BIO  Joell Ortiz was born to a Afro-American father and Puerto Rican mother, he is from the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York formerly signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label. He was featured in the Unsigned Hype column of the March 2004 issue of The Source Magazine and was also selected as Chairman's Choice in XXL Magazine. During the same time Joell also went on to win the 2004 EA Sports Battle which earned his song Mean Business a spot on the NBA Live 2005 soundtrack. The same year he was offered a contract to Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label. The deal quickly went sour which caused Joell to start a beef with Jermaine. Joell has since collaborated with KRS-One and Kool G. Rap.

Joell released his street album called The Brick: Bodega Chronicles April 24, 2007 on Koch Records. The album was recorded while Joell was trying to get signed and going through some tough times personally. Even though he was signed to Aftermath Entertainment, Dr. Dre allowed him to release the street album on Koch Records. The Brick features productions from Showbiz, The Alchemist, Domingo, Ho Chi from Killahertz Productions, Lil’ Fame of M.O.P., Novel, and Moss, among others. Guest spots include Big Daddy Kane, Styles P, Big Noyd, M.O.P, Akon, Immortal Technique, Grafh, Ras Kass, Stimuli, and Novel.

Ortiz parted ways with Aftermath Entertainment on April 15, 2008. Joe Budden reached out to Crooked I, Royce Da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, and Nino Bless for a track titled "Slaughterhouse" on his digital release, Halfway House. Based on the reception of the track, they decided to form a super-group, minus Nino Bless, and named it after the first song they made together. They released numerous songs throughout early 2009, building a buzz for their self-titled album which was released through E1 on August 11, 2009. The album features production from Alchemist, DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter, Streetrunner, plus guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch, K-Young, and The New Royales. In 2010 the group signed to Shady Records and left E1 Entertainment.

A remix of Joell Ortiz' "Hip Hop" featuring Jadakiss and Saigon appeared on a fictitious urban radio station in the popular video game GTA IV.

Ortiz departed from E1 Entertainment, by problems with the label in 2010. In August 2010 Ortiz signed a deal with Steve Rifkind's label SRC Records and Universal Motown, he confirmed that his second studio album would be released under the label later in 2010.

Mixtapes
    - Who The Fuck Is Joell Ortiz? (2004)
    - The Re-Up (2008)
    - Covers The Classics (2009)
    - Road Kill (2009)
    - Defying The Predictable (2010)
    - Me, Myself And I (2010)
    - Project Boy (2010)