(AllHipHop News) “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” has generally gotten rave reviews from those fans and critics that have seen the tale of the early days of the Wu-Tang Clan. The show focuses on young RZA and has others in his universe such as Ghostface and Raekwon, but also features Ol’ Dirty Bastard, one of the Wu members from Brooklyn.
When you see Young Dirty Bastard, you see ODB, however many folks felt that actor TJ Atoms evoked the universally-beloved rapper brilliantly in “Wu-Tang: An American Saga.” However, his son does not. Furthermore, YDB asserts that the first season of the show did not quite capture his father’s essential qualities. Barsun, YDB’s real name, says his father’s queen, wife Icelene Jones, shares his sentiments as well.
In an exclusive full interview, YDB aka Barsun explains his life and times as well as articulating how he feels about his father, the popular Hulu series and more.
AllHipHop: AllHipHop’s owner Chuck Creekmur interviewed the person that portrayed your father in the Wu-Tang saga, T.J. Atoms. And he was talking about days he spent with you, trying to learn your father’s needs and stuff of that nature.First off, how did you feel like your father-
Young Dirty Bastard: Nah, we never spent no days together. I’ll keep it real with you.
AllHipHop: He said he tried to learn from you how to-
Young Dirty Bastard:No, no. He asked to chill. That was it. I was like, first of all, that’s my family position. If anything, we supposed to pick who we want to play the role. That was orchestrated from a higher level. It was orchestrated behind doors and it just happened the wrong way, on my behalf. You know what I’m saying?
AllHipHop: How do you think they should have went about it?
YDB: I think they should have definitely picked me, since I played a role every day. You know what I’m saying? Life. Yeah. We out here every day. To get anybody to do it and not reach to the highest actor on a pedestal at the time. You could have … even I would called Denzel (Washington). You know what I’m saying? He would’ve said “No”, but I would’ve called somebody else and I would have did that first, before you did (TJ Atoms). You know what I’m saying?
AllHipHop: Hire somebody else?
YDB: Yeah, yeah.
AllHipHop: Okay.
YDB: On that level.
AllHipHop: No, I completely get what you’re saying. But did you think he at least did a decent job?
YDB: No.
AllHipHop: You didn’t think so?
YDB: No.
AllHipHop: What you thought was wrong what it? What’s your critique of it?
YDB: I think they portrayed him… No, nothing wrong against that man. I think everybody has an opportunity and they got to fulfill their destiny
AllHipHop: Yeah.
YDB: Now when it comes to him playing my father role, I’m going to get a little aggressive. Know what I’m saying? My mother, she’s p##### at it. ‘Cause he looks more like a goofball. My father wasn’t no goofball. You know my family, only time we joke around is when we fighting each other. ‘Cause we ain’t going to really kill each other. But we be like, “I shoot you right now.”. That’s how my pops was and that’s not him. That’s not him.
AllHipHop: Okay.
YDB: He’s a leader. You know what I’m saying?
AllHipHop: So you didn’t like that?
YDB: Do you see him leading anything in that movie?
AllHipHop: No, not at all.
YDB: That’s not him.
AllHipHop: Yeah. So then, your critique is that he was more of a follower than a leader?
YDB: Yeah. At that age he had children and all that. So he was running…he was doing mad stuff. Hustling. All types. He was doing mad sh#t. They show everybody else doing it. He was traveling back and forth from BK to Staten Island . They woke up there.
AllHipHop: They had a part there where he took them to the pink houses, you know in the middle-
YDB: They woke up there, you know.
AllHipHop: Yeah, they showed that part. I thought … which is crucial. ‘Cause if you’re from Brooklyn you would … I don’t think … I mean ’cause Wu-Tang is Shaolin and Staten Island, I think, Brooklyn, we’re really proud of ODB. You understand what I’m saying? And sometimes we feel like just the Wu-Tang affiliation kind of takes away like people might confuse them from Staten Island, so it was proud to see him actually go back to Brooklyn in it.
YDB: They doing that ’cause they try to just throw everything that way. There’s nothing wrong with Staten Island. I love Staten Island.
AllHipHop: Yes sir.
YDB: You know what I’m saying? But, everything, like pure energy come from Brooklyn.
AllHipHop: Yes sir.
YDB: That s### wouldn’t even work without Brooklyn. That’s why it was like that. The supergroup: Wu-Tang Clan.
AllHipHop: ‘Cause they had some Brooklyn elements to them.
YDB: They needed Brooklyn athletes. It wasn’t going to work. They tried it a couple times. But until it all connected. You know Voltron? The Wu-Tang was boom!