Artist Spotlight: Joell Ortiz - Free Agent?

Joell Ortiz on stage: Where's The After Party?

I wanna talk to you about a rapper who has been on my radar for over two years now. This man would be Joell Ortiz who released his first studio album in 2007 called The Brick: Bodega Chronicles. Although the album didn't scream classic, it was a solid album and it had what I believe to be one of the best odes to the golden age of hip hop ever. This song titled "Hip Hop" (video below), that I featured on my most recent Filet-o-Mix CD: Recapturing That Feeling, seeps with passion from every line. Although lyrically it might not focus exclusively on the golden era, Joell gives you the "feeling" of what it was like back in the good ol' days. No corny gimmicks, no fake gangsters - just real talk. If you want to understand the soul of what hip hop really means, you'll digest the song below in all of it's reminiscing braggadocio. It truly captures the spirit of that time period (early to mid 90's).

Joell Ortiz - Hip Hop (Video)


When I first heard this song, I was sure Joell would be an underground star. His passion is incredible, his delivery is top notch, and his heart is in it. I'm telling you, 90% of rappers these days don't have any of those three qualities. They just rhyme over a beat and no one could care less about what they're saying. However, I see Joell being able to crossover and have more mass appeal by hybridizing mainstream and underground hip hop. For example, check his newest video below which is a story about the average man's struggle with a beautiful R&B chorus by his sometimes partner-in-music, Novel. I'm really in love with this damn song.

Joell Ortiz Ft. Novel - Night Train (Video)


By listening to the last two songs, you can tell that Joell's style is extremely versatile, yet manages to remain sincere even when switching between being both pompous and humble. Recently, Joell has made headlines as 1/4th of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, which also includes lyrical powerhouses Royce Da 5'9", Joe Budden, & Crooked I. They are in talks right now to sign to Eminem's label Shady Records, which would be an awesome move for the group.

If you are loving these two songs, I suggest you pick up a copy of Joell Ortiz's new album Free Agent, which drops sometime in 2011. The album was slated to be released today and the songs used to be up for preview on Amazon.com, but were taken down this morning (and I must say they sounded good!). Both the song "Night Train" (above) and the song below "Sing Like Bilal" are on Free Agent so you know it's gonna be a hot one. And if you already know Joell Ortiz then this is for you... YAOOOOOOWA!!

Joell Ortiz - Sing Like Bilal (Prod. DJ Premier)

Free Agent (Coming Soon)

#NewMusicFriday - 11/26/10 Edition

14KT wins the Red Bull Big Tune national hip hop producer championship last week in Chicago 

Download #NewMusicFriday Hip Hop - 11/26/10 HERE

In case you're just joining in on the #NewMusicFriday trend @HeadPhoneHOME, I do a recap of the best new rap singles released from the past week. It's kinda like the top 10 plays on ESPN's SportsCenter, but I do it for new hip hop music. You can stream the new songs below or download the whole bunch at the link above. Highlights include a new leak from Kanye West & Jay-Z's upcoming "Watch The Throne" album, a new collab between Eminem & Royce Da 5'9", some dope smooth production by Budo, Deacon The Villain, Dela, Muneshine, and a beautiful song by a new artist Parker called "Sky Music". With all this great hip hop, you're bound to find something that speaks to your tastes whether underground or commercial. It's all certified dope music, so open your ears and press play...

New Songs
Budo - Hard Times (Red Bull Big Tune Instrumental)
Deacon The Villain & Sheisty Khrist – Ascension
Dela – Music Is My Sanctuary Remix (Instrumental)
Eminem - Echo (Ft. Royce Da 5'9" & Liz Rodrigues)
Joell Ortiz - I'm A Beast
Kanye West Ft. Jay-Z - That's My Bitch (Prod. Q-Tip)
Muneshine - Grown Man Rap
Parker – Sky Music (Prod. Tha Bizness & Kuddie Fresh)
Psycho Les (of the Beatnuts) - Ghetto Music
RoQ'y TyRaiD - Year Round School
T.I. Ft. Kanye West & Kid Cudi - Welcome To The World

Also, below are the new albums that I've downloaded this week. Check them out if you want to further your hip hop education. And check out last week's #NewMusicFriday - 11/19 Edition here for more bangers.

New Albums I've Downloaded
Crown Royale (DJ Rhettmatic x Buff1) – Crown Jewels EP (2010)
Carmelo Anthony Promo Mixtape – Become Legendary Mixtape (2010)
The Foodchain - Corpses (2010)
Reks – In Between The Lines Vol. 2 Mixtape (2010)
Daz Dillinger - Matter of Dayz (2010)
Copywrite - Life And Times Of Peter Nelson (2010)
RoQ'y / TyRaiD - The New Millennium Man (2010)
Jern Eye & Headnodic - Infinity Gems EP (2010)
1982 (Statik Selektah x Termanology) – The Diamond Collection Mixtape (2010)
Roc Marciano - Marcberg (2010)

New Hip Hop Books
Jay-Z - Decoded (In Stores Now)
-This is a book by Jay-Z about the origins and breakdown of some of his most complex song lyrics.
Jay-Z - Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office (Biography Due out in March 2011)

Latest Hip Hop Events
Red Bull Big Tune - Finals in Chicago
-Red Bull Big Tune is a beat battle between the nation's best up-and-coming hip hop producers. Contestants go head to head playing songs and the crowd decides who moves on to the next round for the best hip hop producer in America. The winner of this year's competition (last week) was 14KT from Ypsilanti, MI. He definitely is one of the best producers out there. I will be doing a new post on him soon, but until then, check out my last post on 14KT here.

Happy belated Thanksgiving!! Please share this post with your hip hop loving friends and subscribe to get new posts emailed to you here! Thanks for spreading the word.

Album Review: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

Download "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"

(This is 1 of 5 different album covers and the one that was banned from Walmart)

 Final Tracklist
1. Dark Fantasy
2. Gorgeous feat. KiD CuDi & Raekwon
3. POWER
4. All Of The Lights (Interlude)
5. All Of The Lights
6. Monster feat. JAY-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver
7. So Appalled feat. JAY-Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz & The RZA
8. Devil In A New Dress feat. Rick Ross
9. Runaway feat. Pusha T
10. Hell Of A Life
11. Blame Game feat. John Legend
12. Lost In The World
13. Who Will Survive In America

Kanye West is back and better than ever! In case you didn't get the memo, the new Kanye West album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy just officially dropped yesterday, but has been on the internet for two weeks now and I have almost played it out already! Yo it was so damn fresh that I JUST HAD TO play it non-stop for a week until I absolutely needed to change things up. I've probably given the album at least 6 front-to-back spins and a lot more spins on the more impressive tracks. Now, I finally feel confident in telling you that this album is a certified gem and one of Kanye's best. Welcome back Ye, we've been missing you since Late Registration.

So I've loved Kanye ever since I received a bootleg copy of his first album, The College Dropout, from a friend in probably 2003 hot off the streets of Newark, NJ (it had a few different songs and wasn't mastered yet). I was blown away by it and I could definitely tell that West would go on to do big things just by the sheer number of times that I played that album. I really had no idea that he would be THIIIIS big though. Fast forward to the present: Kanye is larger than life, but unlike many reality TV star celebrities these days, he actually is famous for a good reason... his music is absolutely superb, cutting edge, and beautiful. He, quite frankly, is a genius when it comes to production work. He just knows what will sound good and has the talent to make that happen. His rapping is an extension of the need to fuel his ego and also air-out his self-reflective thoughts as can be summed up quite succinctly in one of the opening lines "Me drown sorrow in that Diablo (lamborghini), me found bravery in my bravado".  Even in writing his lyrics, Kanye is quite talented and has remained pretty consistent throughout his career.

The new album, I believe, is the pinnacle of Kanye's production work to date. The album is mixed and mastered perfectly in a way that allows the beats to slightly overshadow Kanye's rapping, which gives tracks increased replay value as you can gradually pick up more and more of the lyrics over time (and realize just how good they are at times). Although the album is not perfect, the vast majority of the tracks shine bright and will make you put your blinders on to the not so perfect ones (the annoying Swizz Beatz chorus on "So Appalled", the dragging length of "Runaway", and the not-so-comedic dialogue by Chris Rock at the end of "Blame Game" are my only gripes). What I think surprised me the most about this album is that I had heard 6 of the 13 tracks before downloading the full album yet somehow the WHOLE is much greater than the sum of its individual parts. This body of work has such a strong continuity and innovative sound that it really needs to be listened to as a whole album to fully enjoy its complexity.

I highly recommend that the best way to enjoy this album is to first watch the Kanye West-directed extremely long, short-film "Runaway" (35 minutes), which incorporates almost all of the album's songs into a visual landscape of a "beautiful dark twisted fantasy" belonging to Kanye. Although it is somewhat long and requires a bit of a time commitment and some patience to watch, it is definitely worth it to watch before listening to the full album because the emotions that are provoked by the visuals in combination with the music will resonate with you more strongly when you listen to just the album afterwards (this really surprised me in a good way!). I love the idea of this short-film  concept because it is all about building a visual landscape around a soundtrack instead of the other way around. Watch the full version of "Runaway" in full screen mode for the best effect or watch my favorite excerpt from the film below.

Kanye West - Excerpt from the short-film "Runaway" & the full song of the title track "Runaway"


Kanye is one of the best producers in hip hop right now and he is leading the music in a new direction. He is a pioneer, an egotistical asshole, and a genius. This is why we love and hate him so much all at the same time.

P.S. In case you missed it, Kanye has been releasing a new free collaborative track to download every Friday for the past 3 months through his G.O.O.D. Friday music series. There have been 13 new tracks released so far, my favorite of which being Good Friday featuring Common, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Big Sean, and Charlie Wilson

Enjoy hip hop daily for best results and come back frequently. Subscribe to HeadPhoneHome's posts via email here (max one email per day).

#NewMusicFriday - 11/19/10 Edition

 Download #NewMusicFriday Hip Hop - 11/19/10

Boy do I have some HEAT for you this week!!! Stream the below songs (download individually by right clicking and saving them) OR download the whole bunch by hitting the download link above (recommended). New joints this week are by 1) Established artists Dr. Dre, Eminem, Royce Da 5'9", Kanye West, Talib Kweli 2) Soon to be mainstream up and comers Wiz Khalifa, Jay Electronica, Consequence 3) Underground heavyweights Zion-I, Termanology, Sabzi, Alchemist, Oh No and 4) Up and coming underground artists Sol, John Regan, IMAKEMADBEATS, John Public, and Laws. There's truly something for everybody here. All great hip hop. All approved by the ears of yours truly. Dig in while it's hot and peep my newest album recommendations below these songs.

Consequence - Bearer Of Bad News (Prod. J Dilla)
DJ Babu - Guns Gon Blow (Feat. Termanology)
Dr. Dre - Kush (Feat. Snoop Dogg_ & Akon)
Eminem & Royce Da 59 - Living Proof
Gangrene (The Alchemist & Oh No) - Chain Swinging.mp3
Jay Electronica - Shiny Suit Theory Feat. Jay-Z
John Public - Jack And Ginger Ale
John Regan - Suicide Edicius
IMAKEMADBEATS - How Is Your Soul
Kanye West - Chain Heavy (Feat. Talib Kweli & Consequence)
Laws - Never
Sabzi - Dragon (Instrumental)
Sol - Feed My Ego (Prod. Grumps)
Wiz Khalifa - Black & Yellow (Prod. Stargate)
Zion I - Polarity


Update: Ok, so I changed my philosophy about #NewMusicFriday. Originally, I was just gonna put up songs that came out ONLY this past week, but I realized something - you dont really care that they ALL came out in the past week do you? You care about GREAT HIP HOP. So now I will use #NewMusicFriday to document my own personal journey of music discovery. This means putting up both the newest good singles that have leaked from the past week AND all the great ones that I find in the process (I will only select singles, not selections from albums as in my Filet-o-Mix CD's). I will take you on a ride and let you hear what I hear. You will start to realize just how much hip hop music I'm up on. This might scare you, but I'm willing to take that risk. Don't believe me? See below for details... I'm addicted to good hip hop.

Albums That I've Downloaded In The Past Week (and that I'm in the process of listening to)
J. Cole - Friday Night Lights (2010)
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
Yelawolf - Trunk Muzik 0-60 (2010)
Von Pea - Pea's Gotta Have It (2010)
Masta Killa Presents - The Next Chamber (2010)
UGK - 4 Life (2009)
Termanology & Statik Selektah - The 1982 Free EP (2010)
Montage One - Montageone.Com 10.6.2 OGX (2010)
Mick Boogie - 93 TIL INFINITY Mixtape (2010)
LMNO - Tripping On This Journey (2010)
Laws & DJ Don Cannon - 4:57 PM (2010)
Laws - 5:01 Overtime (2010)
J-Live - Undivided Attention EP (2010)
Eligh - Grey Cow (2010)
DJ Babu - Duck Season Vol. 3 (2008)
Cee-Lo Green - The Lady Killer (2010)
Buckwild Presents EP (2010)
John Regan - Sorry I'm Late (2010)
Celph Titled & Buckwild - Nineteen Ninety Now (2010)
J. Cole - The Warm Up (2009)
Gangrene (Alchemist & Oh No) – Gutter Water (2010)
The Foreign Exchange - Authenticity (2010)

Sene & J57 – Eye Don’t Dream…But I Do EP (2010)

Jéan P - Rise & Shine (2010)

The Left - Gas Leaks EP (2010)
 
I've decided not to provide all the links to download these, but I can tell you that some of these albums will get their own individual post from me. Some of them I already know will.

If I still bought music, I'd be dead broke right now. So to the artists whose music I steal, know this - I go to your shows and I promote your music to others. Hope this makes up for my piracy in some way...

If you missed it, peep last week's #NewMusicFriday - 11/12/10 Edition here.

See you next week!