With everything going on with everyone else, it seemed as though there was an unsettling silence from that of Joell Ortiz as details have been scarce as to his process in his solo career with no mention of even an EP.
The silence has come to an abrupt stop as the Brooklyn Bomber Mr. Ortiz has announced that his second official album, Free Agent, will be out February 23.
Unlike the debut, however, Ortiz will not be releasing his second offering through Koch/e1 Entertainment.
Ever since the collation of Slaughterhouse came into fruition, it feels as though the sky has been the limit for the four rappers that have been able to make lyricism a top priority in the rap game again.
With EPs from Joe Budden and Royce Da 5’9 and an upcoming from Crooked I, the rap quartet has kept their name in everyone’s ears and mouths since their self-titled debut dropped in July. Nickel was the first to leap with the release of Street Hop last Tuesday.
While speaking with Ortiz, HipHopWired was given a glimpse into the method of the madness that is Slaughterhouse and how the group will go about with future releases. In regards to his solo career, Ortiz explained that his album isn’t just going to be released just to be released and stressed the importance of strategy.
“If it had to go in tomorrow, it could. Nothing will be sporadic when dealing with anything Slaughterhouse. It will all be in sequence; it will all be times. We’re not one of those groups to just put things out. It’s all going to be thought out and planned and we’re going to make sure that in 2010, people are going to be talking about us.”
Ortiz has recently been in go mode as he has lit up the scene with freestyles by jacking “Crime Wave” and most recently “Run This Town” making it seems as though an appetizer is on the way before the main course.
Outside of rapping, Ortiz is making his round in the acting department. With a small role in Rik Cordero’s film, Inside A Change, Ortiz is teaming up with actor Rick Gonzalez to shoot a pilot for a new show for early next year.
