Old Dirty Bastard (ODB) passed away without leaving a will, and his former manager, Jarred Weisfeld, stated, “he was young. You can’t tell somebody who’s 35 to get a will,” as reported by The Post.
The absence of a will has now left the rapper’s seven children, including Ashana Jones, seeking their inheritances. Ashana stated, “I have not seen anything as of yet, and neither have my half-siblings. I don’t know what is owed, but I just want what is owed. That sum can be sizable, and right now, I have received zero. I reached out to Greg to try getting light on the situation about the heirs’ share.”
She continued, “I reached out in the hope that somebody can tell me when everybody will get established and when I will get my payment, so I can avoid going to court. I don’t want to. But if I have to, I will. I am being ignored. Enough is enough. We have to stop playing games.”
Battle Over The Estate’s Money Since ODB failed to leave a will, New York State decided for ODB’s widow and administrator of his estate, Icelene Jones, to receive half of the estate’s money, and for the rest to be “split between his apparently recognized 7 children.”
Icelene Jones Sues Wu-Tang Clan In February, Jones filed a lawsuit against the Wu-Tang Clan with her claim that the group owes him at least $1 million in royalties.
Rolling Stones reports that Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s widow filed a breach of contract lawsuit accusing the Wu-Tang Clan’s production company of “willfully” refusing to pay royalties and publishing income to ODB’s estate over the last decade.
In her 10-page complaint, Icelene Jones, administrator of her late husband’s estate, is asking for damages of at least $1 million, plus interest, as well as detailed accounting records.
“This is not an attack on Wu-Tang Productions, Inc., but a last legal resort we have had to pursue after being denied and ignored on this matter for over ten years,” a spokesperson for the estate said in a statement to Rolling Stone.
The statement said Wu-Tang Productions, owned by Wu-Tang member Robert “RZA” Diggs, “has willfully refused to compensate or provide accounting records to the estate of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, despite being contractually obligated.”
“We have been very supportive in providing economically to the family through the estate and to his wife and children on record and off record,” said RZA, who currently leads Wu-Tang’s production company. “ODB’s potential share of those records are minimal, are dismal, but nevertheless after those products are recouped his prorated portion belongs to him.”
ODB was a founding member of the Staten Island, New York City rap group. The Wu rose to mainstream prominence with its 1993 debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
His professional success was hampered by frequent legal troubles, including incarceration. He died on November 13, 2004, of an accidental drug overdose, two days before his 36th birthday.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard was noted for his “outrageously profane, free-associative rhymes delivered in a distinctive half-rapped, half-sung style.” His stage name was derived from the 1980 Chinese martial arts film Ol’ Dirty and the Bastard (also called An Old Kung Fu Master, starring Yuen Siu-tien). According to fellow Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s name was also a reference to the unique nature of his rapping and, specifically, the fact “there ain’t no father to his style.”
