Joell Ortiz Biography

The rapper Joell Ortiz was born in 1980 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Before his breakthrough in the music business as a member of the group Slaughterhouse, Ortiz initially launched a solo career as a rapper, signing with the Aftermath Entertainment label and earning accolades in the Source’s Unsigned Hype column, which praised his talents and pegged him as an artist to watch.

Joell Ortiz’s solo debut was the street album The Brick: Bodega Chronicles, which was released in 2007. Featuring guest appearance from such notable artists as Immortal Technique, Big Noyd, and Big Daddy Kane, the album garnered significant attention for Ortiz, but he chose to leave the Aftermath Entertainment label the year after the album’s release, and instead Joell focused on the production of a number of mixtapes and remixes.

Between 2009 and 2011, Joell Ortiz released the EP Farewell Summer (2010) and nine mixtapes, including: Road Kill (2009), Defying the Predicatble (2010), Me, Myself & I (2010), Pre-Agent (2010), Project Boy (2010), and Brooklyn (2012.) He also released the album Free Agent in 2011, featuring the songs “Call Me (She Said),” and “So Hard” (featuring Ana Yvette.) Joell Ortiz also collaborated with a number of other artists, lending vocals to the songs: “We Keep It Rockin” (with Maino, Jim Jones, and Swizz Beatz); “Venomous Ink Emcees” (with J1Three and Canibus); “Hey Girl” (with Big Dave); “Tick Tock” (with Pusha T and Raekwon); and “My Name Is (Part II)” (with Tego Calderon and Bodega Bamz.)

Joell Ortiz also joined Slaughterhouse in 2009, alongside his fellow rappers Royce da 5’9’’, Joe Budden, and Crooked I. Slaughterhouse released their debut in 2009, followed by the Slaughterhouse EP (2011), and Welcome to: Our House (2012.) Joell Ortiz continues to perform and record. He most recently released another solo album, House Slippers, in 2014. The album features the songs “Feel So Good” and the title track, “House Slippers.”