1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:21,119 Speaker 1: Disgraceland as a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:26,280 Speaker 1: Wu Tang clan's Old Dirty Bastard are insane. He once 3 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: saved a four year old girl who was trapped under 4 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 1: a Ford Mustang. He took a limo with an MTV 5 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: news crew to collect his welfare check. He was charged 6 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: with attempted murder of an NYPD officer, chased by bloodthirsty 7 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: Rottwilders shot by men in sche masks. His fame led 8 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: to an addiction to cocaine, and that addiction led to 9 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: ten arrests in the span of a few months. He 10 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: was granted a weekend furlough from a rehab facility, but 11 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: went a wall and wound up on the lamb. As 12 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: his cousin the Rizza once said, there was no line 13 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:08,559 Speaker 1: between life and art for Old Dirty Bastard, and though 14 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: his increasingly troubled life came to eclipse his art, ODB 15 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: did make great music. He was Wu Tang's secret weapon, 16 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 1: a blend of drunken old school R and B and 17 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: raw gonzo rap which had very little precedent in which 18 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: changed hip hop forever. Unlike that clip I played for 19 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,839 Speaker 1: you at the top of the show that wasn't great music. 20 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: That was a preset loop for my melotron called aft 21 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: or Stern MK two. I played you that clip because 22 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 1: I can't afford the rights to you. Remind me by Usher, 23 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: why would I play you that specific slice of headstand 24 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: dance Cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was the 25 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: number one song in America on July eighteenth, two one, 26 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: and that was the day that Old Dirty Bastard was 27 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: sent to a maximum security state prison, where he was 28 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: brutally attacked, set on fire, and nearly died. On this episode, 29 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: a Ford Mustang Welfare Checks, Rot Wilder, Ski Masks Maximum 30 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: Security and Wu Tang Clan's Old Dirty Bastard. I'm Jake 31 00:02:25,520 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: Brennan in this this Disgraceland. Russell Jones, the man the 32 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: world knew as Old Dirty Bastard, sat at a table 33 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: in a small room, with his mother sitting to his 34 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: right and his lawyer to his left. On the table, 35 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: a cluster of media microphones was trained in his direction. 36 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: On the opposite side of the room, reporters stood next 37 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 1: to their video cameras, many of which were already rolling tape. 38 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: Dirty aka Russell here tried to look relaxed. He reclined 39 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: in his chair, his long sleeved shirt mostly unbuttoned and 40 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: his hair pulled back in braids. But Dirty was far 41 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: from relaxed. He scanned the room with an anxious glare 42 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: as his lawyer read from a prepared statement, as you 43 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: are well aware, a King's County grand jury voted yesterday 44 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: to exonerate Russell Jones of all wrongdoing in relation to 45 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: an incident alleged to have taken place on January fifteenth, 46 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety nine. Clearly, the incident did not take place 47 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: as reported by members of the New York City Police Department. 48 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: Reporters raise their hands. One wanted to know was he 49 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: going to file a lawsuit? Yeah, man, he was gonna 50 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: sue the shit out of them. And another reporter asked, 51 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 1: was he scared? Was he scared? Would you be scared 52 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: if you were driving in your Chevy Tahoe just making 53 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: your way through Brownsville on your way to your aunt's house, 54 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: and an unmarked police car with two cops from NYPD 55 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: Street Crimes Unit, that's the stopping frisk unit with a 56 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: rock hard boner to eradicate guns from New York streets. 57 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,159 Speaker 1: By the way, forces you to pull over for no 58 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: reason at all. The cops jump out of their car 59 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: with their weapons drawn, yelling at you like a couple 60 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,600 Speaker 1: of psychos, And so you roll your wind down and say, yo, man, 61 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: don't shoot. It's just me, old, dirty bastard. And you 62 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: got your cell phone in your hand, not knowing that 63 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 1: that cell phone it's gotta come back to haunt you later. 64 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:45,720 Speaker 1: Can you freak out even more because the cops are 65 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 1: walking slowly towards your car and you think, nah, you 66 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: know they're gonna shoot you, and you can't help but 67 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,359 Speaker 1: think about Biggie and Tupac bull shot in the street 68 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: just like this, both dead. So you panic, your nerves 69 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: get the best of you. You hit the gas man, You 70 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: just fucking floor it in those two cars they do 71 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: start shooting. Blam blam blamp. Holy shit, eight bullets pierce 72 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: the back of your car. Your heart is racing. And 73 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: then those two cobs lie in their report and say 74 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 1: you shot at them first, that the cell phone you 75 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,719 Speaker 1: held in your hand was not a cell phone but 76 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: a gun. And now your charge with attempted murder of 77 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:27,480 Speaker 1: a police officer. Yeah, he's scared, He answered the reporter's 78 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: stupid question as succinctly as he could. I'm scared like 79 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: a motherfucker. For thirty years counting, he'd been getting scared. 80 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: It happened gradually. Those thirty years had built up to this, 81 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: to this strange place. He now found himself simultaneously one 82 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,040 Speaker 1: of hip hop's biggest names and one of law enforcement's 83 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,839 Speaker 1: biggest targets. His wild eyes and his fucked up teeth, 84 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: The way he jumped on the mic like a Gonzo Bismarqui, 85 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: half singing like a shit faced RMB cooner and half 86 00:05:57,680 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 1: rapping like the guy had been cooped up in a 87 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,720 Speaker 1: basement for day. To Sami was fearless and to others 88 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: he was unhinged. But old dirty bastard was not Russell Jones. 89 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:13,679 Speaker 1: Dirty was a character, a persona. Being dirty was Russell's job. 90 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: Dirty was a conduit for all the bad shit that 91 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:21,479 Speaker 1: built up inside him. The five percenters taught you to 92 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,479 Speaker 1: build as in add on to your life, as in 93 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: the eighth supreme number, that the more positive your build is, 94 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,119 Speaker 1: the more negativity you can push out of your life. 95 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: But now, in nineteen ninety nine, despite Wu Tangne's phenomenal 96 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:40,679 Speaker 1: success for Russell Jones, he was building in the wrong direction. 97 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: There was so much bad shit to deal with that 98 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: sometimes it felt like he'd be dirty forever back in 99 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:51,479 Speaker 1: the day in the seventies, growing up in the Brooklyn Zoo, 100 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: it wasn't like this. Life back then was more stable. 101 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: Unlike any other member of Wu Tang. Both of Russell's 102 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,520 Speaker 1: parents lived at home when he was young, and they 103 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:05,480 Speaker 1: both worked, and they both loved music Marvin Otis, Aretha, Jimmy, 104 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: all kinds of R and B and rock and roll. 105 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: It provided a soundtrack to the Jones household. Russell, or 106 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: Rusty as he was known then Sang was his sister 107 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 1: to entertain party guests, and he made his own music 108 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: with his cousins Bobby Diggs and Gary Grice aka the 109 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: Rizza and the Jizza, respectively. But when they were watching 110 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: Kung Fu movies at the Deuce in Times Square, are 111 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: hustling apples at a fruit stand in Brooklyn, just like 112 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: Grizza and Jizza. Russell got himself a five percent name too, 113 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: as on Unique like a son unique. That's s n 114 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: because there was no father to his wild side. But 115 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 1: in the mid nineteen eighties, life as Russell knew it 116 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: changed his parents split up, the once stable Jones family 117 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 1: home wobbled on its foundation. Russell tried to find stability 118 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: in a new family by marrying his high school sweetheart, 119 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: but with three young children of their own and money 120 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,720 Speaker 1: nearly non existent, they were forced to move into a 121 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: homeless shelter. Then Russell and Bobby started to hustle more 122 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: than just apples in nineteen ninety one, out in Steubenville, Ohio. 123 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: They thought they could pave a path out of poverty 124 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: by pedaling dope from New York than They were wrong. 125 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 1: Russell's tenure as a dealer was shorter than Bobby's. He 126 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: was pinched early on into their Midwest venture and returned 127 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: back East. But not long after that boondoggle, life as 128 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: Russell knew it changed once again, this time for the better. 129 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 1: He changed his name from Aeson unique to Old Dirty Bastard, 130 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,559 Speaker 1: taken from a kung fu movie called Old Dirty. In 131 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: the Bastard, Old represented his love of old school music. 132 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 1: Dirty was a reflection of his raw gutter poetry, and 133 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: Bastard well, there remained no direct lineage for his style. 134 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:57,680 Speaker 1: For Dirty and the other members of Wu Tang, the 135 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: group was meant to be a positive build a lifeline 136 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: thrown into the sea of despair. They were all drowning 137 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: in a way to get safely to a prosperous shore. 138 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 1: And in many ways it was but Wu Tang took 139 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 1: Russell Jones from the bush leagues to the majors. And 140 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 1: if you want to play in the majors, you do 141 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,439 Speaker 1: what the All Stars do, not forties of old English, 142 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: by the way, which was Russell's in toxic and rechoice 143 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: up to this point. All stars did cocaine. Cocaine separated 144 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 1: the men from the boys, Richard Pryor and Rick James. 145 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: They did cocaine, and that sacred powder which inspired the 146 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: creative minds of many a genius. Cocaine was meant to 147 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: make Russell free to unlock the deepest pockets of his 148 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: creative wealth. Instead, it was a lightning rod for all 149 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:51,319 Speaker 1: the bad shit. Russell doing blow was like Russell looking 150 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: in the mirror and saying old, dirty bastard three times. 151 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 1: Sometimes it made him paranoid, other times it made him 152 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: hyper aware people really were after him. The hardest thing 153 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 1: was telling the difference between the two. November sixteenth, nineteen 154 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: ninety four, Brooklyn Late Dirty looked over his shoulder as 155 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 1: he walked down the street alone. The car behind him 156 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:20,960 Speaker 1: had been following him for a few blocks. He didn't 157 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: know who was bound the wheel, and he didn't want 158 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,720 Speaker 1: to know. He just wanted to get away. To break free, 159 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,560 Speaker 1: he darted into the backyard of a house nearby and hid. 160 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 1: He kept very still, and the car idled for a moment, 161 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:38,120 Speaker 1: and then the engine rumbled and it drove off. Thank god, 162 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,319 Speaker 1: that was over. Then he heard another low rumble, this 163 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: one coming from just feet away. Three rotwilders stepped out 164 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: of the shadows, teeth bared, saliva dripping, dirty, was shaking. 165 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 1: He spotted a doggy door at the base of the 166 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:57,040 Speaker 1: house's back door, and, in his altered and panic stayed 167 00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: of mind, he surmised that if he could only make 168 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:01,559 Speaker 1: it inside the house through that doggy door, then he 169 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: could get himself to safety. He folded. He ran faster 170 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: than he'd ever run in his life, and the dogs 171 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: gave chase, and their jaws nifted his heels as he 172 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:12,480 Speaker 1: dropped all fours and shuffled his way past the flap 173 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: and inside and the home. Zonner woken by the dog's 174 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: frantic barking shrieked his dirty barrel past her. She picked 175 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: up her phone and dialed nine one one while Dirty 176 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 1: bounded up her stairs to the second floor. Rottweiler's in 177 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: hot pursuit. Upstairs, He made it inside a room and 178 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 1: slammed the door shut behind him, and the dogs were 179 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:31,960 Speaker 1: scratching at the door with their claws and ramming it 180 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: with their heads. And Dirty ran to the window and 181 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: threw open the sash. The cold of air rushed in. 182 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:39,160 Speaker 1: He climbed to the window like he just climbed through 183 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 1: the doggy door and jumped. He landed on the lawn below, 184 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: and he could still hear the dogs, And then he 185 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: heard the sirens, the ones the homeowner had just called 186 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:52,080 Speaker 1: blue lights. Getting closer was always something. If it wasn't 187 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: strange people in cars, it was dogs. And if it 188 00:11:55,200 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: wasn't dogs, it was cops. Everyone was after him. Everything 189 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: made him scared. Five years later, in nineteen ninety nine, 190 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: at the press conference where his lawyer announced that the 191 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 1: NYPD were dropping their attempted murder charge, Dirty sense of 192 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: fear and paranoia reached a fever. Pitch outang don't be 193 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: fucking with nobody, so don't fuck with us, He nervously 194 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: told the rum of reporters, and that goes for the FBI, 195 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: the CIA, and all y'all motherfuckers, stay off our backs. 196 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:54,840 Speaker 1: February nineteen ninety eight, Brookline. The girl couldn't move. She 197 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:58,240 Speaker 1: was pinned beneath the Ford Mustang, the engine running hot 198 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 1: against her skin. She smelled gasoline and thought she could 199 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 1: hear the sound of flames crackling. She was terrified. She 200 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,439 Speaker 1: cried out for help. She could hear her mother somewhere nearby, screaming, 201 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: my baby, Where's my baby? And the girl was only 202 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:16,320 Speaker 1: four years old. In just seconds prior, she was crossing 203 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:19,800 Speaker 1: Fulton Street when the Mustang came out of nowhere fast. 204 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: She had no time to react, and the car hit 205 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:26,000 Speaker 1: her straight on. She rolled up onto the Mustang's hood 206 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: and bounced off as if she were weightless. And it 207 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: all happened so quickly that she wasn't even sure how 208 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: she ended up like this, lying flat on the pavement, 209 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: and the hulk of burning steel that had just smashed 210 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: into her now crushing her like a buck. She didn't 211 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: know what to do, and she tried to wriggle free, 212 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,600 Speaker 1: but it was useless. She cried some more, her heart 213 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: pounding in her throat, and the flames getting louder now 214 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:52,560 Speaker 1: and the heat searing, And then she heard another voice, 215 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 1: come on, come on, we can lift this car. The 216 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:58,079 Speaker 1: voice got closer, and soon she could see about a 217 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:00,680 Speaker 1: dozen sets of hands gripping the car, pulling it into 218 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: the air, and the Mustang rose. She saw a bunch 219 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 1: of faces, one face in particular, the face of the 220 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 1: man who rallied a group of bystanders on the street 221 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,720 Speaker 1: to save a four year old stranger seconds away from death. 222 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,079 Speaker 1: And she knew who he was. Everyone in the neighborhood 223 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: knew him. He went by many names, both Cyrus, Dirt McGirt, 224 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: Big Baby, Jesus Aeson Unique, His mom called him rusty. 225 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: But to this little girl, he was a hero. The 226 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: story of how old Dirty bastard saved a girl trapped 227 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 1: under a car as the stuff of legend, but it 228 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: is also one hundred percent true. After all, as Dirty 229 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:42,120 Speaker 1: himself wants to sinkly put it, wu tang is for 230 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 1: the children, and that random act of kindness wasn't so 231 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 1: random to Dirty's neighborhood. To most, he was already a 232 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 1: local hero. He was a hero because he didn't let 233 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 1: the success of Wu Tang go to his head. He 234 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: stayed humble and down to earth. He gave money to 235 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: strangers on the street. He paid for people's groceries at 236 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 1: the bodega if they were short on change. He bought 237 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: his mom a house and gave his dad money for 238 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 1: a down payment. Yet despite all that, not everyone saw 239 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: him as a positive force. In nineteen ninety four, ODB 240 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,120 Speaker 1: became the most famous abuser of the welfare system at 241 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 1: a time when US President Bill Clinton was pushing for 242 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: massive welfare reform. After Dirty received a forty five thousand 243 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: dollars advance from Electra Records for his first solo album, 244 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: Return to the thirty six Chambers, the Dirty version, Dirty 245 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:33,480 Speaker 1: had an MTV crew follow him as he took a 246 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: limo to pick up and cash his three hundred and 247 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 1: seventy five dollars welfare check. The loophole, of course, was 248 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 1: that he had yet to file his taxes and was 249 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: still collecting welfare based on pre fame income. You know 250 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: how hard it is for people to live with nothing, 251 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,320 Speaker 1: Dirty ass during the MTV news segment, You owe me 252 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 1: forty acres and a mule anyway, for real, I'm in 253 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: this rap game to get money. I got babies. It's 254 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 1: time to take care of my baby. I didn't think 255 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: it would work, but it worked and we got food stamps. 256 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: Slick Willie Bubba. Bill Clinton called for welfare overhaul, but 257 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,760 Speaker 1: Dirty was slicker. He used his welfare card as the 258 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 1: cover art of his solo debut, which sold eighty one 259 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 1: thousand copies in its first week and peaked at number 260 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 1: seven on the Billboard two hundred. My Man's Living It 261 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: was a told Rolling Stone Magazine when asked about the 262 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 1: realness of his cousin, There's no line between art and 263 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: life for him. But soon the art took a back 264 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:36,280 Speaker 1: seat to the life. At first, the arrests were a 265 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 1: minor but plentiful petty larceny bar fights. Then in nineteen 266 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 1: ninety eight, the same year he saved the four year 267 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,520 Speaker 1: old girl, he was charged with second degree harassment of 268 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:49,880 Speaker 1: his wife, endangering the welfare of their children, and failing 269 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 1: to pay child support. He threatened to kill members of 270 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:55,400 Speaker 1: security at the House of Blues in la after he 271 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 1: caused a disturbance and was asked to leave, and the 272 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 1: next year, in nineteen ninety he was pulled over and 273 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: his range rover arrested for three vials of crack, and 274 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,679 Speaker 1: two months later deja vu, another traffic stop, another stash 275 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: of crack seized by police, and two months after that 276 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: he was stopped again after he ran a red light 277 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:17,879 Speaker 1: in a red convertible Mercedes. Cop searched the car, finding 278 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: twenty Glassian envelopes with more than five hundred milligrams of 279 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: cocaine powder possession with intent to sell. These are merely 280 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: a few examples of his many transgressions. All in all, 281 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 1: Dirty was arrested ten times in the span of a 282 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 1: few months. In November of nineteen ninety nine, he was 283 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 1: sentenced for crimes he committed in California, which included the 284 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: House of Blues incident, as well as for wearing a 285 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 1: bulletproof vest, which under California law, was illegal for quote 286 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,440 Speaker 1: unquote violent felons. He got three years probation, a five 287 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: hundred dollars fine, and twelve months in rehabb Dirty's illegal 288 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,040 Speaker 1: extracurricular activities cut into his time with Wu Tang, and 289 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,440 Speaker 1: when the group's third album, The w dropped in two thousand, 290 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,959 Speaker 1: dB was featured on just one song. He did manage 291 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: to appear at a Wu Tang show in New York 292 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,919 Speaker 1: City that same year, thanks to a weekend furlough granted 293 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 1: by his California rehab facility. The show is a big deal. 294 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:14,960 Speaker 1: It was the first time in three years that all 295 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 1: members of Wu Tang had appeared on stage together. Who 296 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:21,000 Speaker 1: Rizza made sure the crowd knew what they were seeing history, 297 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,640 Speaker 1: but even historical moments such as those were fleeting. As 298 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 1: soon as the show ended, the group splintered apart yet again. Dirty, however, 299 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 1: didn't go where he was supposed to. He didn't honor 300 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: the terms of his furlough and head back to California 301 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: and back to rehab. Instead. O dB went a wall. 302 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: He walked right out of the Hammerstein Ballroom, right past security, 303 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: pasted NYPD, passed the minders from out West who were 304 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: supposed to be monitoring him. Dirty was gone from Manhattan. 305 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:55,119 Speaker 1: He went to the Bronx, and from the Bronx he 306 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 1: went to Jersey, from a safe house in Willamborough to 307 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: a home in Florence reebling on the pencil Mania borders, 308 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: surrounded by trees, where bird song was carried on the wind. 309 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 1: It was peaceful. The Dirty couldn't chill not even here, 310 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:11,680 Speaker 1: not even out in the woods. He thought about the 311 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 1: people who were surely looking for him, cops, doctors. He 312 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 1: thought about other times when he thought he was safe, 313 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 1: like that time just a year ago, when he was 314 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: violently woken up from a deep sleep by men in 315 00:19:22,119 --> 00:19:24,679 Speaker 1: ski masks who had broken into the house he was 316 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,159 Speaker 1: staying in. They shoved a gun in his face and 317 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,520 Speaker 1: took his jewelry, and then they shot him point blank. 318 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:32,919 Speaker 1: He could still see their eyes peering out from the 319 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,080 Speaker 1: holes in the mass. But it wasn't just their eyes. 320 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:38,440 Speaker 1: He had the eyes of the whole world on him, 321 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,880 Speaker 1: bearing down like a two ton Ford Mustang, crushing him, 322 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:47,159 Speaker 1: searing into his flesh, into his very soul. If it 323 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:49,919 Speaker 1: wasn't strangers in cars or thieves with ski masks, or 324 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: dogs or cops, it was trees, the fucking trees. So 325 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,600 Speaker 1: he went back on the road, not with Wu Tang, 326 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: but with some friends who were picking up a car 327 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 1: across the Delaware in Philly. The city made him more 328 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 1: nervous than he expected. His senses were heightened, especially his 329 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,479 Speaker 1: sense of danger. As soon as they got there, he 330 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,879 Speaker 1: regretted it. He wanted to be back in the middle 331 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: of nowhere back in the New Jersey boonies. His friend said, nah, man, 332 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,760 Speaker 1: you wanted to come with, you gotta wait for us 333 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: to do our thing. But Dirty was insistent. Something was off. 334 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,399 Speaker 1: Philly wasn't right. They had to go back now, so 335 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:33,199 Speaker 1: they did. They were almost to the Walt Whitman Bridge 336 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:35,920 Speaker 1: when Dirty told him to stop the car. He had 337 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:38,840 Speaker 1: to piss and couldn't wait, and they pulled over at 338 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 1: a McDonald's and Dirty went inside. Hit the head, came out, 339 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:46,200 Speaker 1: stomach rumbling. Filet of fish sounded real good right about now. 340 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,320 Speaker 1: He looked up at the menu and he lingered for 341 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 1: too long. Oh shit, is that old, dirty bastard? Fuck? 342 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,920 Speaker 1: Some kitten lied made him. But this wasn't the neighborhood 343 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:01,680 Speaker 1: in Brooklyn where Dirty was a hero. This was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 344 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,440 Speaker 1: where he was a fugitive. So time to go, Get 345 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:07,560 Speaker 1: in the car, get across the bridge, hide out with 346 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:12,040 Speaker 1: the birds in the trees. But Dirty wasn't fast enough. Philadelphia, 347 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:16,159 Speaker 1: PD was faster. They rolled up two cars, blocking the 348 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 1: car Dirty was in before it could even leave the 349 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: parking lot, and he couldn't move. He needed someone to 350 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: come along and save him, like he had saved that 351 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:26,639 Speaker 1: little girl, but no one was coming. It was Dirty 352 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:37,159 Speaker 1: against the world. Then the world was winning. We'll be 353 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:44,160 Speaker 1: right back after this. We're were were. There wasn't much 354 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,120 Speaker 1: that the Rizza wouldn't do for his cousin, Old Dirty Bastard. 355 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 1: From the jump. They had a special bond. They cut 356 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: school to catch kung flu flicks at the deuce. They 357 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: stood look out for each other while applying a five finger. 358 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: Discounted stories on Staten Island, and they beat boxed and 359 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,119 Speaker 1: rhyme on mixed tapes along with their other cousin, the 360 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:07,159 Speaker 1: Jizza from Brooklyn to Steubenville to Shoolin, from the humiliating 361 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:10,240 Speaker 1: depths of poverty to the upper echelons of popular culture. 362 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: Dirty scared some people, but Rizza knew the dude was 363 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 1: just eccentric. Rizza loved Dirty like a brother. Rizza had 364 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:22,439 Speaker 1: Dirty's back. So when Dirty called Rizza from a prison 365 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:24,640 Speaker 1: and said, Yo, man, you gotta come up here. They're 366 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:26,320 Speaker 1: gonna kill me. Man, you gotta come up here now 367 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: and break me out of this place, Rizza seriously contemplated 368 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 1: it for a moment. For real, Rizza played out a 369 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,760 Speaker 1: jail break in his mind. The inns the outs, the 370 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,720 Speaker 1: what ifs. Of course, it was a crazy idea, a 371 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,920 Speaker 1: stupid idea. Rizza put that kind of criminal behavior behind 372 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,720 Speaker 1: him long ago, but he could hear pure fear and 373 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: desperation in Dirty's voice. From the fear was as raw 374 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,640 Speaker 1: as Dirty's abid in his mind when he held a mic, 375 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:55,359 Speaker 1: Rizza wanted to help somehow, so he brought attention to 376 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:58,439 Speaker 1: Dirty's plate with a note on Wu Tang's website. The 377 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 1: note read, old Dirty Bastard fears his life is in 378 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,359 Speaker 1: jeopardy and that a conspiracy is an effect to kill him. 379 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,119 Speaker 1: These concerns have been presented to the DA and prison 380 00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:09,560 Speaker 1: officials have been alerted to the threat to his life. 381 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,199 Speaker 1: None of these state officials have given any regard to 382 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:14,879 Speaker 1: this matter. If something happens while ODB is in the 383 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: custody of these officials, his family, his thirteen children in 384 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 1: Wu Tang will seek full retribution in a civil resolution. 385 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 1: It was the summer of two thousand and one. Dirty 386 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:31,679 Speaker 1: was in Dana Mora aka Clinton Correctional Facility aka Little Siberia, 387 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 1: so named for the prison's cold and remote location, some 388 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:38,800 Speaker 1: three hundred miles north of the city. Little Siberia was 389 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 1: old Dirty Bastard's new maximum security home for the next 390 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:45,440 Speaker 1: two to four years. Two to four was better than eight, 391 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:47,959 Speaker 1: which is the number of years he originally faced for 392 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:52,200 Speaker 1: his laundry list of offenses, including the twenty glassian envelopes 393 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,440 Speaker 1: of coke he was busted with after he was nabbed 394 00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:58,840 Speaker 1: in Philadelphia. While on the lamb from rehab, Dirty copped 395 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,320 Speaker 1: the plea deal and got a red do sentence. Like 396 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 1: a number though would make a difference, two four eight 397 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:08,680 Speaker 1: hidden matter. He knew he'd be lucky to last one 398 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 1: year in this place. Little Siberia was no safer than 399 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,119 Speaker 1: life on the outside. It was more of the same, 400 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:22,439 Speaker 1: more paranoia, more terror, but now just concentrate him. Dirty 401 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,880 Speaker 1: was that rare breed of in me, not just the target. 402 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 1: He was a hip hop megastar who thought he was 403 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,440 Speaker 1: actually a thug, an art imitates life kind of dude, 404 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,639 Speaker 1: and that was fucking rich, just as rich as he was. 405 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:37,919 Speaker 1: Look at this welfare I want to be fuck mugging 406 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: for the cameras while collecting a state check and a 407 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,920 Speaker 1: stretch job. He didn't know the first thing about thug life, 408 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,960 Speaker 1: real thug life. Little Siberia would show him Little Siberia 409 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:53,359 Speaker 1: was hell. Little Siberia was worse than hell. This was 410 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,479 Speaker 1: worse than getting shot at by the NYPD, worse than 411 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:59,280 Speaker 1: getting clipped by crazy fuckers and ski masks or chase 412 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 1: by bloodthirst Rottwilder's Dana Moore wanted what Dirty had money 413 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,560 Speaker 1: clout fame. Every harden inmate wanted to be the one 414 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,880 Speaker 1: who out crazied Wu Tang's craziest member, the one who 415 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,439 Speaker 1: put him in his smirking punk ass in his place. 416 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 1: And the attacks were routine, and they were violent and quick. 417 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:24,400 Speaker 1: The guards turned a blind eye, paid off for simply 418 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:28,560 Speaker 1: beyond caring. One it made smashed Dirty's face bloody with 419 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,359 Speaker 1: a telephone receiver. Some other dudes pounced on him when 420 00:25:31,359 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 1: he wasn't looking, fucked him up real good, and then 421 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,240 Speaker 1: snapped his leg in half. And when he wasn't getting 422 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: beat down, he was getting threatened to get beat down. 423 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:40,840 Speaker 1: And they told him about to close his eyes at 424 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,320 Speaker 1: night because if he fell asleep, they were gonna set 425 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:47,160 Speaker 1: his bunk on fire and burn him alive. Dirty was 426 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 1: terrified things were aspiraling out of control. He was at 427 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: the mercy of prison gangs, the most violent human beings. 428 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: He'd ever encountered in his life. Mercy wasn't even in 429 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: their lexicon. He needed to do something. If he was 430 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 1: going to survive, He needed to get himself as far 431 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: away from everyone else as he possibly could. He wouldn't 432 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:12,160 Speaker 1: let them have the satisfaction he needed to take control. 433 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:19,919 Speaker 1: So Old Dirty Bastard lit himself on fire. The stunt 434 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: got him immediately pulled from the general population, which was 435 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 1: exactly what he wanted. But this stunt classified him as 436 00:26:27,359 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: mentally unstable. Prison staff put him on Haldahl, an antipsychotic 437 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,439 Speaker 1: medication used to treat schizophrenia, and he gained weight. He 438 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 1: had a hard time walking, and his movements were labored 439 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: and clunky, and his jaw clenched shot on its own. 440 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,359 Speaker 1: He was catatonic, a shell of his former self wrapped 441 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,919 Speaker 1: in an expanding husk. And when he was finally released 442 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 1: from prison after nearly two years on the inside, Old 443 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 1: Dirty Bastard had changed, and so too had the world. 444 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,399 Speaker 1: May one, two thousand and three was the day Dirty 445 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 1: became a free man again. He'd spent eighteen months at 446 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,359 Speaker 1: Little Siberia, followed by another three months at the Manhattan 447 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:38,800 Speaker 1: Psychiatric Center, and now it was time to start over, 448 00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 1: start fresh. It was time, as the five percent elders 449 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,280 Speaker 1: would say, to work on his build. Let the positive 450 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: push out the negative. But he faced this challenge in 451 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:52,520 Speaker 1: a city that no longer looked the same. The twin 452 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: Towers of the World Trade Center have been reduced to 453 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: rubble run. DMC's jam Master Jab been shot dead in 454 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: his studio in Queen's. The New York Police Department's Street 455 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:05,280 Speaker 1: Crimes Unit, the one that accused Dirty of attempted murder 456 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:09,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety nine, had been dismantled, and Dirty's group 457 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: Wu Tang Clan had moved on without. In December of 458 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 1: two thousand and one, when Dirty was doing time at 459 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:20,400 Speaker 1: Dana Mora, Wu Tang released their fourth studio album, Iron Flag. 460 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,880 Speaker 1: It was the first Wu Tang record that didn't feature 461 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:28,639 Speaker 1: Old Dirty Bastard at all. Also absent for the most 462 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,360 Speaker 1: part was Cappadonna, who by this point was seen by 463 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 1: some the group as traitorists following his association with Michael Caruso, 464 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,720 Speaker 1: the so called al capone of Ray's turned personal manager, 465 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:43,520 Speaker 1: who had been secretly acting as an informant for the 466 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 1: federal government. Iron Flag, though received positively by many critics 467 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 1: and certified gold a little over a month after its release. 468 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 1: Did not do as well on the charts as previous 469 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,600 Speaker 1: Wu Tang albums. It debuted at only number thirty two 470 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:01,719 Speaker 1: on the Billboard, two hundred twenty seven spots lower than 471 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:05,280 Speaker 1: the w had placed one year prior. Dirty wasn't worried 472 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,640 Speaker 1: about the charts or about Wu Tang. Dirty was just 473 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:13,480 Speaker 1: worried about himself, his build. Dirty needed to protect his neck. 474 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:16,720 Speaker 1: He needed to make it. He'd already made it through 475 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:21,200 Speaker 1: an extremely traumatizing nearly two year prison term, just barely, 476 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: but he did so in theory that man he could 477 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:30,480 Speaker 1: make it through anything. Money helped. Money talked. Riza offered 478 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 1: up five hundred k a place to crash at the 479 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:37,080 Speaker 1: studio to start making music again, but jay Z's label 480 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:40,880 Speaker 1: talked louder. Rockefeller Records offered one million bucks for Dirty 481 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 1: to sign on the dotted line. In order to sign 482 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,000 Speaker 1: with Rockefella, however, Dirty had to be let go of 483 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: his contractual obligations with Rizza and Wu Tang Productions. Rizzi 484 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:53,760 Speaker 1: didn't want to let Dirty go. Rizzi didn't want to 485 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: let any of them go, but one by one, Ray 486 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 1: Meth Ghost deck You God Mask to Killa. They all 487 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 1: came to Rizza and asked to be set free, all 488 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 1: except Jizza, who did handshakes and not ink on paper. 489 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:11,320 Speaker 1: But I digress. They didn't want out of the group. 490 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,800 Speaker 1: Wu Tang was forever. Wu Tang would always be there, 491 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:16,720 Speaker 1: and they would all come back to it, back to 492 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,479 Speaker 1: shout in in one way or another, no matter how 493 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 1: big their egos got or how crazy their solo careers became. 494 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,080 Speaker 1: What they wanted was to get out of their contracts, 495 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: the fifty to fifty contracts they'd signed with Rizza way 496 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: back in nineteen ninety three as part of Wu Tang's 497 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:37,760 Speaker 1: groundbreaking deal with Loud Records. Rizza's brother and business partner, Divine, 498 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 1: really didn't want to let anyone walk. To Divine, this 499 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: wasn't a personal matter. Put your love in your back pocket, 500 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: he allegedly told ghost Face, this is business, and in 501 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 1: business terms, letting all these guys leave would go down 502 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,560 Speaker 1: as the worst move in hip hop history. He didn't 503 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 1: just let forty million dollars waltz out the door, But 504 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:02,000 Speaker 1: in the Rizza's eyes, it was personal. As he later explained, 505 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:04,360 Speaker 1: he didn't think it was fair to keep his brothers 506 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,480 Speaker 1: in bondage. If they wanted to be free, their freedom 507 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: meant more to him than the bottom line. Now, it 508 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:15,560 Speaker 1: wasn't that simple and that beautiful. Rizza, of course, is 509 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,280 Speaker 1: a brilliant businessman, as he is a brilliant producer at 510 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:22,320 Speaker 1: MC and wrangler of personalities. Many Wu Tang members have 511 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:24,200 Speaker 1: said that they had to fight Risa and Devine to 512 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 1: get free, and there's a sense that Rizza's Kumbayan narrative 513 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: was constructed after the fact. Regardless, though everyone got what 514 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,000 Speaker 1: they wanted. They were free and Dirty even got his 515 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 1: rock a Feller deal. For fans, it seemed like it 516 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,600 Speaker 1: was the beginning of the end, the dissolution of hip 517 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:45,520 Speaker 1: hop's greatest dynasty. But non fans of the group, and 518 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,600 Speaker 1: I'm talking specifically about the NYPD, the ATF, the FBI, 519 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: the collective of law enforcement agencies that have been trying 520 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:56,560 Speaker 1: to mount reco prosecution against Wu Tang for years, they 521 00:31:56,600 --> 00:32:00,640 Speaker 1: all knew this wasn't the end. The law wasn't that nice. 522 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:04,000 Speaker 1: They'd seen mafia families split to a part exactly like this. 523 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,440 Speaker 1: It never stemmed the tide of crime. It merely made 524 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:11,000 Speaker 1: more waves violent clashes for power that painted New York 525 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:15,400 Speaker 1: streets with blood. Corruption begat more corruption. So the FBI 526 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:19,080 Speaker 1: didn't let up their file on the WU tang got 527 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:22,960 Speaker 1: larger and their list of CEO has got longer. They 528 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:28,479 Speaker 1: kept watching, kept waiting, knowing that at any moment, something 529 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:34,240 Speaker 1: would happen to blow their case wide open. I'm Jake 530 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:48,400 Speaker 1: Brennan in this episode of Disgraceland is to be continued. 531 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:55,200 Speaker 1: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 532 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:58,640 Speaker 1: partnership with Double Elvis. 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