New York's relevancy in modern hip-hop has been waning over the last few years. The fact that NY's greatest ghetto griots are well into their thirties and have no clear heirs is a bit troubling, to say the least. Back in those oh-so-missed 90s when B.I.G was the frontrunner, New Yorkers felt reassured that if anything were to ever happen to B.I.G -- which unfortunately materialized despite countless knocks on wood in hopes of neutralizing such a scary premise -- NY's current frontrunners could carry the torch. However, since B.I.G.'s death, Jay and Nas have had no competition besides themselves. Countless heir apparents from Fabolous to Fiddy have sparked debates, but none could find the balance of commercial success and acute artistry that made Jay and Nas both one-time crown-holders. Though he hasn't garnered the buzz of the most recent heir apparent, Papoose, Joel Ortiz has many crown-holder qualities: He's from the borough of past kings, Brooklyn, specifically the notorious Cooper Projects; he rhymes about his past in a reflective while roisterous fashion, and is signed to arguably the best producer in hip-hop history, Dr. Dre.
So why haven't you ever heard of him; and why hasn't he been flooding the mixtape circuit? Joel explains it best on "125 Part 1 (The Bio)" from his Koch release, The Brick: Bodega Chronicles: "Fina win the race, cause he ran different / In through the nose, out through the mouth / Not worrying bout his competition, radio clout / Look straight, same pace / Let them n----s be out / They true colors gone show later on / When they breathing all heavy and they legs is worn." Such industry introspection flows throughout the album because of Joel's seasoned tenure of shopping himself to several record labels. It's this voyeuristic allure that is one of album's greatest strengths. Mr. Ortiz dissects the entire scope of being a budding rapper from industry politics on "125 Part 2 (Fresh Air)," where he spits, "Let's hear all the nonsense / He's kind of heavy, he's going to be hard to market / Plus he's Latin, is that who he's going to target," to the financial realities on "125 Part 4 (Finale)," where he laments, "25 still in my mom crib, two kids."
As an MC, Joel Ortiz doesn't blow you away with his punch lines or metaphors. His knack lies in his ability to relay the nihilistic nuances of street life with brutal honesty. The one time street pharmacist accurately details the extreme highs and lows that come with a lifestyle of hustling on "Caught Up." Joel doesn't just brush the surface with the typical paranoia and materialistic mantras of most "hustler" songs, he digs deeper into the subconscious with introspective lines like, "You can't chill in the Copa / drink after drink and you still feel sober / the grinds on your mind, you can't think straight / but they can though, so you front like everything's great."
Unlike other rappers, who depict their hood as being perpetually grim, Joel highlights the affable aspects of low-income living on "Brooklyn Bullsh--." It's refreshing to hear a rapper who doesn't take himself so seriously, and can even make fun of himself: "So what these ain't real rocks up in my watch / when the sun hit the face these sh--- still look hot."
If The Brick: Bodega Chronicles is a measure of Joel Ortiz' potential to become the next great New York MC, then the verdict is still out. At times his mundane flow can cripple a track or vice versa, since the album's no-name producers leave much to be desired. However, these shortcomings should be no cause for major concern, because when Joel does drop his major debut on Aftermath, he'll have the services of Dr. Dre to cure all his cadence and sonic setbacks.
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