Free Agent (album)

Free Agent
Studio album by Joell Ortiz
Released February 22, 2011
Recorded 2008–2010
Genre East Coast hip hop, Hip hop
Length 46:36
Label E1 Music
Producer Frank Dukes, Sean C & LV, Knobody, DJ Premier, Kenny Dope, The Audible Doctor, Just Blaze, Nottz, Novel, Frequency, Anna Yvette, Large Professor, Broadway, DJ Khalil
Joell Ortiz chronology
The Brick: Bodega Chronicles
(2007)		 Free Agent
(2011)
Singles from Free Agent
  1. "Call Me (She Said)"
    Released: February 9, 2010
  2. "So Hard"
    Released: January 18, 2011
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
HipHopDX [1]
RapReviews (8/10)[2]
SPIN [3]
DJBooth.net [4]

Free Agent is the second studio album by American rapper Joell Ortiz. It was released on February 22, 2011 through E1 Music in the United States after being pushed back. It is the follow-up to his previous album The Brick: Bodega Chronicles (2007).

The album had leaked on the internet 3 months early via Amazon.com, but has since been taken down.[5] Joell Ortiz has been trying to be released from E1, formally Koch Records, to sign to Shady Records as part of the super group Slaughterhouse. On November 4, 2010 Joell stated through his twitter account that he was off of E1 Music, but Free Agent is still being released through the label.

Contents

Background

The album features production from DJ Premier, Knobody, DJ Khalil, Sean C & LV, Mr. 187, Broadway, Dookie Fingazz, Nottz and Frank Dukes. Guests are The Lox, Just Blaze, Dookie Fingazz. The DJ Premier produced "Project Boy" was recorded for inclusion on the album but E1 Music refused to clear the sample which explains its absence.

Commercial Reception

The album debuted at #173 on the Billboard 200 with 4,000 copies sold in the first week released.[6]

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
US Billboard 200 173
US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 33
US Rap Albums 15
US Heatseeker Albums 2
US Independent Albums 22

Track listing

[7]

No. Title Producer(s) Length
1. "Intro"   Frank Dukes 1:57
2. "Put Some Money on It" (featuring The LOX) Sean C & LV 2:29
3. "Killed for Less" (Intro)   0:19
4. "One Shot (Killed for Less)" (featuring Fat Joe) Knobody 3:53
5. "Sing Like Bilal"   DJ Premier 2:30
6. "Finish What You Start" (featuring Royce da 5'9") Kenny Dope 3:16
7. "Battle Cry" (featuring Just Blaze) Just Blaze, The Audible Doctor 5:04
8. "Nursery Rhyme"   Nottz 3:10
9. "Phone" (Skit)   0:31
10. "Call Me (She Said)" (featuring Novel) Novel 4:08
11. "So Hard" (featuring Anna Yvette) Frequency, Anna Yvette 3:21
12. "Oh!" (featuring Iffy) Large Professor 4:06
13. "Checkin for You" (Skit)   0:19
14. "Checkin for You" (performed by Sebastian Rios) Frank Dukes 3:56
15. "Good Man Is Gone"   Broadway 4:01
16. "Cocaine"   DJ Khalil 3:36
17. "Incredible (iTunes Bonus Track)" (featuring Barrington Levy) The Audible Doctor 3:48

Samples[8]

"Good Man is Gone" features a sample of "A Good Man is Gone" by Monk Higgins (1975)

"Call Me (She Said)" sampled "Call Me" by Al Green (1973)

"Sing Like Bilal" sampled:

References

  1. ^ "HipHopDX Review". http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.1624/title.joell-ortiz--free-agent?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hiphopdx%2Fnews+%28HipHopDX.com%29. 
  2. ^ "RapReviews Review". http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2011_03_freeagent.html. 
  3. ^ "SPIN Review". http://www.spin.com/reviews/joell-ortiz-free-agent-e-one. 
  4. ^ Slavik, Nathan. "Free Agent - Joell Ortiz Album Review". DJBooth.net. http://www.djbooth.net/index/albums/review/joell-ortiz-free-agent-02211101/. Retrieved 2011-03-10. 
  5. ^ http://www.theboombox.com/2010/12/01/joell-ortiz-album-leaked-3-months-early-via-amazon/
  6. ^ http://www.sohh.com/2011/03/kanye_west_gets_his_spot_back_rihanna_hi.html
  7. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Free-Agent/dp/B004BRP5YE
  8. ^ http://www.whosampled.com/artist/Joell%20Ortiz/
Slaughterhouse
Studio releases
Singles
"Move On" · "The One" · "Microphone" · "Back On The Scene"
Crooked I albums
Joe Budden albums
Joell Ortiz albums
Royce da 5'9" albums
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