Ol’ Dirty Bastard Honored With Bed-Stuy Street Naming
The late Wu-Tang rapper’s family, friends and fans gathered on Putnam Ave. to celebrate Big Baby Jesus.
Photo Credit: Bob Berg/Getty Images.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s legacy has been immortalized in his home borough. You can now officially take a drive on ODB Jones Way in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. The late rapper’s friends, family and fans came together on Sunday, July 26, to gather on Putnam Avenue to celebrate the street’s renaming in honor of late Wu-Tang Clan rapper, born Russell Tyrone Jones.
Supporters were on-hand as ODB’s family unveiled the new green “ODB Jones Way” street sign with ODB’s 1995 hit “Brooklyn Zoo” playing in the background.
“I am very honored to be here because my grandmother’s house is on this block on Putnam Avenue, right next to where the mural is,” said ODB’s elder brother Ramsey Jones, referencing a nearby wall mural that recreates the cover of Ol’ Dirty’s debut album, Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version.
“I’m so honored, my mother’s honored. Thank you.”
Ol’ Dirty Bastard broke out as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan in 1993 before Return to the 36 Chambers… in 1995, establishing himself as a solo star. He would release one more album, 1999's gold-selling N***a Please, before his untimely death from an accidental overdose in 2004 at the age of 35.
On the official Instagram account for Wu-Tang Clan, the group also honored their fallen member ahead of the unveiling.
“Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Unique Ason. Big Baby Jesus. Call him whatever you want — Bed-Stuy is calling it ODB Jones Way,” they wrote. “We heard you. We’ll keep it raw. This Saturday, join @cmchiosse, the Jones family, and the community for the sign unveiling with music by J.PERIOD.Bring everybody.”
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