Inside the invisible world of Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A&E’s new documentary peels back the layers | News

When Wu Tang Clan made their debut with the single “Protect Ya Neck” in 1992, the world was also introduced to the crazy personality of Old dirty bastard with the opening lines: “First things first, man, you fuck with the worst / I’ll stick needles in your head like a fucking nurse.” Known for his wildly unconventional, free-flowing rhymes that combine a high level of technical rapping and melodic vocals, it was fitting that the Brooklyn native took his moniker from the 1980 Chinese martial arts film Ol’ Dirty and the Bastard.

What followed was a rollercoaster career that led to one of the best rap debuts of the 90s, Hits with pop icons like MariahCarey, an infamous MTV documentary, storms the stage of the Grammy Awards, Rescue of a little girl in a car accidentlegal problems, addiction and an untimely death by overdose in 2004. Regardless of how fans and media portrayed the influential rapper, his friends, family and loved ones knew him as Richard Jones. The upcoming A&E documentary ODB: The story of two dirty girls explores the life of ODB in an unprecedented way that is fascinating, funny, emotional, uncomfortable, and every other emotional world in between.

Produced by Four Screens, who manage the ODB inventory, and Pulse Films, known for projects such as The history of the Beastie Boys And Beyoncé’s Lemonade, This documentary aims to peel back the layers of ODB’s larger-than-life personality to reveal the man behind the myth. Directed by Emmy and Peabody Award winner Sam Pollard and his son Jason PollardThe film mixes personal archives, intimate interviews and expert direction to paint a previously unpublished portrait of ODB.

Talk to Messiah Jacobsthe administrator of ODB’s estate and executive producer of the documentary, ODB’s widow, Icelene Jones, and son, Bar-Sun JonesThey all offered a look behind the scenes of the creation of this deeply personal project. According to Jacobs ODB: The story of two dirty girls is unique because it tells ODB’s story from the perspective of those who knew him best – his family.

“This documentary was unique because it was the first time we told the story from the family’s perspective,” Jacobs explained. “It wasn’t just about ODB, the star; it was about Russell Jones, the husband, the father. There’s just something different about telling a man’s story and not just focusing on his star.”

ODB’s widow, Icelene Jones, who serves as executive producer of the film, hopes the documentary will preserve her late husband’s story in a way the world has never seen before.

“The approach was to make sure he had a legacy, that everyone understood what we went through, and that you saw ODB from a different perspective than you’d seen him in the past,” she said. “We just wanted to get across that he had a family, a wife and kids. He was a loving, caring person outside of rap, and we were a big part of rap, too.”

One of the most striking features of the documentary is the extensive use of previously unseen footage, much of it shot by Icelene herself. This footage offers a rare glimpse into ODB’s personal life, showing him as an artist, father, husband and friend.

“My husband, ODB, was the one who gave me the camcorder,” Icelene recalls of the documentary, which took about seven years to make. “He said, ‘You like photography? Here, you’re going to use this.’ So he and I tried to figure it out, and once I learned how to do it, I was just everywhere, filming everything. I just wish I had done it more often, whenever I had the chance.”

For Bar-Sun, who also performs under the stage name YDB in honor of his late father, the documentary is not only a tribute to his father, but also a signal for the future.

“This is a great film that we are producing, and it will not be the last one we produce,” he said. “We are actually going to go global. We are producers now, and that is what I want you to know.”

Expect more from the ODB estate in the near and distant future. This includes a graphic novel about ODB’s life, which is set to be released on his birthday, November 15th. Jacobs even mentioned a video game collaboration that has nothing to do with the Rumors about Microsoft’s “Shaolin” project.

“We have a partnership that we’re going to announce later this week where we’re going to talk about ODB and gaming,” Jacobs said before commenting on the “Shaolin” rumors. “We’ve heard about Microsoft and what they’re doing, but I can’t say where that’s going to be. But I could tell you that we have a graphic novel that’s going to be phenomenal for fans. And then we also have a game that we’re going to be working on as we launch ODB in a big way.”

ODB: The story of two dirty girls Premiering on the A&E Network on August 25thth at 9pm