{"id":340033,"date":"2026-09-07T17:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T17:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/340033\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T17:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T17:04:08","slug":"new-york-series-ol-dirty-bastards-brooklyn-zoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/340033\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Series: Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Brooklyn Zoo”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Standing out as one of New York City\u2019s most unique MCs of all time, the late Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard\u2019s discography chalks full of city anthems, whether spawning from his time with Wu-Tang Clan<\/a> or his solo career. Passing away in 2004, the Brooklyn native leaves behind a legacy as one of hip-hop\u2019s best, presenting an eccentric, energized style of rap that couldn\u2019t be recreated by anyone else.<\/p>\n

\"Ol'Al Pereira\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Raised in the Fort Greene<\/a> section of Brooklyn, Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard\u2019s raspy, crazily spewed vocals paired with his violent lyricism eventually made him a central figure of the majority Staten Island group Wu-Tang Clan and hip-hop as a whole. Made up of himself, Method Man<\/a>, RZA<\/a>, GZA<\/a>, Raekwon<\/a>, Ghostface Killah<\/a>, U-God<\/a>, Inspectah Deck<\/a>, Masta Killa<\/a>, and Cappadonna<\/a>, the group first came together in 1992.<\/p>\n

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the group\u2019s first project would release in 1993 following the immense success of the single \u201cProtect Ya Neck\u201d, highlighting the immense talents he and the rest of the group had in store as one of New York\u2019s rising talents.<\/p>\n

His solo career came to fruition in 1995, as Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, would drop on March 28, 1995, chock full of hits symbolizing the city of New York and more specifically his time in Brooklyn. With only Method Man\u2019s solo effort coming out before his, the music industry was able to get its first glance into Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard\u2019s career outside the infamous group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Ol'Album cover for Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version by Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard (Photo via SoundCloud)<\/p>\n

With Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version would come one of the rapper\u2019s best performances, an ode to his city and former group through a song known as \u201cBrooklyn Zoo,\u201d as the hidden messages throughout go deeper into his life growing up in Brooklyn and his affiliation with other artists growing up.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn\u2019s Finest<\/p>\n

Produced by himself and True Master, the track \u201cBrooklyn Zoo\u201d shot to the top of his discography following its release a month prior to his solo debut. This serves as the first real taste of Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard\u2019s journey outside of the group and would end up being his highest-charting single released, peaking at 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spending 16 weeks on the chart.<\/p>\n

Accompanying the track are two separate music videos. The most popular one, which features Wu-Tang members throughout the video, sees ODB loitering around an empty apartment building, most likely abandoned, chanting the malicious words of the track.<\/p>\n

A second release, a short film with subtitles, came out with more of a storyline, with the rapper portraying a man completing his prison sentence and transitioning through his life returning home to gang violence. A majority of networks denied air of the film due to its explicit subject matter, but is known as the \u201cChinatown Version\u201d with much of the film taking place in that section of NYC.The music video for \u201cBrooklyn Zoo\u201d<\/p>\n

Considered a hip-hop classic, the single goes deep into the \u201cone-man army\u201d that Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard calls himself, diving into his life growing up in the streets of Brooklyn as well, directly calling the region a zoo. The song\u2019s many hidden meanings behind the title leave countless interpretations of ODB\u2019s wordplay and past experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cShame on you, when you step through to the Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, straight from the Brooklyn Zoo\u201d<\/p>\n

Other than its references to Brooklyn\u2019s actual zoo in Prospect Park and the streets he grew up in, the track also mentions the second hip-hop group ODB was additionally a part of, Brooklyn Zu<\/a>. Having an affiliation with the Wu-Tang Clan, Brooklyn Zu includes some of Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard\u2019s closest colleagues 12 O\u2019Clock, the rapper\u2019s cousin, Buddha Monk, Raison the Zu Keeper, and others.<\/p>\n

Since the group\u2019s formation around the same time as Wu-Tang Clan, many of the members have been featured on ODB\u2019s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, also releasing their own project Chamber #9, Verse 32<\/a> in 2008.\u201cBrooklyn Zoo\u201d (Chinatown Version)<\/p>\n

Dissecting the streets of Brooklyn for his listeners, the aggressive track truly encapsulates the one-of-a-kind style of rap\/lyricism that ODB brings to the table. The countless New York interpretations behind the name of the track leave fans and avid rap listeners room to experience Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrooklyn Zoo\u201d Lyrics<\/p>\n

Shit
Word, I\u2019ll bust that n***a ass right now
Ain\u2019t no, none of them n***as can\u2019t fuck with me
What? N***a, you could never fuck with me, my n***a
I\u2019ll fuck you up right now, what? What? What? (Fuck you n***as)
Bust your motherfucking ass, boy
I ain\u2019t no motherfucking joke
You know who you talking to? (Yo, word up, bust that n***a ass, word up)
Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, you know what I\u2019m sayin\u2019?
I\u2019ll fuck you up right now
Yeah, what? What? What? (Serve that n***a, yo)
He ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nothin\u2019, fuck him (he ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nothin\u2019, fuck him)<\/p>\n

I\u2019m the one-man army, Ason
I never been tooken out, I keep MC\u2019s looking out
I drop science like Cosby dropping babies
Enough to make a n***a go crazy
In the G building, taking all types of medicines
Your ass thought you were better than
Ason, I keep planets in orbit
While I be coming with deeper and more shit
Enough to make you break and shake your ass
As I create rhymes good as a Tastycake makes
This style, I\u2019m mastered in
N***as catching headaches, what? What? You need Aspirin?
This type of pain you couldn\u2019t even kill with Midol
Fuck around, get sprayed with Lysol
In your face like a can of mace, baby
Is it burning? Well, fuck it, now you\u2019re learning
How I don\u2019t even like your motherfucking profile
Give me my fucking shit, ch-ch-blaow
Not seen and heard, no one knows
You forget n***as be quiet as kept
Now you know nothing
Before you knew a whole fucking lot
Your ass don\u2019t wanna get shot (shot)
A lot of MC\u2019s came to my showdown
And watched me put your fucking ass low down
As you can go, below zero
Without a doubt I never been tooken out
By a n***a, who couldn\u2019t figure
Yo, by a n***a, who couldn\u2019t figure
Yo, by a n***a, who couldn\u2019t figure (Brooklyn Zoo)
How to pull a fucking gun trigger
I said, \u201cGet the fuck outta here\u201d
N***a wanna get too close, do the utmost
But I got stacks that\u2019ll attack any wack host
Introducing, yo, fuck that n***a\u2019s name
My Hip Hop drops on your head like rain
And when it rains it pours, \u2019cause my rhymes hardcore
That\u2019s why I give you more of the raw
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
Mc\u2019s I\u2019ll be burning, burning hot
Whoa-hoa-hoa, let me, like, slow up with the flow
If I move too quick, oh, you just won\u2019t know
I\u2019m homicidal when you enter the target
N***a get up, act like a pig trying to hog shit
So I take yo\u2019 ass out quick
The mics, I\u2019ve had it my n***a, you can suck my dick (dick)
If you wanna step to my motherfucking rep
Ch-ch-bloaw-blaow-blaow, blown to death
You got shot \u2019cause you knock, knock, knock
\u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d Another motherfucking hard rock
Slacking on your macking \u2019cause raw\u2019s what you lack
You wanna react? Bring it on back (back)<\/p>\n

Shame on you, when you step through to
The Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, Brooklyn Zoo
Shame on you, when you step through to
The Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, Brooklyn Zoo
Brooklyn Zoo (what?)
Shame on you, when you step through to (my n***a)
The Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, Brooklyn Zoo
Shame on you, when you step through to
The Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, Brooklyn Zoo
Shame on you, when you step through to
The Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, Brooklyn Zoo<\/p>\n

What? My n***a
Shame on you
Shame-
Shame on you when you step through to
Shame on, shame on, shame on you when you step through to
Shame on you when you step through to
The Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, Brooklyn Zoo
Shame on you when you step through to
The Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, Brooklyn Zoo
What? My n***a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Standing out as one of New York City\u2019s most unique MCs of all time, the late Ol\u2019 Dirty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116016,9,24,55,54,56,53101,40669],"class_list":["post-340033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-brooklyn-zoo","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-ol-dirty-bastard","tag-wu-tang-clan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}