Joell Ortiz
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 section of Brooklyn, New York, formerly signed to Dr. Dre'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.
Joell Ortiz
Joell Christopher Ortiz
- Rapper
- songwriter
1998-present
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 (2011), House Slippers (2014) and Monday (2019).[1] 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.[2]
Biography[edit]
Joell Christopher Ortiz[3] was born to Puerto Rican parents in Brooklyn, New York on July 6, 1980, where he grew up in East Williamsburg. He was formerly signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label.[4][5]
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.[6] 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.[7]
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.[8]
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.[9]
Although he was signed to Aftermath Entertainment, Dr. Dre allowed him to release the street album on Koch Records.[5] The Brick features production by Showbiz, The Alchemist, Domingo, Ho Chi from Killahertz Productions, Lil' Fame of M.O.P., Novel, and Moss, among others.[5] Guest spots include Big Daddy Kane, Styles P, Big Noyd, M.O.P, Akon, Immortal Technique, Grafh, Ras Kass, Stimuli, and Novel.[5]
Ortiz is one quarter of the supergroup Slaughterhouse who released their highly anticipated Slaughterhouse EP on February 8, 2011.[10] The group released their second studio album, Welcome to: Our House, on August 28, 2012.[11]
Controversy[edit]
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.[29]
