Russell T. Jones, the rap artist known as O.D.B., collapsed and died Nov. 13, at a recording studio in Manhattan, the police said.Jones, a 35-year-old native of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, was a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan and made a large imprint on rap music in the 1990s.
Gabriel Tesoriero, a spokesman for Roc-a-Fella Records, for which Jones recorded, said that Jones complained of chest pains before he collapsed. The police said the cause of death would be determined by the city’s medical examiner, but they said there was no evidence of foul play.
Jones was found unconscious at the recording studio, at 545 West 34th Street, at 4:40 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the authorities said.
Jones formed the Wu-Tang Clan with two of his cousins, Robert Diggs and Gary Grice, and their first album, “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers),” released in 1993, was considered widely influential on the evolving genre of rap music.
But Jones’ personal life was tumultuous, and his repeated run-ins with the law stood out even in a field where many performers have garnered criminal records along with commercial success.
His growing stature in rap music was accompanied by increasingly erratic behavior. He was charged in 1997 with failure to pay child support for three of his children, and the next year he pleaded guilty to attempted assault on his wife.
Later clashes with the law involved charges of menacing security officers, drug offenses, shoplifting and driving with a suspended license. He was sentenced to prison in 2001 for drug possession and for fleeing a drug rehabilitation clinic. After his release in 2003, he signed with the Roc-a-Fella label.
Damon Dash, a founder of Roc-a-Fella, said in a statement that Jones “inspired us all with his spirit, wit and tremendous heart.”
Cherry Jones, Jones’ mother, said, “This evening I received a phone call that is every mother’s worst dream.” She described her son as “the kindest, most generous soul on earth.