Imagine an emcee with the conviction of a Tupac Shakur, the sincerity of a Christopher Wallace and the word play of a Christopher Lee Rios. Visualize an emcee in his room, with an instrumental tape, in his broken down tape deck, nodding his head to beats that made his heart pump creativity. Create the image in your mind, of an eager Latino boy; prepping himself for ciphers and sessions- held flights away, on the project’s concrete, also known as the “battle zone.”
Within that battle zone, black and brown faces, rocked back and fourth, unintentionally landing spit on each other’s winter coats. Their Timberland boots, skullcaps and durable denim would be their protection from the dangerous heat that spread within that circle, and for them, the cold breeze would make as much of an impact as a Sheryl Crow show.
Nothing mattered in the arena of the battle zone, designed to prepare emcees for the future. The only thing that mattered to Joell Ortiz, was taking those skills as preparation for the future and applying them to the real work place. Just like college, an adult Ortiz discovered that with the skills and drive, the he possessed, it still wouldn’t guarantee a permanent position.
Hope and consistently guides the Brooklyn born emcee, to a place called, “progressive thinking” and his lessons learned have him in the studio, prepping for his upcoming album, set for release later this year. HipHopDX caught up with to talk about his industry battles, his relationship with Aftermath and his upcoming project.
Wait until you read the exclusive 16.
HipHopDX: A while back in a DX interview you said, “My talent is Hip Hop and it doesn’t have a color, gender, background, or ethnicity. It's just an art…” Do you think your ethnicity or color plays a role in your career's peak?
Joell Ortiz: No, it doesn’t play a role and it just so happens that I’m Latin and large portion of my fan base is Latin. I have fans all over the place that are green, purple, red, blue- it doesn’t matter. Hip Hop doesn’t have a color, like I said, it's just an energy and a feeling. When you get that feeling of somebody rocking on stage or the music is on, I don’t think my fan base has an issue my ethnicity.
DX: Cool. How important is it for black and brown people to understand the role and positions of Puerto Ricans and Latinos is the foundation of Hip Hop? Sometimes there is this perception that there is a glass ceiling for Latino emcees.
JO: I agree, that’s true. Growing up you had artists like Fat Joe and Big Pun, yet that wall is still up. In the early parts of my career I found myself being booked [exclusively at] Latin Hip Hop venues, first. We were trying to get in Hip Hop venues- not just the Latin portion. We wanted to rock stages, not just Spanish stages. The wall is still up and I’m ready to chip away at it. I think I’m doing a hell of a job - at least that’s what my fans tell me. I’m going to continue to continue to knock down that wall, in order to abolish that “Puerto Rican” rapper.
DX: Then you do agree, that it’s important for listeners to understand the contributions Latinos made to the foundation of Hip Hop? Latinos were a huge part of the foundation.
JO: If you look at the DVDs of earlier days in Hip Hop, who do you think were doing all the break-dancing, holding the boom-boxes and all that? The Latinos were there. They had they own breaks and everything. We’re not outcasts or new comers, we’ve been there since the beginning, also. We had the Kangols, we were walking up to each other, ready to break…so I don’t get it how we gotta feel like newcomers or outcasts. But I’m a chip away at it, to make sure that goes away.
DX: Word. As a child, you would think that all it took to be a good emcee was dope lyrics and hot beats-apparently that’s not all it takes to be relevant emcee in the Hip Hop industry. How much of a shock was it for you, to discover that your lyricism didn’t equate to mass acceptance?
JO: Shit was [laughing] ridiculous. I was very, very disturbed, as a fan first. It had nothing to do with attempting to get a record deal, or make things out for myself- but as a fan. When I would hear things like, "He’s dope, but he’s just a little bit chubby," or "I get it, I get it, but he doesn’t have that twinkle in his eye or that star quality that we’re quite looking for." I’m like, are you for’real? When I was 11 years old coming out of my building to get into these ciphers, I was just trying to bust niggas' asses over the beat. I would get into these ciphers, to just be the best nigga in the cipher and that’s the way I still approach the best. I want people to say, “Damn, that dude is nice.” You telling me you dig the demo, but you won’t give a chance because of reasons outside of that? That shit is bullshit and I don’t like it. Right now, its like, I’m riding the beats but they think I’m going over people’s heads and they want me to “Dumb it down a notch.” Dumb it down? I don’t know nothing bout that. What part of the game is that? I thought the point was for that wow or to get better. It's okay though, its making my road a little longer, but my foundation is stronger than these one hit wonders or these dudes who come in and fade away. I don’t mind, my fans will follow me wherever I go, so I’m fine.
DX: Where do you think the transition came in Hip Hop, when it went from dope lyricism to raw haircuts and $300 sneakers?
JO: I would have to say late '90s early 2000s. People started to get a lot of money and the audience became younger and younger. People started to make a lot of dances records-which I don’t knock, because a lot of those dudes come from the gutter and we share similar experiences, yet that’s the music they make. I don’t knock that kind of music, but I just think it needs to be bit more diverse and spread out. There is an audience for all types of Hip Hop music. There’s an audience for Joell Ortiz, there’s an audience for down south music, for west coast music- there’s an audience for all of it. I don think we spread the wealth enough. Right now, if you look at the top tens, the majority of them are dance records. Eight out of 10 are dance records and stuff like that…where’s the hard-core lyrics? There’s a huge audience of dudes who just waitin’ on a head nod, or to be like, “This right here is hard.”
DX: Growing up, whom did you admire in regards to the art of emceeing?
JO: I’m in my twenties, so I was listening to the Nas’ of the world, Jay-Z, Biggie, 2Pac, M.O.P., AZ, Wu-Tang, Smif n' Wessun- you know it was the early '90s thing. It all influenced Joell Ortiz and I’m pretty sure they have people who influenced them. I try my best to over-stress, that I’m a fan first. I just got a record deal. I listen to music all day. My iPod is still full of all the legends and I’m the audience at these shows. I just came from seeing Rakim last month. I’m a Hip Hop fan and I still listen to all of those dudes today and I’m not afraid to say that I’m a fan, of the people I named.
DX: I know you said that ciphers and freestyles were a part of your early remembrances of Hip Hop. How important is it to know how to freestyle and do you think, it even matters in the current state of Hip Hop?
JO: In the current state of Hip Hop, does freestyling matter? I don’t think it matters a bit. It doesn’t happen anymore. People aren’t freestyling…what they’re doing is coming in with pre-written stuff. They’re calling it a freestyle because they aren’t making complete songs and spitting random verses. You’ve already prepared it, so it wouldn’t be considered a “free-style.” I wasn’t allowed to do that. Back in the day, when we were in ciphers, we would look around our environment and freestyle. I know how to do that, because I’ve acquired that skill. That’s a part of Hip Hop that’s fading away and that’s really gone. I haven’t seen dudes freestyle in years. Right now, it doesn’t even matter. All you have to do is have an up-tempo beat, a catchy chorus and a string to catch up to the versus and the chorus and you got yourself a hit record. You don’t even need an identity.
DX: Ha. [Laughs] I saw you in a freestyle and hopefully you were freestyling-
JO: I do it. That’s what I do. I’m a rapper. I do it. I’m in he streets first, than in the studio. I not those other dudes, you know? You know what I mean.
DX: Word. In a Rap City freestyle, you said, “There ain’t a scheme out there bigger, than what I design.” Let the people know what you meant by that.
JO: [Laughing] Say again. What I said?
DX: You don’t [laughing] remember because it was a freestyle, right? You said, “There ain’t a scheme out there, bigger than I can design.”
JO: [Laughing] Word. Alright. Well, everybody got a get rich scheme. We do this, if we do that, we can get this. The bottom line is, you can try to play lottery or you can bust your ass. When you bust your ass, you’re in the studio, I wake up, I write- I live and breathe Hip Hop. I designed myself to win. So, you can say do this and do that, he can get braids, he can do whatever. Okay, that’s fine, but he’s not Joell Ortiz. He can’t hang with Joell Ortiz. Joell Ortiz designs the best and that’s just it. I’m going to get it, because I earned it. Y'all can work on y'all schemes, but there’s no schemes bigger than what I can design and I designed ways to win.
DX: Okay, [laughing] I believe you. Not too long ago, you weren’t concerned with the image, the shape-ups, and the 300-dollar shoes, etc. I heard in an interview you were in the gym, getting in the gym or whatever- do you plan on comprising your identity to become a superstar?
JO: Nah. What happened was as you move forward and you progress and success comes little by little, you start wanting to look and feel better. I’m not conforming to get in the industry- I’m doing this because I feel better about myself. I’m in the eyes of public war, I am feeling better about myself and I’m one of the hottest free agents right now and still doing business with the biggest producers in Hip Hop. I want to look like a million and feel like a million. I’m working hard and I deserve to look and feel like that. I don’t need to conform to the little design and look they want me to be- I do this for me. I always did everything for me. If I were conforming, I would be making those little club records and I haven’t. I make Joell Ortiz records. I don’t change for nobody.
DX: [Laughs] I guess we shouldn’t look forward to a T-Pain hook.
JO: [Laughing] I’m just going to do Joell Ortiz records and that’s what I’m going to do.
DX: Let’s take it back a year ago, and you were one of the most talked about emcees in the streets and online- did you get what you expected out of 2007?
JO: Yeah. I got a solid fan-base that will follow me wherever I may land. I got a critically acclaimed album that I dropped on April 24, called The Brick: Bodega Chronicles. I have a journal that kids are really living by and reading on a daily basis. I got underground awards for album of the year, most exciting artist of the year- '07 was incredible for me. I got a deal with Dr. Dre; I’m no longer there but I still got a deal with Dr. Dre. A Puerto Rican dude from in front of a corner store in Brooklyn, signed a deal with a dude from L.A. That’s huge! I’m in a good place right now, I’m happy as hell. I’m looking for '08 to be better.
DX: Let’s talk about your deal at Aftermath. Last thing I read, you said that you received somewhat of a salty, phony call from Aftermath, but you were still down with them. Has it changed? Apparently it has-
JO: Joell Ortiz had all this buzz circulating me and I thought it was about time, that I get a release date. I got the records, I got the buzz, I came at you guys with the XXL cover, a BET added video, I came with a fan-base and good records and I needed a release date. They were sitting on my release date. I did all of that, with my crew and me. I would have been disappointed, more in me, if I would have just sat there for years. So, I didn’t. I asked for a release date. It wasn’t a sour departure. I still do business with Dr. Dre and he’s still working on The Detox. He’s doing the beats on my new album and his word has always been good with me. He promised me that. Everything is good-I’m just not an artist there anymore. I’m going to drop this year, and that’s all.
DX: You promised us, that you “will drop next year” and next year is here. Are you going to uphold that promise and what can we expect on this upcoming project, outside of Dre’s production?
JO: Well if you like The Brick, you’re going to love this album. Like I said, I can only make Joell Ortiz records. It’s that gutter, hard, Brooklyn sounding music. I can’t really explain it, that’s what I am. If I don’t do that, man. Hip Hop may go under- it needs Joell Ortiz. Hop Hop needs me right now, man. I got this.
DX: Honestly, are you more disappointed in the people, yourself or the industry, for Hip Hop’s current state?
JO: See, I would have to take time on that one. The people are never to blame. Sorry. You know who I blame? I’m sorry, I blame the deejays. Deejays are what makes records hot. I’m a New Yorker and I went on a little tour and I went down south. If I was blindfolded and I came back to New York, I would’ve known if I was listening to the radio. You know what I’m sayin’? We got this little movement going on where both the people and the deejays are saying, “We need New York records,” and the radio is on and number two on the countdown its from somebody from other than New York with a southern accent. I’m not knocking it but you’re not being real. You guys have the power to make records hot and you’re not doing it. I don’t get it. So now, I can’t blame rappers for making a southern sounding music. Rappers want to be on the radio. Correct? That’s the dream- to be rolling around with your homeboys and you hear your record come on the radio. What are you gonna do? As a human, okay, what are they playing? They’re playing that. Okay, so give me the down south beat. I can’t blame the people or the artists…you gotta blame the people who are playing the records.
DX: Ha. If you could spit something to Jimmy Lovine and he could hear the verse, what would you spit?
JO: [Laughing] Aww man, I’m gonna leave that for the up and coming album.
DX: Good, we can’t wait. I want to test the waters. I want an exclusive 16.
JO: Hold on let me pull over. I can’t be driving and doing stuff like that. Give me a sec.
DX: Let me find out, you’re taking your notebook out of your book bag.
JO: [Laughing] Nah, I can’t do that driving. I can’t cheat. You ready?
DX: Yeah.
JO: "Just when y'all thought it was safe, Michelle gave birth/ his name’s Joell, the mission is to save Earth/ from all this garbage I hear son/ I’m really ready to tell these executives to shoot me a fair one/ nowadays, all you really need is some air-ones, a chain and be fairly hand-some/ then they’ll turn your bullshit ass record into America’s anthem/ My fans ain’t in to dancin’/ I am fresh-air, the best fear, what I’m tryna do/ I’m here to bring Hip Hop back to its proper roots/ I’m not one of these artists that’ll cop a coup/ or can dance money, then drop an album and not re-coup/I’m from the gutter, I’ve sold dope off the hottest stoop/ like Desert Storm without they DJ, ya’ll ain’t got a clue/ Ain't nuthin’, y'all know, me/Joell Ortiz with a little freestyle for DX, while I’m parking my V."
DX: Heeeey [Laughs]. I want an industry battle, Pay Per View status. You, Canibus, Luda, and Lupe. I’m putting my money up.
JO: [Laughing] You putting me on the spot?
DX: Ha. Here’s your opportunity to say what you want to readers.
JO: Well, if you don’t know me, I just want people to know that Joell Ortiz is just like you. I’m a fan first. I could have easily been your co-worker or your classmate. If you see me in the spot, please don’t feel intimidated to approach me with beats, or anything for that matter. I’m always here to help people out and that’s how it is, we gotta help each other out here in this struggle. I’m not a made up dude, I’m not a gimmick, and I do not abide by any script. My name is Joell Ortiz and that’s my stage name as well. I didn’t make up anything and why I ran with my government name. If you see me on stage, I’m the same dude when the lights come on and when the lights go off. Peace and God Bless y'all.
Within that battle zone, black and brown faces, rocked back and fourth, unintentionally landing spit on each other’s winter coats. Their Timberland boots, skullcaps and durable denim would be their protection from the dangerous heat that spread within that circle, and for them, the cold breeze would make as much of an impact as a Sheryl Crow show.
Nothing mattered in the arena of the battle zone, designed to prepare emcees for the future. The only thing that mattered to Joell Ortiz, was taking those skills as preparation for the future and applying them to the real work place. Just like college, an adult Ortiz discovered that with the skills and drive, the he possessed, it still wouldn’t guarantee a permanent position.
Hope and consistently guides the Brooklyn born emcee, to a place called, “progressive thinking” and his lessons learned have him in the studio, prepping for his upcoming album, set for release later this year. HipHopDX caught up with to talk about his industry battles, his relationship with Aftermath and his upcoming project.
Wait until you read the exclusive 16.
HipHopDX: A while back in a DX interview you said, “My talent is Hip Hop and it doesn’t have a color, gender, background, or ethnicity. It's just an art…” Do you think your ethnicity or color plays a role in your career's peak?
Joell Ortiz: No, it doesn’t play a role and it just so happens that I’m Latin and large portion of my fan base is Latin. I have fans all over the place that are green, purple, red, blue- it doesn’t matter. Hip Hop doesn’t have a color, like I said, it's just an energy and a feeling. When you get that feeling of somebody rocking on stage or the music is on, I don’t think my fan base has an issue my ethnicity.
DX: Cool. How important is it for black and brown people to understand the role and positions of Puerto Ricans and Latinos is the foundation of Hip Hop? Sometimes there is this perception that there is a glass ceiling for Latino emcees.
JO: I agree, that’s true. Growing up you had artists like Fat Joe and Big Pun, yet that wall is still up. In the early parts of my career I found myself being booked [exclusively at] Latin Hip Hop venues, first. We were trying to get in Hip Hop venues- not just the Latin portion. We wanted to rock stages, not just Spanish stages. The wall is still up and I’m ready to chip away at it. I think I’m doing a hell of a job - at least that’s what my fans tell me. I’m going to continue to continue to knock down that wall, in order to abolish that “Puerto Rican” rapper.
DX: Then you do agree, that it’s important for listeners to understand the contributions Latinos made to the foundation of Hip Hop? Latinos were a huge part of the foundation.
JO: If you look at the DVDs of earlier days in Hip Hop, who do you think were doing all the break-dancing, holding the boom-boxes and all that? The Latinos were there. They had they own breaks and everything. We’re not outcasts or new comers, we’ve been there since the beginning, also. We had the Kangols, we were walking up to each other, ready to break…so I don’t get it how we gotta feel like newcomers or outcasts. But I’m a chip away at it, to make sure that goes away.
DX: Word. As a child, you would think that all it took to be a good emcee was dope lyrics and hot beats-apparently that’s not all it takes to be relevant emcee in the Hip Hop industry. How much of a shock was it for you, to discover that your lyricism didn’t equate to mass acceptance?
JO: Shit was [laughing] ridiculous. I was very, very disturbed, as a fan first. It had nothing to do with attempting to get a record deal, or make things out for myself- but as a fan. When I would hear things like, "He’s dope, but he’s just a little bit chubby," or "I get it, I get it, but he doesn’t have that twinkle in his eye or that star quality that we’re quite looking for." I’m like, are you for’real? When I was 11 years old coming out of my building to get into these ciphers, I was just trying to bust niggas' asses over the beat. I would get into these ciphers, to just be the best nigga in the cipher and that’s the way I still approach the best. I want people to say, “Damn, that dude is nice.” You telling me you dig the demo, but you won’t give a chance because of reasons outside of that? That shit is bullshit and I don’t like it. Right now, its like, I’m riding the beats but they think I’m going over people’s heads and they want me to “Dumb it down a notch.” Dumb it down? I don’t know nothing bout that. What part of the game is that? I thought the point was for that wow or to get better. It's okay though, its making my road a little longer, but my foundation is stronger than these one hit wonders or these dudes who come in and fade away. I don’t mind, my fans will follow me wherever I go, so I’m fine.
DX: Where do you think the transition came in Hip Hop, when it went from dope lyricism to raw haircuts and $300 sneakers?
JO: I would have to say late '90s early 2000s. People started to get a lot of money and the audience became younger and younger. People started to make a lot of dances records-which I don’t knock, because a lot of those dudes come from the gutter and we share similar experiences, yet that’s the music they make. I don’t knock that kind of music, but I just think it needs to be bit more diverse and spread out. There is an audience for all types of Hip Hop music. There’s an audience for Joell Ortiz, there’s an audience for down south music, for west coast music- there’s an audience for all of it. I don think we spread the wealth enough. Right now, if you look at the top tens, the majority of them are dance records. Eight out of 10 are dance records and stuff like that…where’s the hard-core lyrics? There’s a huge audience of dudes who just waitin’ on a head nod, or to be like, “This right here is hard.”
DX: Growing up, whom did you admire in regards to the art of emceeing?
JO: I’m in my twenties, so I was listening to the Nas’ of the world, Jay-Z, Biggie, 2Pac, M.O.P., AZ, Wu-Tang, Smif n' Wessun- you know it was the early '90s thing. It all influenced Joell Ortiz and I’m pretty sure they have people who influenced them. I try my best to over-stress, that I’m a fan first. I just got a record deal. I listen to music all day. My iPod is still full of all the legends and I’m the audience at these shows. I just came from seeing Rakim last month. I’m a Hip Hop fan and I still listen to all of those dudes today and I’m not afraid to say that I’m a fan, of the people I named.
DX: I know you said that ciphers and freestyles were a part of your early remembrances of Hip Hop. How important is it to know how to freestyle and do you think, it even matters in the current state of Hip Hop?
JO: In the current state of Hip Hop, does freestyling matter? I don’t think it matters a bit. It doesn’t happen anymore. People aren’t freestyling…what they’re doing is coming in with pre-written stuff. They’re calling it a freestyle because they aren’t making complete songs and spitting random verses. You’ve already prepared it, so it wouldn’t be considered a “free-style.” I wasn’t allowed to do that. Back in the day, when we were in ciphers, we would look around our environment and freestyle. I know how to do that, because I’ve acquired that skill. That’s a part of Hip Hop that’s fading away and that’s really gone. I haven’t seen dudes freestyle in years. Right now, it doesn’t even matter. All you have to do is have an up-tempo beat, a catchy chorus and a string to catch up to the versus and the chorus and you got yourself a hit record. You don’t even need an identity.
DX: Ha. [Laughs] I saw you in a freestyle and hopefully you were freestyling-
JO: I do it. That’s what I do. I’m a rapper. I do it. I’m in he streets first, than in the studio. I not those other dudes, you know? You know what I mean.
DX: Word. In a Rap City freestyle, you said, “There ain’t a scheme out there bigger, than what I design.” Let the people know what you meant by that.
JO: [Laughing] Say again. What I said?
DX: You don’t [laughing] remember because it was a freestyle, right? You said, “There ain’t a scheme out there, bigger than I can design.”
JO: [Laughing] Word. Alright. Well, everybody got a get rich scheme. We do this, if we do that, we can get this. The bottom line is, you can try to play lottery or you can bust your ass. When you bust your ass, you’re in the studio, I wake up, I write- I live and breathe Hip Hop. I designed myself to win. So, you can say do this and do that, he can get braids, he can do whatever. Okay, that’s fine, but he’s not Joell Ortiz. He can’t hang with Joell Ortiz. Joell Ortiz designs the best and that’s just it. I’m going to get it, because I earned it. Y'all can work on y'all schemes, but there’s no schemes bigger than what I can design and I designed ways to win.
DX: Okay, [laughing] I believe you. Not too long ago, you weren’t concerned with the image, the shape-ups, and the 300-dollar shoes, etc. I heard in an interview you were in the gym, getting in the gym or whatever- do you plan on comprising your identity to become a superstar?
JO: Nah. What happened was as you move forward and you progress and success comes little by little, you start wanting to look and feel better. I’m not conforming to get in the industry- I’m doing this because I feel better about myself. I’m in the eyes of public war, I am feeling better about myself and I’m one of the hottest free agents right now and still doing business with the biggest producers in Hip Hop. I want to look like a million and feel like a million. I’m working hard and I deserve to look and feel like that. I don’t need to conform to the little design and look they want me to be- I do this for me. I always did everything for me. If I were conforming, I would be making those little club records and I haven’t. I make Joell Ortiz records. I don’t change for nobody.
DX: [Laughs] I guess we shouldn’t look forward to a T-Pain hook.
JO: [Laughing] I’m just going to do Joell Ortiz records and that’s what I’m going to do.
DX: Let’s take it back a year ago, and you were one of the most talked about emcees in the streets and online- did you get what you expected out of 2007?
JO: Yeah. I got a solid fan-base that will follow me wherever I may land. I got a critically acclaimed album that I dropped on April 24, called The Brick: Bodega Chronicles. I have a journal that kids are really living by and reading on a daily basis. I got underground awards for album of the year, most exciting artist of the year- '07 was incredible for me. I got a deal with Dr. Dre; I’m no longer there but I still got a deal with Dr. Dre. A Puerto Rican dude from in front of a corner store in Brooklyn, signed a deal with a dude from L.A. That’s huge! I’m in a good place right now, I’m happy as hell. I’m looking for '08 to be better.
DX: Let’s talk about your deal at Aftermath. Last thing I read, you said that you received somewhat of a salty, phony call from Aftermath, but you were still down with them. Has it changed? Apparently it has-
JO: Joell Ortiz had all this buzz circulating me and I thought it was about time, that I get a release date. I got the records, I got the buzz, I came at you guys with the XXL cover, a BET added video, I came with a fan-base and good records and I needed a release date. They were sitting on my release date. I did all of that, with my crew and me. I would have been disappointed, more in me, if I would have just sat there for years. So, I didn’t. I asked for a release date. It wasn’t a sour departure. I still do business with Dr. Dre and he’s still working on The Detox. He’s doing the beats on my new album and his word has always been good with me. He promised me that. Everything is good-I’m just not an artist there anymore. I’m going to drop this year, and that’s all.
DX: You promised us, that you “will drop next year” and next year is here. Are you going to uphold that promise and what can we expect on this upcoming project, outside of Dre’s production?
JO: Well if you like The Brick, you’re going to love this album. Like I said, I can only make Joell Ortiz records. It’s that gutter, hard, Brooklyn sounding music. I can’t really explain it, that’s what I am. If I don’t do that, man. Hip Hop may go under- it needs Joell Ortiz. Hop Hop needs me right now, man. I got this.
DX: Honestly, are you more disappointed in the people, yourself or the industry, for Hip Hop’s current state?
JO: See, I would have to take time on that one. The people are never to blame. Sorry. You know who I blame? I’m sorry, I blame the deejays. Deejays are what makes records hot. I’m a New Yorker and I went on a little tour and I went down south. If I was blindfolded and I came back to New York, I would’ve known if I was listening to the radio. You know what I’m sayin’? We got this little movement going on where both the people and the deejays are saying, “We need New York records,” and the radio is on and number two on the countdown its from somebody from other than New York with a southern accent. I’m not knocking it but you’re not being real. You guys have the power to make records hot and you’re not doing it. I don’t get it. So now, I can’t blame rappers for making a southern sounding music. Rappers want to be on the radio. Correct? That’s the dream- to be rolling around with your homeboys and you hear your record come on the radio. What are you gonna do? As a human, okay, what are they playing? They’re playing that. Okay, so give me the down south beat. I can’t blame the people or the artists…you gotta blame the people who are playing the records.
DX: Ha. If you could spit something to Jimmy Lovine and he could hear the verse, what would you spit?
JO: [Laughing] Aww man, I’m gonna leave that for the up and coming album.
DX: Good, we can’t wait. I want to test the waters. I want an exclusive 16.
JO: Hold on let me pull over. I can’t be driving and doing stuff like that. Give me a sec.
DX: Let me find out, you’re taking your notebook out of your book bag.
JO: [Laughing] Nah, I can’t do that driving. I can’t cheat. You ready?
DX: Yeah.
JO: "Just when y'all thought it was safe, Michelle gave birth/ his name’s Joell, the mission is to save Earth/ from all this garbage I hear son/ I’m really ready to tell these executives to shoot me a fair one/ nowadays, all you really need is some air-ones, a chain and be fairly hand-some/ then they’ll turn your bullshit ass record into America’s anthem/ My fans ain’t in to dancin’/ I am fresh-air, the best fear, what I’m tryna do/ I’m here to bring Hip Hop back to its proper roots/ I’m not one of these artists that’ll cop a coup/ or can dance money, then drop an album and not re-coup/I’m from the gutter, I’ve sold dope off the hottest stoop/ like Desert Storm without they DJ, ya’ll ain’t got a clue/ Ain't nuthin’, y'all know, me/Joell Ortiz with a little freestyle for DX, while I’m parking my V."
DX: Heeeey [Laughs]. I want an industry battle, Pay Per View status. You, Canibus, Luda, and Lupe. I’m putting my money up.
JO: [Laughing] You putting me on the spot?
DX: Ha. Here’s your opportunity to say what you want to readers.
JO: Well, if you don’t know me, I just want people to know that Joell Ortiz is just like you. I’m a fan first. I could have easily been your co-worker or your classmate. If you see me in the spot, please don’t feel intimidated to approach me with beats, or anything for that matter. I’m always here to help people out and that’s how it is, we gotta help each other out here in this struggle. I’m not a made up dude, I’m not a gimmick, and I do not abide by any script. My name is Joell Ortiz and that’s my stage name as well. I didn’t make up anything and why I ran with my government name. If you see me on stage, I’m the same dude when the lights come on and when the lights go off. Peace and God Bless y'all.
