On Saturday, November 13th, the rap world lost another extraordinarily talented family member. Russell Jones, better known as Ol' Dirty Bastard, collapsed and died in a Manhattan recording studio just days before his thirty-sixth birthday. The cause of his death is still uncertain.

I'll never forget the night I met Ol' Dirty Bastard. I was in Raleigh to do a pre-concert interview with NYC emcee Heather B for Headz magazine, North Carolina's first Hip Hop publication. No one knew who was headlining the show at the time I accepted the story, but the day of the event I found out that it was ODB. Having no time to contact his publicist to secure a meeting, I asked Heather B at the end of our session if she knew where the promoter had put Ol' Dirty up for the night. Luckily, he was on the same floor. Within minutes I found his road manager and arranged an interview for after his set.

To make a long, drug-induced story short, I rode from the hotel to the venue with Heather B. When the show was over, I went back to Heather B's tour van to try and prepare some last minute questions for Ol' Dirty. As I'm sitting in the van with Heather B and her then crew, the 54th Regiment, waiting to leave, her road manager comes running up to the van, screaming "What did he do? What did he do?" Heather B starts screaming, "Just leave it alone! I took care of it!" Her road manager, now even more pissed off, looks at everyone in the van and says, "I don't give a fuck who he is, let's go get that muthafucka!" I started having a bad feeling he was talking about Ol' Dirty, because at the exact moment we were receiving the pep rally I could see Ol' Dirty and his mob of forty or more exiting the venue. Once the road manager saw their numbers, he quickly calmed down, asked if everyone was in, slid into the driver's seat and drove us back to the hotel. No one said a word. I found out later that night that Ol' dirty had allegedly followed Heather B into the VIP bathroom at the venue and tried to get physical. When I questioned both artists about the incident the following morning, both declined to comment.

The interview you're about to read took place on the night of April 6th 1996, in a Best Western hotel bathroom. The mob of forty or more had use of the main room. Through the course of an hour, three blunts and countless 40s, I had the chance to sit back and listen to Ol' Dirty Bastard in prime intoxicated form. That night, between betting me his shoes over whether or not he fucked Mariah Carey in the ass and breaking down the day's mathematics, ODB told me he was living the best days of his life. And now, knowing what has happened, I feel honored in knowing that I was able to at least capture an hour of one.

thaFormula.com: What makes you so fucking special? (laughter)

ODB: Ol' dirty is a gift to the planet. Understand, rap is rap and rap has been here for many years. So the reason I say Ol' Dirty is a present to the planet is because I'm the nigga who brought rap into a different form. I brought the soul into this rap shit, I had to let niggas know where the James Brownses stand in this muthafuckin shit. I had to show how the Otis Reddings have connection to this rap shit!

thaFormula.com: I heard you on the Stretch and Bobbito show recently saying you moved so far out in the country, you can't even pick up AM radio. Does that statement validate the constant rumors that people are trying to kill you?

ODB: Dirt Dog is here and Dirt Dog is here to stay. The only the thing that can kill Dirt is Dirt himself! Now pass the 40 ounce back. (laughter) It's good as a muthafucka ain't it?

thaFormula.com: In the parking lot tonight after the show, it looked like you had a small army with you. Who were they and are you paying the bill for all those muthafuckas to be on tour? (laughter)

ODB: That was the Brooklyn Zoo, my brothers! And there's enough money for all of us. I can't be around my brothers and I got money and they ain't got no money, because if I got money, I gotta split it with these muthafuckas anyway. So, if we all have our own currency, and our babies have their own currency, and their babies' babies have their own, then you have a nation of people that have money and when you have money, you can make power moves!

thaFormula.com: Speaking of money, the Mariah Carey collaboration [1995's "Fantasy" remix] turned out to be a very lucrative one. Are there any other mainstream artists you're considering working with?

ODB: Prince and myself are getting ready to do a song together. Who else… the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lenny Kravitz - and I would just like to say, THEY all called me! (laughter) My brother has a heavy metal band called Funk Face, we're teaming up. Whatever comes to mind I'm gonna do, I don't give a fuck! Country/western, jazz, R&B, rock 'n roll, heavy metal, fuck pussy while rhyming, (laughter)… As long as it's got to do with money, I'm gonna do it.

thaFormula.com: I've heard there are a LOT of new groups coming out this year under the Wu banner. If so, could too much Wu franchising be overkill?

ODB: When I say Wu-Tang, I'm talking about the founders of Wu-Tang: the GZA, the RZA and the Ol' Dirty Bastard. We're the seed and the family is the root and all these branches you're hearing about like Sunz of Man, Zu Ninjas, the Outlawz, Killarmy, all these groups are just branches off the tree. You see, we're a golden tree, a tree that produces fruit in the spring, the summer, the fall, the winter, I'm talkin all muthafuckin year long! Wu-Tang is gonna take over the whole rap nation! Niggas ain't gonna wanna rap no more!

thaFormula.com: Since so many groups have been put on the roster, can you tell me who's next to put out material and when?

ODB: We got Ghostface's album coming out this year, my shit will be out this year, hopefully Method's album will be out this year, Wu-Tang's album will be out this year, Twelve O'Clock's album will be out this year…man, we just gonna be dropping bombs. We're flooding the radios, we're flooding the televisions, the telephone wires, we're flooding the pussy holes, we're flooding every thang man, we're flooding the black woman with babies, we doin this shit. The New WU order is here!

thaFormula.com: You mentioned the GZA was the 'foundation', but I've read the RZA is who inspired you to pursue writing and music, who first helped in transforming Russell Jones into Ol' Dirty Bastard.

ODB: GZA's the foundation, RZA is the manifestation of Wu-Tang and Ol' Dirty is just the understanding of it. The reason I say the GZA is THE foundation is because he was the one who actually sat down with the RZA and taught Rakeem, the RZA, how to rhyme. Then RZA taught me knowledge of self and knowledge of rap and if I didn't study my lessons, RZA would bust my ass, so I had no choice.

thaFormula.com: So the RZA was more of a father figure than friend?

ODB: Hell yeah! Listen… he use to write my shit down on paper for me. At the time I didn't like to rhyme. Who the fuck wanna read shit off paper? I didn't even like going to fuckin' school (laughter), you know what I'm saying? But he made me do it because he saw the light in me. If it wasn't for RZA, the Wu wouldn't be shit!

thaFormula.com: When you finally found yourself as a writer, what do you feel mentally separated you from the rest of the clan?

ODB: I'm the muthafucka who's gonna really tell you what the fuck's going on because I'm the nigga who don't turn the other cheek.

thaFormula.com: To you, what's the most important message in your writing you would like future generations of rap babies to discover?

ODB: That we're wise scientists who are determined to rule. It's in our nature. It was predicted for us… the black man is God to rule forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever! And ever!

thaFormula.com: Well, we're out of Dutches and you just spilled the last beer. Is there anything special you would like to add for all the rappers, rivals and snaggle-tooth biters who may be reading this?

ODB: Yeah muthafuckas, like Snoop Dog said, "Without me, you'll never go platinum!" Dirt Dog out!

With the recent releases of Legend Of The Wu-Tang: Wu-Tang Clan's Greatest Hits and Disciples Of The 36 Chambers I assumed, like many, that 2005 would be the year for Ol' Dirty and his legendary cohorts to return with a fresh batch of poisoned darts. But now, with "the understanding of the Wu" gone and with little to no details being released from the camp or authorities, who's to say what's in store for the Wu-Tang Clan, and more importantly, his thirteen children? My thoughts go out to his family.

*Monte Smith is a nationally acclaimed street poet, freelance writer and community-based educator. His second book, Don't Shoot the Hostages: Poetry for the Urban Survivalist Vol. 2., will be out winter 2005. For more info about Monte go to www.33third.com/monte.

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