Joell Ortiz

Latest Articles

By | January 01, 0001

Man at work

Statik Selektah is so busy, it bugs him out
It's easy to manufacture illusions of rap stardom. Any MySpace whiteboy with a few grand can fill a mixtape with big cameos, and for a little more, guests will even shout his name out. But though such pay-for-spray practices have kept established artists eating they've also compromised the organic dynamics that once pushed the genre forward.
By CHRIS FARAONE | January 20, 2010

Beyond Dilla and Dipset

Can hip-hop deliver in 2010?
With a semi-sober face I'll claim that hip-hop in 2010 might deliver more than just posthumous Dilla discs, Dipset mixtapes, and a new ignoramus coke rapper whom critics pretend rhymes in triple-entendres.
By CHRIS FARAONE | December 29, 2009

He's not a doctor . . .

. . . but he plays with one in LA. As hip-hop's newest secret weapon, Dawaun Parker is helping resuscitate rap's biggest stars.
Around this time four years ago, contemporary hip-hop tastemaker Dawaun Parker faced the same dilemma that most soon-to-be music-school grads negotiate: should he become a performer, a songwriter, or a barista?
By CHRIS FARAONE | May 18, 2009

Due Dilla-gence

Termanology bestows belated props on Jay Dee
Extraordinarily missed Detroit beat stylist J Dilla (a/k/a Jay Dee) was righteously benevolent.
By CHRIS FARAONE | March 31, 2009

By | January 01, 0001

Reks in effect

Lawtown MC bounces back
Since jumping skills-first onto Boston’s rap scene seven years ago, Lawrence-born MC Reks has earned a variety of reputations.
By CHRIS FARAONE | July 28, 2008