When Wu-Tang Clan made their debut with the single “Protect Ya Neck” in 1992, the world was also introduced to the unhinged personality of Ol’ Dirty Bastard with the opening lyrics, “First things first, man, you're fuckin' with the worst / I'll be stickin' pins in your head like a fuckin' nurse.” Known for his wildly unconventional, free-flowing rhymes blending high levels of technical rapping and melodic singing, it was fitting for the Brooklyn native to have his moniker inspired by the 1980 Chinese martial arts film Ol’ Dirty and the Bastard. 

What would follow was a roller-coaster career that led to one of the best rap debuts of the 90s, hits with pop icons like Mariah Carey, an infamous MTV documentary, rushing the Grammy Awards stage, saving a little girl during a car accident, legal troubles, addiction and an untimely death by overdose in 2004. Regardless of how fans and media portrayed the influential emcee, his friends, family, and loved ones knew him as Russell Tyrone Jones. The upcoming A&E documentary ODB: A Tale of Two Dirtys explores the life of ODB in an unprecedented way that’s fascinating, comical, heartfelt, uncomfortable, and all the other emotional ranges in between.  

Produced by Four Screens, which manages the ODB estate, and Pulse Films, known for projects like Beastie Boys Story and Beyoncé’s Lemonade, this documentary aims to peel back the layers of ODB’s larger-than-life persona to reveal the man behind the myth. Directed by the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Sam Pollard and his son Jason Pollard, the film blends personal archives, intimate interviews, and expert direction to create a portrait of ODB that has never been seen.

Speaking with Messiah Jacobs, the manager of ODB’s estate and executive producer of the documentary, ODB’s widow, Icelene Jones, and son, Bar-Sun Jones, they all offered a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this deeply personal project. According to Jacobs, ODB: A Tale of Two Dirtys is unique because it tells ODB's story from the perspective of those who knew him best—his family. 

“This documentary was unique because it was the first time we were telling the story from the family’s perspective,” Jacobs explained. “It wasn’t just ODB the celebrity; this was about Russell Jones, the husband, the dad. It just lends itself a little bit different when you’re telling a story of a man and not just focusing on his celebrity.”

ODB’s widow, Icelene Jones, who serves as an executive producer on the film, hopes the documentary preserves her late husband’s story in a way the world has yet to see. 

“The approach was to make sure that he has a legacy, that everyone understands what we were going through, and to understand who ODB was from a different point of view from what they have been seeing him in the past,” she said. “We just want to come across that he did have a family, he had a wife and children. He was a loving, caring person outside of the rap, and we were a big part of the rap as well.”

One of the documentary’s most striking features is the extensive use of never-before-seen footage, much of it shot by Icelene herself. This footage offers a rare glimpse into ODB’s private life, showing him as a performer, father, husband, and friend. 

“My husband, ODB, was the one who gave me the camcorder,” Icelene recalled of the documentary that’s around seven years in the making. “He said, ‘You like taking pictures? Here, you’re going to use this.’ So me and him were trying to figure it out, and once I learned how to work it, I just was like everywhere, videotaping everything. Anytime I had an opportunity to do so, I just wish I would’ve done it more.”

For Bar-Sun, who also goes by the stage name YDB in honor of his late father, the documentary is not just a tribute to his father but also a signal of things to come.

“This is a great film that we’re producing, and this won’t be the last of us producing,” he said. “We’re actually going to go global. We are producers now, and that’s what I want you to know.”

Expect more from the ODB estate in the near and far future. This includes a graphic novel based on ODB's life set for release on his birthday, November 15th. Jacobs even mentioned a video game collaboration unrelated to the rumored Microsoft “Shaolin” project.

“We have a partnership we're going to be announcing later this week where we're going to be talking about ODB and gaming,” Jacobs said before commenting on the “Shaolin” rumors. “We have heard of Microsoft and what they're doing, but I can't say where that is. But I could tell you we have a graphic novel that's going to be phenomenal for fans. And then we also have a game that we will be working on as we put ODB out there in a big way.”

ODB: A Tale of Two Dirtys debuts on the A&E Network, August 25th at 9 PM