"Have to get out a yawn," Long pause. ODB reaches way back for it. Exhales. "That's better... been too busy." Thus begins the reminiscences of Ol' Dirty Bastard. It's almost like he'd rather be "telling you the shit" from a porch swing instead of poised precariously atop the rap world. But here he is, ready to strike with one of the most anticipated hip-hop albums of 1995 -- "Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version." Groomed in the hideouts of Ft. Green, Brooklyn, and seasoned by what he calls "17 years of rapping and shit," he and his critically-acclaimed crew from the multi-tentacled Wu-Tang Clan have branched out to spread the word solo-style. Now that Wu alumni Genius, RZA, Raekwon and the Method Man all have solo deals, it was only a matter of time until 0l' Dirty dropped his.

"I'm like the phone company," spouts Dirty, "I'm reaching out and touching you all as hard as I can. I'm bringing you the chambers, each one is a different world that I'm showing you." Announcing his mission between teeth that are wired every which way but shut, ODB's enthusiasm is contagious. Personality abounds in the 26-year-old rapper; his scathing humor and love for "old school shit" rounds out the fierce edges of his debut album. The first single, "Brooklyn Zoo," caroms off the speakers with a pounding mix of sea-sick piano and ODB's wry hometown boast: "Now you know nuthin'... before you knew a whole fuckin' lot." Backed by fellow Wu members on many of the tracks, the album was co-produced by Prince Rakeem (he helmed the Wu-Tang's "Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers)") and Ol' Dirty Bastard himself.

"Prince Rakeem taught me everything I know," says ODB. "We love old school. Some of the rhymes on this album are six or seven years old. It's all how we blend 'em. I'm coming at you hard one minute and then giving up the trippy shit the next. Ebbing and flowing." Dirty is eager to mention some of his influences whenever he talks about his "17 years of schooling." "Spoonie Gee and the Sugar Hill Gang, that shit don't ever go away. I remember we used to go to shows when we were younger just looking for a shot. We'd be in tight Levi's and Lee's and there would be Run DMC up there and Salt N' Pepa. We knew we could kill it then." And killing it is exactly what ODB, Method Man and Raekwon do on the track "Raw Hide." It's a warning blast, a low-riding horror-soundtrack dirge that pulls no punches on how ODB views the state of things.

One cryptic lyric spills out: "I came outta' my mother's pussy, I'm on welfare, I'm 26 years old... l'm still on welfare..."

It's on a track called "Hippa To Da Hoppa," however, that ODB ushers us into one of the 'trippy' chambers. "The piano on that will trip ya'," he says, "It's like you don't know if you're hearing what you're hearing." The song is a mind-bender, complete with false starts, a music box piano loop, and a damn near Pink Floyd-like snippet that threatens to reveal itself at any moment. What starts out being a simple ode to hip-hop ends up, as ODB puts it: "A design to lay your ass back." Dirty continues the freaky approach on "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" with more toy piano but this time ODB stretches out his vocal in a playful sprawl. "I always loved Al Green," he says. "l love Patti Labelle. I ain't afraid to say it. I like to sing like Millie Jackson. She don't hold nuthin' back." ODB proves it by fill-out crooning on "Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie)."

The rapper, who has lived in Miami as well as New York, is aware of the recent resurgence in East coast rap. "I don't listen to much radio now, though. I'm me. Wu-Tang is here to document ourselves. We want to expand our thing, influence 'em when they're young. We want to spoon-feed them so they're taught our style and our way. And I want to give a shout out to the West coast."

Now that 0l' Dirty Bastard is blazing his own path, he admits he has a formula for getting maximum pleasure out of "Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version." "I created all these worlds. I don't let anyone try to tell me to change it, either. If they're talking about something that's in my world then maybe I'll listen. If you can't understand that, then get the record. I'm letting you know it. And I'm operating it all for you."