by SCOTT C

Last weekend marked the end of the short life of a crazy, misunderstood hip hop genius named Russell Tyrone Jones, better known as Old Dirty Bastard. The 35-year-old ODB collapsed in a Manhattan recording studio on Saturday, Nov. 13, after complaining of chest pains. Oddly enough, it would have been his birthday on Monday, Nov. 15. Ol' Dirty, who had just finished a prison sentence for drug possession and escaping from a rehab clinic, also called himself Dirt Dog, Unique Ason, Dirt McGirt, BZA, Osirus and my favourite, Big Baby Jesus. He was a big part of the Wu-Tang phenomenon, taking a cracked-out, unnatural flow and injecting nothing but uncut Russell into the mix. His nonsense-filled rhymes and seemingly drunken delivery set him apart from the other Wu members, while his unpredictable mic persona made him the hot - if not ridiculous - verse on many a song. His charisma will be sadly missed. Check www.ripodb.tk if you want to sign the guest book.

Here at home in Montreal, the co-producer of local hip hop group Euphrates lies in a coma after an unfortunate accident two weeks ago. On Tuesday, Nov. 2, Nofy Fannan was hit by a car and has been lying in ICU ever since. This horrible turn comes just prior to the release of Euphrates' new album Stereotypes Incorporated, set to drop Nov. 22. Euphrates MC Narcicyst told me that he and Nofy's brother Habillis have decided to go ahead with the release, because Nofy wouldn't want them to wait. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Nofy and his family at this critical time. Stay up, kid.

This month, Coco Café teams up with the Black Theatre Workshop to welcome special guests from Toronto Motion and Dwayne Morgan, in the house for their Words on Stage production. While Motion is well known for her music, poetry and radio show, Dwayne Morgan is simply a whole lot of stage presence to be reckoned with, and not to be missed! They'll be blowing up the stage with Montreal griots Corey, Shani Carter, Pat Dillon Moore, Odessa "Queen" Thornhill, Fabian and Jason "Steel" Joseph. That's at Jello Bar on Sunday, Nov. 28, 8 p.m., $8 in advance, $10 at the door.

Sneaks, Beats and Life start their weekly Thursday-night spot over at Juice tonight, Nov. 18 ($7), promising a sweet mix of soul, funk, hip hop, R&B and rare grooves. Look for residents Toddy Flores, Aysix, and Homeboy Automatic to drop next level hits while sporting the freshest of kicks.

Heppy berfday, Nails (and ODB!) fathead@videotron.ca

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