Joell Christopher Ortiz (born July 6, 1980) is an American rapper and a former member of the group Slaughterhouse. Ortiz grew up in the Cooper Park Houses in the
East Williamsburg
East Williamsburg is a name for the area in the northwestern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. East Williamsburg consists roughly of what was the 3rd District of the Village of Williamsburgh and what is now called the East Williamsburg In-Plac ...
section of Brooklyn, New York, formerly signed to
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...
's Aftermath Entertainment record label. He was featured in the Unsigned Hype column of the March 2004 issue of ''The Source'' Magazine and was also selected as Chairman's Choice in ''XXL'' Magazine.
During the same time Joell also went on to win the 2004 EA Sports Battle which earned his song "Mean Business" a spot on the NBA Live 2005 soundtrack. The same year he was offered a contract to Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label. He released his debut album '' The Brick: Bodega Chronicles'' in 2007. Since then, he has released ''
Free Agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...
'' (2011), '' House Slippers'' (2014) and ''Monday'' (2019). He is currently one half of the rap duo Crook and Joell with his former Slaughterhouse bandmate, Crooked I. Together, they released three studio albums.
Biography
Joell Christopher Ortiz was born to Puerto Rican parents in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
on July 6, 1980, where he grew up in
East Williamsburg
East Williamsburg is a name for the area in the northwestern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. East Williamsburg consists roughly of what was the 3rd District of the Village of Williamsburgh and what is now called the East Williamsburg In-Plac ...
. He was formerly signed to
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...
's Aftermath Entertainment record label.
He was featured in the Unsigned Hype column of the March 2004 issue of ''The Source'' Magazine and was also selected as Chairman's Choice in ''XXL'' Magazine. During the same time Joell also went on to win the 2004 EA Sports Battle which earned his song "Mean Business" a spot on the NBA Live 2005 soundtrack.
The same year he was offered a contract to Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label. The deal quickly went sour which caused Joell to start beef with Jermaine. Joell has since collaborated with KRS-One and
Kool G. Rap
Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper from Queens, New York City. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as ...
.
Joell released his street album called '' The Brick: Bodega Chronicles'' April 24, 2007, on Koch Records. The album was recorded while Joell was trying to get signed and going through some tough times personally.
Although he was signed to Aftermath Entertainment, Dr. Dre allowed him to release the street album on Koch Records. ''The Brick'' features production by Showbiz,
The Alchemist
An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy.
Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to:
Books and stories
* ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho
* ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...
Grafh
Philip Anthony Bernard (born August 22, 1982) better known by his stage name Grafh, is an American rapper. He has released a collection of mixtapes and an album, ''Autografh'', which was released through EMI Records and Virgin Records. He is cu ...
, Ras Kass, Stimuli, and Novel.
Ortiz is one quarter of the supergroup Slaughterhouse who released their highly anticipated ''
Slaughterhouse EP
''Slaughterhouse'' is the only extended play by hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. It was released on February 8, 2011 through E1 Music.Welcome to: Our House'', on August 28, 2012.
Music career
He was on Kool G Rap's 2002 album "The Giancana Story" on the song "It's Nothing"
2007–2010: ''The Brick: Bodega Chronicles'' and joining Slaughterhouse
Though signed to Aftermath, Ortiz released an album titled '' The Brick: Bodega Chronicles'' April 24, 2007 on Koch Records.XXL Magazine. Joell Ortiz: A Hip-Hop Happy Ending by Brandon Edwards. November 2007 ''The Brick'' features production by Showbiz, Street Radio, and
The Alchemist
An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy.
Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to:
Books and stories
* ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho
* ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...
Grafh
Philip Anthony Bernard (born August 22, 1982) better known by his stage name Grafh, is an American rapper. He has released a collection of mixtapes and an album, ''Autografh'', which was released through EMI Records and Virgin Records. He is cu ...
, and Ras Kass. Ortiz parted ways with Aftermath Entertainment on April 15, 2008.
2009 was a busy year for Ortiz, as he released a number of freestyles and remixes leading up to the ''Road Kill'' mixtape. Among these was "Stressful" a song that remixed Drake's "Successful."
Joe Budden reached out to Crooked I, Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, and Nino Bless for a track titled "Slaughterhouse" on his digital release, '' Halfway House''.
Based on the reception of the track, they decided to form a super-group, minus Nino Bless, and named it after the first song they made together. They released numerous songs throughout early 2009, building a buzz for their self-titled album which was released through E1 on August 11, 2009. The album features production from
Alchemist
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim ...
Mr. Porter
Denaun Porter (born December 7, 1974), also known by the stage names Mr. Porter, Kon Artis, and more recently simply Denaun, is an American rapper and music producer. He was a member of Detroit hip hop group D12 until its disbandment in 2018.
...
, plus guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch, K-Young, and The New Royales. In January 2011, the group signed to
Shady Records
Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg, after the highly successful release of Eminem's ''The Slim Shady LP'' (1999).
Shady has seen negative times when being part of the unsuccessful ...
and left
E1 Entertainment
E1, E01, E.I or E-1 may refer to:
Transportation Aircraft
* Azcárate E-1, a Mexican sesquiplane trainer
* Fokker E.I, a German fighter aircraft
* Grumman E-1 Tracer, an American airborne early warning aircraft
* Hydra Technologies E1 Gavilá ...
.
2010–2014: ''Free Agent'' and ''House Slippers''
Ortiz started to have problems with
E1 Entertainment
E1, E01, E.I or E-1 may refer to:
Transportation Aircraft
* Azcárate E-1, a Mexican sesquiplane trainer
* Fokker E.I, a German fighter aircraft
* Grumman E-1 Tracer, an American airborne early warning aircraft
* Hydra Technologies E1 Gavilá ...
and after almost a year, Ortiz left the label on November 5, 2010. In August 2010, Ortiz was in talks, about signing a deal with Steve Rifkind's label SRC Records. However the deal was never finished.
In an October 31, 2010, interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, Ortiz discussed his relationship with Eminem and the flood of record labels that have flocked to sign him after his ''Free Agent'' album was released. He also spoke of Eminem's excitement at working with him.
During Slaughterhouse 2012 tour, the group stopped in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
at Bootleg Kev's radio show, where they talked about their album '' Welcome to: Our House'', and their work with Eminem. It was revealed that Ortiz signed with
Shady Records
Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg, after the highly successful release of Eminem's ''The Slim Shady LP'' (1999).
Shady has seen negative times when being part of the unsuccessful ...
as a solo act. In 2012, Joell as part of the group Slaughterhouse released their second album ''Welcome To Our House'' on August 28, 2012.
On September 16, 2014, Ortiz released his third studio album '' House Slippers''. The album features guest appearances from, among others, B.o.B, Royce da 5'9", Joe Budden, Crooked I, and
Maino Maino may refer to:
*Maino (rapper)
Jermaine John Coleman (born August 30, 1978), better known by his stage name Maino, is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York City.
His debut single " Hi Hater" peaked at #16 on Billboard's Hot Rap Son ...
. The album was supported by the singles "House Slippers" and "Music Saved My Life".
In early 2019, before the release of his ''Monday'' album, Ortiz was featured in the song "Revenge" (along with fellow Slaughterhouse member Crooked I) on Cryptik Soul’s album ''Killer's Blood''. Among the other artists on whose songs he has appeared as a featured guest are Brother Ali,
Mega Ran
Raheem Jarbo (born September 3, 1977), also known by his stage names Mega Ran and Random, is an American underground nerdcore rapper, chiptune DJ, and record producer. In February 2015, he changed his stage name to Mega Ran, removing Random from ...
Following the release of his 2011 song " Big Pun Back", Ortiz received criticism from Liza Rios (Pun's widow), along with former Terror Squad members Cuban Link and Tony Sunshine, claiming that the song was "disrespectful" to the late rapper's memory. Ortiz claims the song was meant to be a tribute, and later, rapper and friend of Big Pun Fat Joe spoke up in his defense.
Free Agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...
'' (2011)
* '' House Slippers'' (2014)
* ''That's Hip Hop'' (2016)
* ''Monday'' (2019)
* ''Autograph'' (2021)
Human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...
'' (2015)
* ''Mona Lisa'' (2018)
* ''Gorilla Glue'' (2019)
* ''H.A.R.D.'' (2020)
* '' Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse'' (2022)
* ''Harbor City Season One'' (2022)