On the eve of a comeback, one of rap's most colorful characters, Ol' Dirty Bastard, aka Russell Jones, collapsed and died this afternoon in a Manhattan recording studio. He was 35, but just two days shy of his 36th birthday.
Jones was pronounced dead at 5:04 p.m., said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner's office. An autopsy will be conducted Sunday, she said.
Police sources said Jones, one of the founding members of Staten Island's Wu-Tang Clan, was in 36 Records LLC at 545 W. 34th St. just after 4:30 p.m. when he complained he was having difficulty breathing and collapsed.
An ambulance arrived minutes later and EMS workers raced to the fifth-floor loft, which includes the recording studio and an adjacent area with a living room and kitchen. Jones, who had collapsed in the living-room area opposite a pool table, could not be resuscitated.
A police source at the scene said no drug paraphernalia was found.
Tonight, outside the recording studio on 34th Street, about 30 grim-faced mourners -- including bandmates Ghostface Killah and Raekwon -- entered the building. Just after 8:30 p.m., Jones' body was removed and placed in an ambulance.
"This ain't no joke. This is real life, just like if you lose your mother, your brother. This is real life," said Ghostface Killah, who spoke with those assembled outside.
"It's a big loss. It's a big loss right now. I knew him for 20 years. He was my brother, heart, soul, pride and joy."
On Friday night, Jones had appeared at a concert at Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands, Wu-Tang Clan's first East Coast appearance in five years. The nine-member group had burst on the rap scene in 1993 with their album, "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)." The group recently released a CD featuring a few new songs as well as some old releases.
Jones, who was born in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, had much success with Wu-Tang Clan in the early 1990s, then went solo in the mid-90s and released two successful albums. He also recorded duets with Mariah Carey and Macy Gray.
Since November 1997, he had had a series of run-ins with the law, stints in rehabilitation and rumors of mental illness.
That year he was arrested for failing to pay nearly a year's worth of child support for three children he had with his wife, Icelene Jones. He ultimately fathered 13 children.
At the 1998 Grammy Awards, ODB took the stage and interrupted Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech to complain that Wu-Tang Clan hadn't won. The group had not been nominated in that particular category.
In another notorious episode, the rapper in 2000 eluded a court-mandated rehab stay, becoming the music world's most famous fugitive. He was nabbed at a McDonald's restaurant when the arresting officer recognized the rapper because her son was a fan.
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