Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Suspicion of Cops Targeting Him and Wu-Tang Was ‘Correct’

A new documentary delves into the life of Ol’ Dirty Bastard (ODB), shedding light on how justified the late rapper was in his belief that law enforcement was targeting him and the Wu-Tang Clan.

A&E’s “Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys,” released on Aug. 25, explores ODB’s (real name Russell Tyrone Jones) distrust of the government and how accurate his suspicions were, as reported by People. The documentary reveals that ODB’s mistrust of the police was well-founded, unveiled years before a Freedom of Information Act request disclosed a 95-page FBI file. This file showed the New York Police Department’s efforts to build a RICO case against the Wu-Tang Clan.

“He would literally come to my record company office twice a week whether he had a record out or not, just to relax,” says music executive Steve Rifkind in the documentary. “I don’t know if it was the drugs, drinking, the pressure of his life… I thought it was paranoia, but he was genuinely dealing with real issues.”

“I called some people, and that’s when I realized the cops were definitely looking at him,” Rifkind adds.

The documentary highlights some of the NYPD’s investigative techniques at the time, including the work of its Enterprise Operations Unit (referred to in the film as the “hip-hop police”), which closely monitored prominent local rappers. ODB would often be pulled over by police while heading to or leaving concerts.

“Dirt was one of those guys who believed, ‘Yo, the government is on us. They’re gonna try to kill me like this, they’re gonna try to kill me like that,’” Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah recalls in the film.

Journalist S. H. Fernando Jr. also appears in the documentary, confirming ODB’s suspicions. “People think that Dirty was crazy or that drugs were making him paranoid, but he actually had a legitimate concern that the feds were after him. He knew he was on the radar of law enforcement,” Fernando states.

“They had been following Wu-Tang for years,” Fernando adds.

ODB died of a drug overdose in November 2004 at the age of 35. It wasn’t until eight years later that the FBI’s five-year file on the Wu-Tang Clan, spanning from 1999 to 2004, was made public. In 2016, VICE revealed that this file contained “inflammatory allegations” accusing the legendary hip-hop group of racketeering. However, no charges were ever filed against any Wu-Tang members.

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