OL' DIRTY BASTARD's former lawyer has hinted his client suffered from mental illness, according to a new tell-all book about the late rapper.

In a forthcoming biography about the star entitled Digging for Dirt, ODB's former lawyer Robert Shapiro claims the rapper's erratic behaviour and bizarre courtroom antics led him to believe he was mentally unstable.

Shapiro reportedly tells author Jaime Lowe the rapper would "talk in jive talk" and "come into court with two different shoes, labels with price tags attached".

He adds, "It's possible his behaviour was a result of mental illness. One time he had his hat on backward, had on two different shoes, and he stood with his back to the judge with his hat facing the judge as if he was looking at the judge."

The rapper's multiple arrests throughout his career led to convictions for assault and attempted robbery before his tragic death, just two days before his 36th birthday (15Nov04).

ODB - real name Russell Tyrone Jones - died of an accidental drug overdose in November 2004.