|
"I already knew something was going to happen.
He was shaky and mad paranoid."
BY WARREN WOODBERRY JR. and NICOLE BODE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Iceline Jones (r.) discusses death of her husband, rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, as son Barson listens.
Troubled rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard appeared shaky and nervous shortly before his sudden death - but ignored his family's pleas to get medical help, grieving relatives said yesterday.
Hours before the founder of rap group Wu-Tang Clan collapsed Saturday, he was scratching his head and breathing heavily - he had even taken off his shirt and asked for cold water, relatives said.
"I already knew something was going to happen. He was shaky and mad paranoid," said Barson Jones, ODB's 15-year-old son, who was with his dad and sisters Saturday at 36 Records studio in Manhattan.
The kids were sent home in a limo, but ODB - who was born Russell Jones - stayed behind to record with his cousins.
"They were telling him, 'You need to go to a doctor.' But it went in one ear and out the other," said his sister Lamarenae Jones, 32, of Virginia.
Soon after, the freewheeling star who disliked doctors collapsed onto the floor. Paramedics responded to the W. 34th St. studio just before 5 p.m. but could not revive him, police said.
The cause of death remains unclear. Yesterday's autopsy had not been finalized, pending a toxicology and tissue test, according to the medical examiner's office.
Dozens of family members gathered at ODB's mother's Brooklyn apartment yesterday to remember his life and to make funeral arrangements - a day before what would have been his 36th birthday.
The rapper, a father of 13, had been shot twice during his short, stormy life. He also racked up a lengthy rap sheet, with charges that ranged from shoplifting to drug possession and led to a stint in prison and a mental institution.
But his wife, Iceline Jones, 35, praised her husband's kindness and attempts to end the wild times and put his life back on track.
"He really tried to change. And he was fighting to be a better person," Jones said. "He had a kind heart. You'd have to really know him to know that."
He was remembered yesterday as a musical maverick who invigorated hip hop.
"He was one of those that put a sparkle to hip hop," said rapper Wyclef Jean.
"Hip hop lost some flavor," said rap artist Coolio.
A private funeral is planned for this week at a Brooklyn church.
ODB's rap label, Roc-A-Fella records, is planning a public ceremony in Harlem, family members said. Details had yet to be announced.
|