Joell Ortiz - Free Agent

New Joell Ortiz. Those are nice words to be able to write as we approach the end of the 4th Quarter. I've been hearing some ridiculousness about Free Agent being 'leaked' on Amazon (which may be a spite thing from his now-ex label Amalgam Digital) and that this record has been pushed back til after the first of the year, but regardless its out on the web and its a fucking banger, as per the norm. Fair amount of guest spot action, most notably to these ears all three members of the LOX and fellow Latin lyricist Fat Joe. It would be nice if Free Agent blew up big. Ortiz certainly deserves it, having bodied virtually every track he's appeared on in 2010, but the long-rumored and perhaps finally formalized deal with Slaughterhouse and Shady may very well eclipse it, and maybe not for the better. Ortiz regularly drives Budden and the rest of his Slaughterhouse crazy with his devastating freestyle verses on radio shows and I can't think that he's too much for a four rapper franchise, but maybe the Wu precedent will bear fruit. Sixteen tracks here, some a little too commercial for my tastes, but all pretty fucking aces. I prefer the grimier stuff, like the Large Professor track but whether coming street or commercial, few can even come close to Joell Ortiz.

R

Saigon and Statik Selektah - All In A Day's Work

Saigon's The Greatest Story Ever Told is rapidly becoming hip-hop's Chinese Democracy. I'd venture it hasn't been afforded the same budget, as Sai Gitty isn't exactly profiling in Ferraris, but the record has been gestating for an eternity. David Banner even released a great record with the same title last year. The record has been bouncing around from label to label. God knows where Just Blaze has it now, word is perhaps the new Jay-Z imprint, but in the interim, Sai has been beefing with Joe Budden and releasing some mixtape joints.

All In A Day's Work ups the ante a bit for the average rapper on the grind, purporting to have been recorded in a single day (ok, 26 hours). It's dropping on the previously dissed Amalgam Digital and while it's only a little over a half-hour, it's not going to make heads fiend any less for The Greatest Story Ever Told. The Yardfather is on fire here, rhyming over eleven Statik Selektah beats solo for the most part, save for a Busta Rhymes cameo. I don't envy rappers who are going to have to drop records in the wake of All In A Day's Work. Pick it up here from the good folk of Amalgam Digital. Saigon and Statik have set a new standard for hip-hop collabos. All you wack-ass marks best start writing. The Yardfather is back and he's got Statik with him. Consider yourself warned.

R

New Kurious Jorge Record!

Whouda thought, Kurious is back! You should remember I'm Kurious and Mansion And A Yacht from back in the day, or if you were a Purchase kid from the early 90s maybe you saw him at parties. Either way, he was a good guy to drink a 40oz with and had some fun tunes, a lot of which were produced by the mighty Beatnuts. The Beatnuts pop up behind the boards here, as do VIC and Dame Grease. If you're into such things (and I am) MF Doom and MC Serch pop up on the old school compliant Benetton, too. Pick up Kurious Jorge's II from Amalgam Digital on 3/24 here. Track listing is below. Crate diggers can rest assured that there will be hard copies as well. You can check out the first single Back From Up Under (feat. Max B) here.

R

1.) Take What is Given (produced by Dame Grease)
2.) Back with VIC (produced by VIC)
3.) Work It (produced by 88-Keys)
4.) Sittin' In My Car (produced by Ed Noodles)
5.) Drinks In The Air f/Vanessa Liftig (produced by Boola)
6.) Animals and Horses f/Kadi (produced by Yogi)
7.) Rubberbandz (produced by The Beatnuts)
8.) Benetton f/MC Serch & Mf Doom (produced by Sosa)
9.) Rain On f/Co Campbell (produced by Dame Grease)
10.) Wake Up f/Vanessa Liftig (produced by Team Demolition)
11.) Smiling (produced by Domingo)
12.) Brand New Day f/Dave Dar & Co Campbell (produced by Hi-Tek)
13.) Mysterious (produced by Boola)
14.) New Heights (produced by Oner)
15.) Back From Up Under f/Max B (produced by Dame Grease)
16.) Is This the End (produced by Sosa)
17.) Prosperous (produced by Fyre Dept.)
18.) The Magician f/ Del The Funky Homosapien
(produced by James Strong)**** Amalgam Digital BONUS TRACK