Joell Ortiz (born July 6, 1980) is an American
rapper and a member of the group
Slaughterhouse. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. Ortiz grew up in the
Cooper Park Houses in the
East 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. He released his debut album
The Brick: Bodega Chronicles in 2007. He went on to release
Free Agent (2011) and
House Slippers (2014).