Return of the 36 chambers: the dirty version album

Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s Ol Dirty Bastard Passed Away 20 Years Ago

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20 years ago today, the Hip-Hop community lost one of its most eccentric, yet essential personalities that the game has ever known. Russell Jones, better known to the world as Ol’ Dirty Bastard, passed away just two days shy of his 36th birthday.

Ironically, Dirty took us through his 36th Chamber at the inception of his unprecedented career with his gold certified Return To The 36th Chamber debut in March of 1995. The Osiris of the WTC legacy followed up with another solo album entitled N***a Please as well as a posthumous release.

Ol’ Dirty will always be remembered by his loved ones and his fans as an original personality who wasn’t afraid to storm the stage during the Grammys, pick up food stamps in a limo on MTV, or repeatedly declare on The Arsenio Hall Show that the Blackman is God.

This Friday, which would’ve been the Wu Tang co-founder’s 56th birthday, his family is hosting a special screening of th A&E special documentary A Tale Of Two Dirty’s in his hometown of Brooklyn, where there will also be a panel discussion about the documentary and the impact of mental health.

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Today In Hip Hop History: ODB Released His Debut Solo Single “Brooklyn Zoo” 28 Years Ago

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On this date in 1995, Russell Jones aka Ol’ Dirty Bastard dropped the premier single from his debut album Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version on Elektra Records. Produced by in-house Wu producer True Master, this track was Dirty’s second highest-charting single, only to be topped by “Got Your Money” from his N***a Please album.

With the name of the song originating from his crew, who were aptly called Brooklyn Zu, there was a well-known Brooklyn gang, who at the time, used the name which prompted ODB to get shot in the Brevoort Housing Projects in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

As one of the borrough’s most memorable anthems, Brooklyn will forever remember ODB as a “native son” that definitely repped BK to the fullest.

#RIPODB

The post Today In Hip Hop History: ODB Released His Debut Solo Single “Brooklyn Zoo” 28 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

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.