Joell regurgitates some bars from his ShadyXV freestyle on “Appreciate Ya.”

From Emilio’s forthcoming Life Got In The Way LP.

Another from 2014′s House Slippers, available now.

More an EP than a true mixtape, Joell Ortiz shows what he can do to mainstream production by covering six of the year’s biggest crossover hits on Yaowa Nation.

Joell Ortiz has teamed with Audiomack to bring us YAOWA Nation, a new mixtape of him remixing other peoples’ tracks with his own rhymes. Here are the first two selections, covering Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” and Iggy Azalea’s “Beg For It.”

From Joell’s House Slippers LP, available now.

Azad Right grabs Joell Ortiz and SPNCR for this remix of his track “Son Of Sam.”

Probably the best track on Joell’s House Slippers LP, which is available now.

The state of New York rap has been in flux. The birthplace of hip-hop once proudly laid claim to “hardcore hip-hop,” shunning commercial rap on many classic tracks. Competition in the game however led to that sound disappearing, with artists like Jay Z, The Notorious B.I.G., and Big Pun finding a way to toe the line between huge successful hits and street driven album cuts. Two decades after the Biggie blueprint was laid out on Ready To Die, we find many artists from the region adopting southern styles of rap, pandering to the hot sound of the moment, rather than sticking with the natural style of the Empire State.

Joell Ortiz’s House Slippers isn’t guilty of attempting to craft southern bounce tracks, but does its best to follow in the footsteps of the groundwork laid down those successful NYC rappers that came before. Coming from the Slaughterhouse crew of super-emcees, Joell is no slouch lyrically, as he proves all over this LP. He demonstrates this on introspective songs like “Q&A”, “Say Yes,” and the title track, “House Slippers.” These songs give a peek behind the curtain at Joell’s life, and are some of the strongest moments on the album. Meanwhile, cuts like “Dream On” and the Slaugherhouse party “Brothers Keeper” find Joell delivering his heaviest, most dense lyrical content.

However lyrical rappers like Joell have long had trouble making the transition to mainstream acceptance. Its clear that Joell is well aware of this, as he gives the old college try to a few potential crossover hits. However most of these miss the mark, progressively getting worse with each attempt. The B.o.B. featured “Music Saved My Life” comes off as cliché, sounding very much like something that would fit better on a Bobby Ray album. Songs like “Phone” and “Better Than” suffer from overly polished production, while “Candy” is over-the-top radio fodder that simply does not fit Ortiz.

We are far and away from ever returning to the unpolluted golden era sound of New York hip-hop, and unfortunately, House Slippers is proof of that. Its clear that there is no commercial value in the sound of yesterday, which forces rappers to sacrifice their core sound for success. That unfortunately makes albums like this one sound forced and unnatural. House Slippers has a few solid tracks, but doesn’t feel like we’re getting the real Joell Ortiz.

New music from DJ Self with help from Joell Ortiz and Maino.

Joell sits in with The Breakfast Club to speak on his new album, House Slippers, available now.

From Bottom Feeder Music’s Gorilla State EP. Produced by Jeremy Greene.

1/4 of Slaughterhouse serves up a full-length stream of his album, House Slippers, due September 16th.

Another one from Ortiz’s House Slippers, hitting September 16th.

One more from Joell’s House Slippers LP, hitting September 16th.