Ol’ Dirty Bastard was one of the Wu-Tang Clan’s founding members, and often considered one of their best rappers too.
His career (and life in general) was plagued with drug troubles, legal troubles, and he increasingly became more erratic, being diagnosed with schizophrenia the year before he died of a drug overdose.
However, at his height in the early 90s, he was a gifted MC, and had a distinctive style combined with a penchant for obscene lyrics.
The song shows his slow, melodious style of rapping, over a chilled out yet ominous beat.
Produced by Wu-Tang producer RZA, the song’s name comes from “Rawhide” by Frankie Laine, which is a 1959 Country song. You can hear Method Man’s interpretation of the chorus from there in the chorus of this song…
There’s also a guest verse from Raekwon.
“Raw Hide” was released in 1995 on Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s debut solo album, Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version.