Ol’ Dirty Bastard
N***a Please (Elektra)
Where to begin? As the most controversial figure in hip-hop’s past five turbulent years, Ol’ Dirty Bastard certainly seems happy to be rapping here. Guess it beats being in court. So, how about the expropriately filthy “Cold Blooded”? That at least explains Dirty’s Rick Jamesian locks on the cover of N***a Please. The track is Prince’s “Dirty Mind” working a “Superfreak” or two in the dressing room, you know, for a little aftershow “chat.” Freaks only, please. “You better help me solve my problem. I’ma get this money and rooooob them … You can call me Dirty and lift your skirt.” That’s from “Got Your Money,” wielding a hook from Kelis they’d kill for on one of those TNN fishing shows. Presumably, people know what they’re getting into when purchasing an Ol’ Dirty Bastard disc — mostly songs like “Gettin’ High” that leave Dolemite just another Cosby Kid hangin’ on the corner with Fat Albert. ODB lays any further questions to rest on “You Don’t Want to Fuck With Me.” The title track’s bravado (“I’m immune to all viruses!”) and reams of XXX-rated rhyming (as on “Dirt Dog”) would normally be plenty, but not here. “Good Morning Heartache” is like an unmade Halle Berry HBO movie: sultry, heavy-lidded vocals from Lil’ Mo nicely deflecting Big Baby Jesus’ somewhat slurred, but no less single-minded, approach. He ends on “All in Together Now” by saying, “You don’t understand? Then fuck you!” And what’s there to understand? “Everybody shake your ass … motherfucker’s gettin’ hot in here!” That about sums it up.
This article appears in October 15 • 1999.