Birth Name: Russell Tyrone Jones

a.k.a.: ODB, Dirt Dog, Osirus, Big Baby Jesus, Unique Ason

The most controversial and unpredictable member of Wu-Tang Clan, Ol' Dirty Bastard was born in Fort Green, Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1969. In 1992, ODB helped form the Staten Island-based hip-hop conglomerate Wu-Tang Clan with cousins RZA and the Genius and, along with the five other core rappers attacked the underground with their debut release, Enter the Wu-Tang( 36 Chambers). His Return of the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version was released in 1995, showcasing his unique maniacally off-kilter style and featured production from RZA.

In recent years, ODB's antics off stage have drawn more publicity than his musical output. In 1998 alone he has, in chronological order, started his own "Dirty Wear" clothing line; bumrushed the podium at the Grammys to deliver a speech on the advantages of the Wu-Tang over Puff Daddy, declaring "Wu-Tang is for the children;" tried to change his name to Big Baby Jesus; been shot in the back by an intruder in his own home; had a warrant issued for his arrest on charges that he stole a pair of Nikes in Virginia; had his Range Rover stolen in Manhattan; started his own Osirus Entertainment record label; worked on his side-project D.R.U.G. (Dirty Rotten Underground Grimies); been arrested after threatening a security guard in L.A.; been kicked out of the Four Seasons Hotel in Berlin for "lewd behavior;" and arrested for threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend.

ODB's sophomore set, Nigga Please, was released in 1999, but again, it was his frequent run-ins with the law that kept his name in the public eye into the new millenium. In 2000, ODB was sentenced to time in a Los Angeles drug treatment facility; true to form, he escaped and fled from the law for a week before being apprehended in Philadelphia. He was later extradited to New York on drug possession charges, and in July 2001 was sentenced to two to four years in prison by a New York Supreme Court judge.