ODB: The Dirty Version
Image by Rekless
Wu-Tang Clan founding member and master of the drunken style revisted for 30th anniversary.
What I loved about “C.R.E.A.M.” the first time I heard it was how different it sounded from all of the rap music that I had heard at that point in my life. The song, its sound, was authentically unique, and not manufactured to be unique. It was visionary. Wu-Tang had already been around for a couple of years, but they hadn’t yet entered my audiosphere. They dropped their debut, Enter the Wu-Tang…, in nineteen ninety-three, and the first Wu solo project, Method Man’s Tical, dropped in nineteen ninety-four, but it was during a midsummer ’95 skateboarding session when The Charmels sample and the immortal words, “Cash rules everything around me, CREAM. Get the money. Dollar dollar bill, ya’ll”, caught my spirit. Wu-Tang was a religious experience.
As I further explored the thirty-six chambers and the mysteries of chess boxing, I uncovered the magic of nine rappers with their own styles coming together to form a group, a clan, that approached the game with the soul of a kung fu flick. The projects became the slums of Shaolin, Wu records became cinematic adventures, and the rappers became legends. Among them was one mercurial standout, Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
The RZA was on some next-level shit in the nineteen nineties, but nineteen ninety-five was a landmark year for the Wu-Tang Clan mastermind producer. Three major Wu solo projects dropped that year: Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, GZA’s Liquid Swords, and the late great Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version. These albums are among the best rap albums to come out of that decade, a time when rap went commercial but still remained raw. ODB’s Return to the 36 Chambers… stands out among the first phase of Wu solo albums, which included the aforementioned three as well as Ghostface Killah’s Ironman. This phase took place between Enter the Wu… and Wu-Tang Forever.
Image by Nick M.W.
One thing I love about Return to the 36 Chambers…, and ODB’s style, is that he brought levity to Shaolin. Method Man brought the cool. Rae and Ghost brought the gangster. RZA brought the noise, and the GZA brought the brains. ODB was the Wu’s jester, but he was also a skilled MC. You can’t fake that funk on the microphone. Strictly hardcore rap fans are in for a gonzo ride on Return to the 36 Chambers…, and it’s bonkers. RZA’s production brings out the best in ODB’s manic signature style. There may not be another rap album that establishes a character and captures their energy quite like this one. This isn’t a concept album. This is the genuine article, a creative work from a man who was a schizophrenic drug addict. Thirty years later, knowing how it ended for ODB, the straightforward braggadocio about drinking and partying hit differently. ODB passed away in 2004, two days before his thirty-sixth birthday, from a lethal overdose of cocaine and tramadol, a prescription opioid. He was a lost man at this point in his life, struggling with his mental health and personal issues.
At times, Return to the 36 Chambers drags; it could have done without a couple of tracks (see below), but the dull moments are few in what is an overall entertaining listen.
Love
RZA’s Production – This is peak grimey beats and kung fu samples era RZA. “Brooklyn Zoo” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” are #1 and #2 off the album.
Proteck Ya Neck II the Zoo – A solid posse cut with the affiliates, Sunz of Maz and Brooklyn Zu.
Cuttin’ Headz – A simple boom bap rap track with the back-and-forth of a city park cipher.
Snakes – This is one of my top three favorite tracks from this album.
Hippa to da Hoppa – The organic rhythm section that RZA produced here is so much better than the clean processed drums sound that he produced after his basement flooded and destroyed his beats.
The Stomp – Chamber number 9, verse 32. Nothing but a fun track.
Tracks with Method Man – It’s a fact that adding him to your song will make it better, even if it’s only the hook (please refer to “C.R.E.A.M.”). He’s an all-time rapper and should be listed in the greatest feature of all-time category in the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame right next to Nate Dogg. “Raw Hide” has the added bonus of a Raekwon feature. “Dirty Dancin’” sounds like it could have been lifted from Tical. Meth does what he does and slides on the track like a slice of butter on a hot pan.
Don’t Love
The Album’s Sequencing – “Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie)” is an interesting palate cleanser. Not a fan of the prolonged faux orgasm. It’s place in the album’s sequencing kills the momentum
