ODB aka Ol' Dirty Bastard

Well it has been 5 years since the passing of Ol' Dirty Bastard, real name Russell Jones. Another tragic loss in hip hop. A student of the game, ODB was a clear standout from the legendary hip hop group, Wu-Tang Clan. What ODB brought to Wu-Tang can never be replaced. By just the sound of his "ooooohhhhhh" that electrified crowds, and the very animated, but genius style that gave Wu-Tang an edge over all the rest, made ODB one of most entertaining artists in the game. He put out some of Wu's hottest joints, such as "Shame on N*%$a", "Brooklyn Zoo", "Shimmy Shimmy Ya", and many more banging joints into the streets, clubs, and airwaves. I would say arguably one of the most unique rappers, with his unusual style of rhyming and stage presence, ODB, was and still is one of the most loved members of the Wu-Tang Clan. I was recently at a bar having drinks with some friends, and at this bar they have a dj who uses videos along with the songs he plays, sort of like a vjay. When the dj got to his hip hop set, he played a collage of hip hop videos, that were much from the radio, yawwwwnnnnn, but then "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" came on, and the entire bar erupted and came fully alive. I mean as soon as that first piano intro comes in, girls started dancing, guys started partying, and I sat there thinking, ODB will never be forgotten. Sometimes we measure hip hop artists popularity on hit records, the amount of money they have, amount of songs that get spinned on the radio, and ODB may not have all of these measurements to his resume, but he had gift that very few can ever achieve. That gift is to reach out to so many different people with just being yourself. In my book ODB was a success, and if you don't have any ODB music, please stop listening to hip hop. To you ODB, "Yes baby I like it raaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwww"!