Digging for Dirt: The Life and Death of ODB (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Dirty Bastard, Buddha Monk, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ol' Dirty Bastard was one of the founding members of hip-hop's Wu-Tang Clan, the heart and soul of the group in its early years, although he had embarked on a solo career before he died of an accidental drug overdose. A collaboration with Mariah Carey on the hit song Fantasy led to stardom, but ODB was primarily known during his short, tumultuous, but somehow inspired life (1968–2004) for his run-ins with the law and his erratic behavior; in one memorable incident, he disrupted the Grammys to explain why he thought Wu-Tang should have won. Lowe, who wrote about ODB for the Village Voice after his death, has gathered what information she can on his life and career, but that really isn't enough to fill a book. Instead, she writes about her efforts to understand ODB, stretching out each interview, no matter how tangential, and circling around her main themes—such as the notion that the drug-addled rapper was, in his final years, a curio put onstage for the amusement of white hipsters. There are occasional flashes of insight, especially when she writes on the subject of ODB's probable mental illness, but the structural weaknesses make for an unsatisfying biography. (Dec. 2)
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From Booklist

As one of Wu Tang Clan, Russell Jones became known for his off-kilter raps and odd stage mannerisms. Like bandmates Method Man and Ghostface Killah, he also had a solo career as Ol’ Dirty Bastard (ODB) that placed two number-one albums on the rap charts, and his duet with Mariah Carey, “Fantasy,” brought mainstream success. Simply put, life was good. As time went by, though, he devolved into a more and more disturbed state, and some of his entertaining traits came to suggest mental-health issues. For instance, he usurped Shawn Colvin’s mic at the 1998 Grammies. Many critics silently thanked him for that, but then he publicly mused about being in personal danger because of George W. Bush’s enmity toward him. Seemingly unable to avoid incarceration for a variety of offenses, he died of “heart failure after cerebral hemorrhaging,” arguably caused by years of drug and other abuse. Lowe tells ODB’s tale admirably thoroughly, making this a must-have profile of a singular personality and another sad casualty in rap history. --Mike Tribby

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (November 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865479690
• ISBN-13: 978-0865479692
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #567,008 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars ODB Deserves Better, March 5, 2009

By	J. R. White (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was so excited when I first heard about this book. ODB means a lot to me. I was disappointed almost immediately.

Lowe seems remarkably out of touch on a number of levels (the Dillinger Escape Plan are "emo rockers"?). She is comfortable with writing the interest others have for ODB off based on their appearance (which is almost too ironic). What's worse is her willingness to put her own words in ODB's mouth, to explain his actions with her own slanted ideas (Puffy may be lame but your opinion of him was not shared by Dirt and is not an explanation for the Grammys).

The prose is padded fat with repetitive, masturbatory rumination and reeks with the overly indulgent, amateur feeling snarkiness found in college newspapers and the indie music sites which she apparently hates.

Only when she presents us with an objective look at the man's history through the words of others was I engaged. Besides that she seems to have used youtube as her primary means of research.

Perhaps most appallingly, she misquotes an ODB lyric and then proceeds to use that wrongly remembered line as a means to move forward a thesis she leans too heavily on already. How does that even happen?

She says that her relationship to the art of ODB began as pretense and this book makes it clear that she never really got much farther than that.