A street album that Ortiz is releasing under KOCH Records to serve as an appetizer until his Aftermath debut hits shelves. Driven by the ode to classic hip hop - simply titled Hip Hop - Ortiz demands the people to “accidently step on your white sunglasses,” cause “we don’t wear those over here, this is hip hop!”  Full text...

The best Latino rapper since Big Pun -- and he crushes a lot.  Full text...

A hybrid of the mixtapes that got Ortiz discovered and a preview of the ‘90s rap retrospective that the Puerto Rican lyricist is crafting out West.   Full text...

Ortiz is signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment; he's releasing The Brick on Koch as a taster for his official major-label debut. As such, it's way too long (almost an hour), but the feel is exact and concentrated; hard, sample-heavy weighted beats, furling frustration, throwback lyrics-driven East Coast hip-hop.  Full text...