Joell Ortiz Free Agent

For a lot of New Yorkers, Joell Ortiz is a fresh breath of air in the hip hop world. He's proud to represent his city and there is no mistaking that his music and rugged flow is strictly NYC-bred, a trend that is dying as New York's influence on the current sound of hip hop is gradually slipping. He's also a true fan of the genre, as evidenced by his most recent mixtape where he covered classic hip hop songs. Riding a huge wave of underground buzz a couple of years ago, Ortiz eventually found himself with a deal at Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. Being able to work with a music icon such as Dre would have been a dream come true for any aspiring MC, but disappointed with the stagnation for getting his own album into stores—a trait all too common with Aftermath, Ortiz asked for his release from one of the biggest hip hop labels in the game. Now, as a "free agent," Ortiz is continuing to make music on his own terms with little worry of having his album pushed back. Besides the Slaughterhouse project, this is Joell Ortiz's first album since the departure.

Abstract by Ivan Mitchell