Rapper O.D.B's Death Due to Cocaine, Pain Drug
Reuters, Dec 15, 2004 1:26 pm PSTRapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, who died in
a recording studio last month at the age of 35, had taken
cocaine and a prescription pain relief drug before his
collapse, the Medical Examiner's office said on Wednesday.
"His death has been ruled an accident," Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, told Reuters after the toxicology tests showed the presence of cocaine and Tramadol, a non-narcotic pain reliever.
O.D.B's criminal lifestyle and strange behavior overshadowed his work as one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan.
He died after complaining of chest pains while recording in a Manhattan studio on Nov. 13, two days before he would have turned 36.
Born Russell Jones in Brooklyn, New York, the controversial rap star lived a roller coaster life, marked by lurid tales of shootouts, arrests and drug binges. Media reports said he had up to 13 children.
He was released from a New York state prison in early 2003 after serving time for drug offenses and probation violation, and subsequently received treatment at a mental hospital.
Speaking at his funeral last month, childhood friend Robert Diggs, aka RZA, who co-founded the rap collective Wu-Tang Clan, said O.D.B had lived up to his name in the end.
"When we can't be satisfied with ourselves we turn to other things to make us happy -- alcohol, drugs and sex," RZA told thousands of mourners at the funeral in Brooklyn.
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