11/18/2004 Add a comment

Big props to the stuffy New York Times for giving Ol' Dirty Bastard his due, in the form of two articles in two days.

ODB will be missed sorely by the other members of the Wu-Tang who have seen him spiral out of control while they have gone on to bigger successes (particularly Method Man, I suppose the others haven't hit it big quite like he has). Someone today asked me what ODB's contribution to rap was (with me being the rap expert in the econ department, which is sad on numerous levels). The best I could come up with were 1) his contributions to the badass creative image of the Wu-Tang and the contrasting styles of their group (which I believe held more diverse ideas simultaneously than any other group ever), and 2) that his textured voice and certain brand of insanity, not unlike Biz Markie when you think about it, paved the way for Mystikal, Ja Rule, and DMX. (But is this necessarily a good thing? I digress.) Dirt McGirt, Big Baby Jesus, Osiris, Russell Jones, Ol' Dirty, we'll miss you. All of you. ben

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