Words By Contraâ„¢

Joell Ortiz

“Nah, I ain’t even tryna play with ‘em.”

Joell is a beast.

About three years ago, this man’s ferocious flow roared out of my car’s stereo system. I heard him pounce onto and rip up a series of freestyles with the voracity of several starving sabers. I lost focus and had to pull the car over so as to properly listen, grasp and cheer, pounding my fist in the air, and bobbing my head like I was in a street cipher in the Bronx circa 1993.

When it was all over, I looked up to the skies, teary-eyed, half-traumatized and asked God: “Who the fuck is Joell Ortiz?”

In the words of Gottyâ„¢: “Joell spit will make a aggin have a Brown Sugar, fall in love
with hip-hop moment.” Enter co-signature here.

This unofficial mixtape, more of a compilation expertly put together by WMD, is an addition to the already impressive, seemingly unstoppable Joell legacy. A compilation of some of his post-Brick work; featurings and freestyles mostly; it is marvelous music that Ortiz heads will keep playing in heavy rotation and at high volumes. None of his Dre/Aftermath work appears here, save for a freestyle. (According to Joell, those Dre tracks are yet to be released.) Until then, this will quell those Hip-Hop hunger pangs.

At least one track on it will take you back to your “Brown Sugar” moment. It’s sure to rope in some new listeners and revive a lot of people’s hope in H.E.R.

It had me walking around the office with mad swagger for the past month. Proud of Brooklyn. Proud of Joell. But more than anything, proud of Hip-Hop.

WMD Presents Joell Ortiz- The Re-Up (Back To The Bodega)

Bonus: Hip Hop Cooking Remix – Joell Ortiz ft. Jadakiss, Saigon, Novell