The Wild Life and Times of ODB When ODB died in 2004, he left behind a complex legacy, and some of the best verses to grace the annals of rap history. However, he was too remembered for his unapologetically wild persona. As shown on the 'Return to the 36 Chambers' album cover, #ODB really was still on food stamps. He once picked them up in a limo on MTV, asking “why would you not want free money?”. His welfare officer saw the clip and revoked his checks. After all, he did have 13 (disputed) children. Although the clip was highly criticised, #oldirtybastard saw it as removing a stigma, telling friend Buddha Monk “now they don't gotta look at it as a bad thing”. "My name is Ol Dirty Bastard. I don't hide nothing back... I come from a family of welfare. When I came out my momma womb I was on welfare." The event created a media circus around ODB; although his fame exploded, he resented being considered a running publicity stunt. The stories are myths, legends, recounted in hundreds of interviews. When he wasn't performing, he made a habit of stealing microphones, rapping over everyone from Biggie to Capleton. He stole LL Cool J’ss platinum plaque and peed on it, and turned up drunk to the video for a $45,000 Mariah Carey feature. He crashed three borrowed cars in a day. Classic 'Ghetto Supastar' came about when he ran into Pras’ studio - thinking it was an NYC studio he had booked, not in California. He once rescued a 4 year old girl from a car crash, visiting her under a false name to avoid press. That very week, he got drunk and rushed the Grammys, proclaiming: “Wu Tang is for the children! Puffy is good, but Wu Tang is the best.” Sadly, the combination of drug abuse and bipolar made ODB suffer from paranoia. While being arrested for driving without a license, he was charged for wearing body armour as a convicted felon; he had been shot multiple times. His paranoia didn’t stop there - RZA eventually bought him $50,000 of spy and surveillance equipment. It was partly reasoned, as a freedom of information request in 2012 revealed a 93-page FBI file on ODB, surveilling him for supposed links to murders, gang enterprises under #wutang, and shoot outs.