Jaime Lowe Digging for Dirt: The Life and Death of ODB book There is a decent attempt here at a rounded portrait of the multi-faceted man known to fans of the Wu Tang Clan by many names including Ol' Dirty Bastard. There is an engaging, well researched and detailed mix here of stories of a big fan (the author), biography, and cultural criticism but it does not succeed completely on each level. The (sometimes racist?) voyeuristic aspect of fans of the ODB phenomenon is not explored in depth, nor is the aspect of his crack use in his 'mental instability' or his father's refutation of ODB's stories of him being raised in the Fort Greene [Brooklyn] projects on welfare until he was 13. Also the reported 'post mortem merchandising' plan of Damon Dash to create an ODB Pro-Keds sneaker is not mentioned. I do think the book title is disrespectful to a dead man. - Chris Byrne © ukhh.com 1999 - 2008