Wu Tang’s ‘gift to ODB’

When a new Ol’ Dirty Bastard album comes out next month, it will include a tribute track to the late rapper from the surviving members of his group the Wu-Tang Clan. The song, tentatively titled “I Go Through Life,” would be one of the few recordings in several years to feature all the members of the influential New York rap collective.

“This is a gift to ODB and the fans, so the fans can feel our love,” Wu Tang member and producer RZA told Billboard.

ODB, whose real name was Russell Jones, was working on the album in November at a Manhattan recording studio when he died of a heart attack caused by cocaine and a painkiller. He was 35.

The album, due March 22, will be the second posthumous release from ODB. A collection of unreleased tracks called “Osirus, the Official Mixtape” was issued in January by the rapper’s mother and business manager.

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Richard Cromelin