The true story of Ol’ Dirty Bastard breaking out of jail to perform with Wu-Tang Clan
One of the most revolutionary groups in hip-hop, if not even wider musical history, the Wu-Tang Clan are the stuff of near-legend today for their gritty sound and philosophical lyricism.
The nine MCs, who all hail from New York City, are world-renowned for their unique fusion of East Coast hip-hop and sample-heavy beats birthed from soul, funk, and martial arts films. Fans and critics alike have celebrated their sound since they erupted on the scene in the early ’90s for being less concerned with perfection, and wholly more interested in making art authentic to their experience and vision.
The nine MCs in question – talented, charismatic, and often hot-tempered – experienced their own share of clashes and legal issues, befitting of any superstar music group. In an interview with The Face magazine, five of them; RZA, Ghostface Killah, Capadonna, Inspectah Deck and Young Dirty; discussed the past decades of their shared careers, and the mythology that has surrounded the distinguished artists.
From French girls introducing them to Nas, to using garbage cans for percussion, the interview is both illuminating and – quite honestly – hilarious. And one anecdote of Ol’ Dirty Bastard breaking out of jail to perform with his collective stands out in particular.
“Yeah, he showed up,” confirmed RZA. “In America, they’ve got jails where like, you’re in jail but they want to put you in for like evaluation, or a drug evaluation. But you can’t leave there. You’re locked up there, but it ain’t like there’s bars. You can sneak out of there.”
“Like I was on a work release up in Lincoln House [Correctional Facility] in Manhattan on 110th street. We had to come back every day work day, then we had the weekends off,” Capadonna said.
But back to Ol’ Dirty Bastard. “He showed up to a Wu-Tang show in disguise,” RZA continued. “He was disguised. He was like ‘yo, I got to go,’ and I was like ‘one more song!’”
The interviewer then asked the group to confirm or deny the rumour that the rapper then signed an autograph for an undercover police officer in McDonald’s after the show.
“What happened was after the show, he went to Philly,” RZA explained. “Because a lot of his Brooklyn Zu crew dudes was in Philadelphia. At a McDonald’s, he signed an autograph for some lady cops. And everyone was like ‘yo that’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard, he’s a fugitive’. You know what I mean? Then he’s back up in the box and shit. Lady cops call for backup.”
The interviewer then details that Capadonna shook his head. “Set him up…”
“They didn’t set him up,” RZA said, “it was just like ‘we got him, he’s right here!’” And “They got that autograph though,” Ghostface Killah said.
The five members also discussed performing in Rikers Island prison for Ol’ Dirty Bastard. “We all went to the jail and performed for Dirty in the jail,” RZA said. “We had 40oz [steaks], Dirty’s eating mad burgers in there too, fuck all that vegetarian shit.”
When was this, the interviewer asked. “I don’t know, ‘99? Maybe ’99 or 2000, when they first locked him up and shit,” RZA answered.
“The inmates was in the yard with us,” Capadonna said. “They wasn’t locked up, they was standing right there!”