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City High is an American R&B/hip hop trio consisting of rappers/singers Toby
Ryan, Robby Pardlo and Claudette Ortiz. Originally signed to Wyclef Jean's
Booga Basement imprint as a duo, the group became a trio when Jean realized
that the group resembled another group on his roster, The Product G&B, too
much. Ortiz was then added to the group after contributing her vocals to the
group's first big hit, "What Would You Do" from the Life soundtrack in 1999.
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City High drew comparisons to their mentor's supergroup, The Fugees for two
main reasons: the first being that the make-up of the band was two male
members and a superstar female member, and also the fact that the members
both sang and rap. Unlike The Fugees, however, City High had more of an R&B
slant as opposed to being mostly hip hop.
In 2001, "What Would You Do" was released as part of the band's eponymous
debut to radio with a new mix that interpolated Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode"
into the bridge. The song, a story seen from different perspectives about a
young woman who becomes a stripper to feed her child, became a US Pop Top 10
and R&B Top 20 hit. The band's follow-up single, "Caramel," had Ortiz
singing lead and Pardlo on the bridge. In the original version, there is
also a section where Ortiz sings in Spanish. For radio release, the song was
remixed to include to rapper Eve (rapper). "Caramel" was a US Pop Top 20 and
R&B Top 10 hit. The final single from the group's debut was "City High
Anthem," which failed to make a big impact on urban and top 40 markets. Once
again, however, a remix was released, featuring rapper Styles P.
In early 2002, City High shot several mini music video commercials for MTV
based on their own songs promoting the 11th season of "Real World," set in
Chicago.
Claudette Ortiz's solo projects
Since then, Ortiz has had a child and recorded several songs on her own, and
it is rumored that the band split up to pursue solo projects, despite talk
in 2002 of work on a sophomore effort. Ortiz appeared on her mentor Wyclef's
single "Two Wrongs" in 2002, as well as on his "Dance Like This" from the
2004 movie Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights soundtrack. Other artists she has
worked with include Nas ("Hey Nas," 2002), Loon ("Like A Movie," 2003) and
Ja Rule ("Get It Started," 2004). Also in 2004, Ortiz released a song to
mixtapes entitled "You Wasn't There" and in 2005, "Run A Little More,"
rumored to be a teaser for a 2006 solo release. |
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CLAUDETTE ORTIZ PICTURES |
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