Joell Ortiz Drops 6-Track ‘Yaowa Nation’ EP

Following up on his latest full-length release, House Slippers, Brooklyn wordsmith Joell Ortiz gifts his fans a quick 6-track EP, Yaowa Nation, including his take on current monster jams like Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” and French Montana’s “Don’t Panic.”

Joell Ortiz, one quarter of rap supergroup Slaughterhouse, often likes to rock over other joints, inserting his own take on classics and current tracks alike, and after sprinkling the internet with a couple, Ortiz drops this collection as a freebie for fans, just in time for Christmas.

House Slippers received generally good reviews and continued building Joell Ortiz’ reputation as a clever, personal spitter, as comfortable rocking over radio-friendly tracks as he is over gritty, grimy boom-bap tracks.

Yaowa Nation finds Ortiz rocking alongside Iggy Azalea and Tove Lo, but seems to be more of a DJ service pack than a true offering for fans. “Stay With Me” delivers a full three dope verses, but Azalea’s “Beg For It,” Montana’s “Don’t Panic” and the others end up being a typical he-added-his-verse-and-thats-it remix. Ortiz has done this before, particularly on his 2009 Joell Ortiz Covers The Classics, but that delivered 30+ snippets, not the sparse offerings found here.

Still, DJs and Ortiz fans alike will enjoy adding these joints to the Yaowa collection.

Check out Joell Ortiz’ Yaowa Nation EP at DatPiff.com