Joell Ortiz has had a lot of bad breaks. It seems like every major record label he’s tried to latch on with has made promises they couldn’t keep. That, of course, led to nasty splits and several trips back to square one that have kept Ortiz from releasing a solo major label despite being one of the nastiest lyricists in the industry.
It’s a G.D. shame.
After gaining a ton of momentum in 2009 with super-group Slaughterhouse, also featuring Crooked I, Joe Budden, and Royce Da 5’9”, Ortiz recorded an album called, fittingly, “Free Agent,” which was supposed to be released all the way back in June. In the midst of trying to leave E1 for Eminem’s Shady Records, the release got held up, and now it’s just sort of hanging out there in development hell, while huge fans like myself wait impatiently to finally hear it.
In the meantime, the best you can do is get a hold of mixtapes where Ortiz is prominently featured. That’s where I’ve bumped into a few of my favorite lyrical gems of the last couple months, including his “Lemonade” freestyle and 50 bars over J. Cole’s “Who Dat.”
Throughout these and every other Ortiz track I’ve ever heard, I laugh. I laugh because the metaphors and analogies and wordplay he employs are so witty that I’m not sure what else to do. Also, I laugh because, ya know, some of them are actually very funny. The guy cares about the words that are spilling forth from his mouth, which is exactly what real hip-hop heads should be looking for. Well, hip-hop heads, here they are. Indulge yourselves.
In the end, Ortiz didn’t end up with E1 or Shady; last month he signed on with SRC/Universal Motown, and shortly afterwards it was made known that “Free Agent” would hit streets before ’10 was over. I say thank God to that, and I’m sure Ortiz is saying it too, but louder.
Here’s the “Lemonade” freestyle, which rocks:
And Joell’s version of “Who Dat,” which I might even prefer over J. Cole’s:
LikeIf you’re anything like me, the first time you heard the name Colin Hay you were probably a little bit confused. How can this guy be a “throwback” when I don’t even remember him to begin with? Bear with me. Colin Hay is from a little group called Men At Work made popular by 80s pop culture. They are popular for the song “Down Under” and are from, you guessed it, Australia.
But beyond the novelty of their popular single, Colin Hay has produced songs beyond his time with Men At Work that are powerful and catchy. I first came across his solo work through the show Scrubs. There is one episode that utilizes the song “Overkill” for a particularly emotional scene in an episode for an earlier season. I immediately fell in love with the song and had to find out who it was. Imagine my surprise when I googled it to come up with the lead singer for Men At Work. I thought to myself, “This isn’t right. I have to dig deeper.” So using my extreme computer hacking skills, I checked an underground website known for digging up this kind of information (Wikipedia) and confirmed that it was in fact the Aussie from the 80s pop band.
Upon further exploration I came across Hay’s album Man At Work which contained the song “Overkill” as well as some retakes on the popular single “Down Under”. The entire album is very pleasant, but what really sticks out for Hay are his simplistic “guy and guitar” tracks. In my opinion, he’s best when it is just the melody and the lyrics. With songs like “Waiting For My Real Life To Begin” and “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You” (made popular by the movie Garden State) Colin Hay has a real knack for simple, powerful acoustic tracks.
Check out his appearance on Scrubs:
Buy Man At Work:
As I motored down the interstate the other day I saw a guy kicking a box down the side of the road. That immediately made me think of Blake Lewis. Blake is best known as the “beatboxer” from Season Six of American Idol. Isn’t it funny how the mind works. You see, when I saw the guy beating the box I thought of beatboxing, which then made me think of Blake. You still with me?
As the seasons starting adding up over at American Idol, we the audience began to see a contestant pool that was blending together. Folks started looking alike and singing alike. So, it was like a hearty slap in the face when Blake Lewis hit the stage for the first time. Not only did Blake’s clubish clothing and faux hawk catch my attention, it was also his unique infusion of vocal percussion into his performances. As the weeks went on I found myself tuning in just to see what he would do next. In the end it was Jordin Sparks’ candy coated smile that kept him from taking the top spot.
Instant exposure ended up being the greatest prize for Blake. His 2007 major debut album, Audio Day Dream, just went through a major replay in my car stereo. It is safe to say that Blake has not gone on to super stardom, but his unique pop/soul/club style certainly did invade a lot of households across the globe. Audio Day Dream is something worth checking out. It is not your typical pop album. If A.D.D. leaves you wanting more, you can check out his 2009 sophomore album, Heartbreak on Vinyl. Fans of Justin Timberlake are gonna be lovin’ them some Blake Lewis.
KC’s Personal Picks: “Know My Name” featuring Lupe Fiasco, “Break Anotha”, and “Gots to Get Her”
Check out the video for “Break Anotha”
Buy the album
So we haven’t posted anything super hardcore in a while. I’m talking about the type of stuff that makes you feel like you just got punched in the face by pure awesome. The kind of music that makes you run faster and jump higher. The stuff that was made by the business end of a kick-ass stick. Well guess what? You’ve just been served. 10 Years has that kick-ass stick.
Figure 1.1
Their new release Feeding the Wolves not only has a manly name, but a manly album cover (see Figure 1.1). Historically I’ve found that if an album has an awesome cover, an awesome name and an awesome artist behind it, you are destined to have something worth its weight in gold. Don’t believe me? Tell that to Michael Jackson’s Thriller or Guns N Roses’ Appetite for Destruction. Yeah, I didn’t think so.
The entire album is a hard-hitting mix of heavy guitar and steel-laden vocals to match. The tracks rarely miss a beat, taking breaks only to show their softer side with powerful ballads (that are not-so-much ballads, I just can’t think of another word to describe them.)
10 Years is currently on the tail-end of the Carnival of Madness tour with the likes of Shinedown, Chevelle, Sevendust, and Puddle of Mudd. But not to worry, they will be headed back out on the road with numerous upcoming tour dates to support the release of their new album.
Buy Feed the Wolves:
T.I. – “Here We Go Again”
I know we’re supposed to have this policy of introducing readers to new artists, and T.I. clearly already has hit it big, but this new song produced Timbaland is without question the hottest track on my playlist. To be fair, I’m an unapologetic Timbo junkie that immediately falls in love with 80% of everything he’s ever done, but this particular track works on just about every level possible. T.I. knows how to rock a track, and he knows how to write a hook. Those two things linked up to a dirty, dirty beat makes for a real gem. Enjoy:
Finger Eleven – “Living In A Dream”
The new Finger Eleven record drops next month, but we’ve been given “Living In A Dream” to help tide us over. You must decide whether it’ll just arouse your appetite without bedding it back down or whether you really need a taste to keep yourselves from starving. Either way, you need to know this stomping, upbeat rock diddy is everything we’ve come to love from F11.
Mark Ronson featuring Ghostface Killah – “Lose It”
We were first introduced to Mark Ronson in 2007 when he teamed up with Lily Allen to put out “Oh My God,” which quietly became an FS favorite that year. Then came that sweet video for “Bang Bang Bang,” which rocked our asses equally hard, and now there’s “Lose It,” featuring one my favorite Wu-Tang Clansters in Ghostface Killah. The track takes about a minute or so to really warm up, but once Ghost hits the beat everything is right in the world. I’m starting to wonder if there’s a Ronson track out there that I wouldn’t like. Hmm.
