Ol' Dirty Bastard to Big Baby Jesus
Rappers changing their names is about as surprising as rappers wearing big ol' chains. But some trades are more notable than others. Take Ol' Dirty Bastard, or ODB (who had a pretty impressive name to start with). Born Russell Tyrone Jones, ODB was a founding member of the rap collective Wu-Tang Clan. But in 1998, after the launch of his solo career, he made an announcement to Vibe magazine. "There's no more ODB no more," he said. "From now on, my name is Big Baby Jesus." Bet the Old Testament prophets didn't see that one coming. Unfortunately, Jones a.k.a. Ol' Dirty Bastard a.k.a. Big Baby Jesus didn't get religion along with his name change; beset by drug-and-legal problems and displaying increasingly erratic behavior, he died of an overdose in late 2004.