Synopsis

Ol' Dirty Bastard performs "Brooklyn Zoo" in and around a grimy apartment building, surrounded by fellow Wu-Tang Clan members including RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Method Man and Cappadonna. The video favors loose, chaotic energy over a conventional storyline, with ODB lip-synching in hallways, mugging for the camera and displaying his unpredictable persona. A separate Chinatown version presents the song as a violent, subtitle-driven crime film involving a returning ex-con, a fireworks deal and a deadly setup.

Factoids & Trivia

• Two different music videos were made for "Brooklyn Zoo." The hallway performance version became the version most commonly shown on television.

• The alternate video was filmed in Chinatown, New York City, and was structured like a short gangster movie with subtitles rather than a standard rap performance clip.

• The Chinatown version reportedly received limited exposure because several cable networks objected to its violent subject matter.

• The better-known version features several Wu-Tang Clan members, reinforcing the track's connection to the broader Wu-Tang world while keeping ODB at the center of the frame.

• One of the video's most memorable unscripted-looking moments shows ODB picking his nose and wiping his finger on the wall, an example of the deliberately unruly image that defined his early solo work.

• "Brooklyn Zoo" was ODB's debut solo single and appeared on his 1995 album "Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version."