Joell Ortiz, the latest artist signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath imprint, is well aware of his niche. On “Hip Hop,” he raps, “I don’t try to make you dance / I rip beats.” And on this warm-up to his major-label debut, the spirited rapper breezes through four 125-bar epics — the average song contains 48. The coarse production (gritty keys, straight loops, little instrumentation) actually complements his husky vocals, but are three songs about his hometown (“BQE,” “Brooklyn Bullshit,” “Brooklyn [Remix]”) really necessary?
Now Watch This: Joell Ortiz – “Hip-Hop” WINDOWS MEDIA HIGH | LOW
