B. Ortiz is mobbed up and finessing women in his new life as a musician – swish. The ex-hooper “dropped it all for this shit,” leaving behind a basketball scholarship at Jackson State to record music, and to get educated at UW – Whitewater, as he said in a recent interview with Basement Made. He still has The Flock, though – a massive gang of supporters that have helped him make it through the transition. With the power of The Flock and collaborative hype behind The Movement, it’s looking like the young Madison, Wisconsin phenom is about to get plenty play off of his new project, Dussy Music 3.
What is dussy, exactly? Dussy is pussy. B. Ortiz is from Orlando, Florida originally, and when he moved up North, he held onto that. It connects him to his past. Most of his music is about women but he brings in the local culture too. “I mean, sometimes I rep for the hood, for the hooping shit, because I want to stay here in Wisconsin,” he says. “Like, most people knew me from basketball, that’s kinda how my music took off a little bit… cause of that triple overtime shit. I try not to really talk about it too much cause [people] who know are gonna know. I just… can’t be that nigga talking about playing basketball in my raps and shit too much.”
B. Ortiz knows his shit, he’s really doing it from Wisconsin! Platinum selling producer DJ Pain 1 and globetrotter F. Stokes started Madison Hip Hop, but aside from them and my people, there are very few making major moves. “When I say ‘Movement shit only,’ [it’s] The Flock, 3rd Dimension and Arcani and ATM and shit, and my lil nigga Trapo,” he says. He’s been working with Ted Park since the original Dussy Music as well. “And now me and Ted linked up, and we’re doing Dussy Music 3 just like the first one.”
The Midwest emcee is looking to find that “2016-ish” sound on the upcoming joint, “like just smooth but the beats are banging… but they’re not nothing trap-wise.” Ortiz will occasionally step in, but he’s mainly been working with Soundcloud producer JF James and Chicago’s cloutted up Pdubtheproducer. Both employ a lot of live-instrumentation in their records. Pdub will be doing most of Dussy 3. “That was Ted’s guy. Well, Ted been fucking with dude for a minute. Pdub actually had a couple joints on Dussy Music 1. We didn’t put nothing in the production in the titles or nothing so nobody really knew, but yea, he had 2 or 3 joints on the first Dussy. And now we going back to him for all that original shit.”
Peep the full interview below.
Basement Made: What ties you to where you’re from and what sets you apart from music now?
B. Ortiz: I’m not from Wisconsin. I was originally born in Orlando, Florida. I grew up there til I was about 12 years old. Crazy shit happened with my mom, her family and shit, and that’s when shit changed. We moved up here when I was in middle school just to be closer to our family and shit. What sets me apart is music wasn’t always my main focus. I was a hooper. Period. Ball was life for me. So it was like, I had a D1 scholarship, you know, and I coulda stayed out there and done some shit that I probably coulda ended up getting a degree. And being the working class citizen, and having an ok life, but it’s like I got to the point where I just wanted to be happy and I wanted to be passionate about some again, and music was that shit. So… dropped outta school… well dropped outta school for basketball type shit, enrolled in Whitewater. I knew I had a couple little music plugs out here I could get back on my feet, start recording again, get my name back out there in the music shit. So basically what was different for me was I dropped it all for this shit. This is not a game for me. I’m dead out serious… I was hooping for Jackson State, I got a scholarship to Jackson State outta high school.
Basement Made: So how does basketball translate to music, the passion?
B. Ortiz: I mean, I was doing music when I started playing basketball but my music was fucking shit. My music was bullshit. I was just all in Garageband just self-teaching myself. You know, I thought I was nice. I was fucking weak as hell. But I mean, sometimes I rep for the hood, for the hooping shit, because I want to stay here in Wisconsin. Like, most people knew me from basketball, that’s kinda how my music took off a little bit… cause of that triple overtime shit. I try not to really talk about it too much cause [people] who know are gonna know. I just… can’t be that nigga talking about playing basketball in my raps and shit too much.
Basement Made: That “Nostalgia” joint is going! Low key, I played that for my girl last night. How did you link up with JF James? He’s from London, right?
B. Ortiz: Yap, from London. He actually followed me on Soundcloud… cause I wrote this joint like 6 months ago. And he had reached out to me, spoke to me on Soundcloud, cause I followed him, just cause I was looking for niggas, like… I don’t know, I just be on Soundcloud, just looking for random shit because I listen to all kinds of music. I ran across this dude, his page was like pretty normal, he didn’t have nothing outlandish. Like, he wasn’t getting hella followers or nothin. So I liked like 4 different beats, he only had 6 up there, so I was pretty sure he was gon notice me right away. And he musta looked at my page. And he messaged me and shit and asked if I was looking for any beats. And asked him straight up, cause I wasn’t swag. I was paying for school and shit at the time, so I’m like, “I ain’t gon like to ya. I ain’t got no money… at all. I’m broke as shit right now.” So he threw me… At first he threw me like 4 joints for free. Every single one of them beats bro, I was like, “Yo, who the fuck did this beat?” Like, the sound is just so different but it’s so… It’s like mainstream without being mainstream. You know what I’m saying? It reminded me like of some old school, like fucking Prince shit, damn near. He uses all live instruments and shit and it just sounds real to me.
Basement Made: You do some production too right?
B. Ortiz: Yea, I’ve been… I started out, like when I started doing shit again after college, I really just had nobody to make beats for me for free. So that’s just how making beats just came about. I downloaded Fruity Loops and shit, kinda just taught myself. But yea, for Dussy… I might have a couple joints on there. I mainly just put… Alotta niggas just been pulling me beats now since I I’ve been back. Some [people] just throwing me random shit so I’ll just use theirs. So I haven’t really been concentrating on much producing but I should have a couple joints on Dussy.
Basement Made: So that’s the next project, Dussy Music 3?
B. Ortiz: Yap, we had… The first Dussy Music, it was started with me and my nigga Ted Park. And then he ended up signing to a indie label, went away for a little year, so I did Dussy Music 2 – just me and the Movement. Like, me and 3rd Dimension basically… and my nigga Arcani with ATM. And now me and Ted linked up, and we’re doing Dussy Music 3 just like the first one. We’re gonna have a couple features on there. They’re actually out in New York, trying to put together a little collective and shit. I don’t wanna say too much about it but I’ll be making that move to New York pretty soon. They’re bringing in a few people, they got a couple… they got a local dude out there in Harlem, and then me, and then a kid named Rob Moss from Detroit. But yea I’m obviously gon try and go out there and try and make a name, fucking try to get my name out there, but for now they can’t be feeding everybody.
Basement Made: Your plan is to get with a major label or stay indie? How do you wanna do it?
B. Ortiz: I don’t fucking know bro. I’m just tryna get to this money… I really do need to educated myself a little more on all that shit. But as of right now, if I do go out to New York, I’ll still be under a indie label.
Basement Made: So when is Dussy Music due? How many tracks?
B. Ortiz: We don’t got an official date. It is gonna be shorter than most just because we all about the quality right now, we don’t wanna oversaturate shit with like 14 songs. We just might as well give niggas a quick 6 or 7. But they all gon be high quality. And we don’t got an official release date but we think it’s somewhere around November-ish.
Basement Made: How would you explain Dussy Music 3, what sets it apart from the last one?
B. Ortiz: Dussy… Most [people] just be confused as hell cause they’ve never heard the word, but I’m from Florida and we say that shit all the time. Dussy is like pussy, so… it’s like music… not for the bitches… It’s more everybody but it’s really to get bitches or concentrated on niggas, you know, concentrated on women. So obviously the tape is gonna be based on women and shit. But the sound is just mad 2016-ish, like just smooth but the beats are banging but they’re not nothing trap-wise. Just playing shit really.
Basement Made: I see you got a few features from 3rd Dimension. You did “Nostalgia” with them and “Ride,” you had Reeks on there.
B. Ortiz: And “That Shit Go” with 3rd Dimension.
Basement Made: So that collaboration has been going strong for the past few months, at least for the past few months, is that something you’re gonna foster more?
B. Ortiz: Yea, them my niggas. Them day one. Niggas don’t know but I recorded the whole Dussy Music 2 at 3rd Dimension studio. That’s the Movement. When I say “Movement shit only,” The Flock, 3rd Dimension and Arcani and ATM and shit, and my lil nigga Trapo. So it’s like [people], they don’t know but me and 3rd been working together for like 2 years, we just now getting on a song. I make plenty songs but I don’t really drop much shit. I’ve been selective but now [we] keep getting some notice, this Movement shit out here, 3rd Dimension…
Basement Made: That’s the gang. Is there anything else we should know about the project?
B. Ortiz: More about the project… PDubTheProducer, he’s basically the main producer, he’s basically on all the joints, except for like 2. That nigga, he’s produced for King Louie, he’s nice as fuck. He basically shaped the whole sound. We just been rocking with him pretty hard. I just want people to expect the unexpected. He produced “Go” for Ted Park as well. He produced that “Go” joint, he produced King Louie – “Sexin.” He also produced for Golden & Nesto, that “Give It Up” joint. He’s doing it right now. He started with live music and shit, that’s why his beats are so fucking lit. Yea, he from Chicago and shit, he doing it. His credits are Benzino, King Louie, Masspike Miles, Ted Park, Gunplay and Freck Billionaire… That was Ted’s guy. Well, Ted been fucking with dude for a minute. Pdub actually had a couple joints on Dussy Music 1. We didn’t put nothing in the production in the titles or nothing so nobody really knew, but yea, he had 2 or 3 joints on the first Dussy. And now we going back to him for all that original shit.
Audio coming soon…
