Claudette Ortiz (born July 21, 1981) is an American

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

and television personality, best known as a member of the R&B trio

City High City High was an American R&B/ hip hop trio consisting of rappers/singers Ryan Toby, Robbie Pardlo, and Claudette Ortiz. City High is best known for their song " What Would You Do?", which earned a Grammy nomination. Career In 2001, City High ...

. Ortiz also was a castmate in TV One's reality series '' R&B Divas: Los Angeles''.

Biography

Early life and career beginnings

Ortiz is of Puerto Rican descent and was born on July 21, 1981, and raised in

Willingboro Township, New Jersey Willingboro Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is a suburb of Philadelphia and part of the state's South Jersey region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,889, an increase of ...

, where she attended

Willingboro High School Willingboro High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Willingboro Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of ...

, as did the other members of City High.

2001–2003: City High

City High began with Pardlo signing on as a solo artist. However, soon Pardlo's friend Toby and the producers decided that it should be a two-man group featured on the album. Soon after the two-man group began to work on their album the group became successful. In order to stand out, the producers decided to add a female member. They chose Ortiz, another group member who also attended

. During production, all three members did writing on the songs. The trio focused on trying to make lyrics that told a story, Toby noting that he got some inspiration for writing songs that tell stories from

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

. A large number of the songs are based on real-life experiences the trio has experienced, such as " What Would You Do?". The group recorded " What Would You Do?" two years prior to the release of album, as it was featured in the

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

film ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

''. It was not formally released, however, until 2001. The group disbanded in 2003, failing to release another album despite their debut's success. In November 2002, Ortiz appeared on the episode "Jr's Dating Dilemma" on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

My Wife and Kids ''My Wife and Kids'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from March 28, 2001, to May 17, 2005. The series was produced by Touchstone Television. It starred Damon Wayans as Michael Kyle, the patriarch of an African-American family. Wayans and ve ...

''.

2004–present: Solo career and reality television

In 2006, Ortiz released her first solo single "Can't Get Enough" featuring Mase. She was also featured on

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

's track "Dance Like This" on the '' Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights'' soundtrack. Other artists she has worked with include

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single "Holla Holla". Durin ...

and

Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his mononym Mase (formerly Murda Mase and stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper and minister. In the late 1990s, he recorded on the Bad Boy Records label alongside its founder Sean ...

. Claudette worked with producers

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

, So Klassik, Noize Trip, &

Jerry Wonda Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis (born 9 August 1975) is a Haitian music producer, film score composer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. His first major success was as a producer for the Fugees' 1996 album '' The Score''. He also played the bass guitar ...

for her postponed debut album around 2014. "I've been working in between my kids. I was on Interscope but they didn't like the material; after I had Bella they released me. I'd just been waiting for her to get a little bigger & stronger. She'll be 2 in April. So I'm back working... Anton Marchand is managing me and I'm in talks with an independent label... I'm about to go hard and I'm excited! I feel good, I'm happy, I'm single... I've been in a relationship most of my adult life... I'm not dating. I'm just enjoying delving into myself. Learning more about me and focusing on my kids. As of July 10, 2013, Ortiz is a castmate in TV One's reality show ''R&B Divas: Los Angeles'', also featuring

Chanté Moore Chanté Torrane Moore (born February 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, and author. Rising to fame in the early 1990s, Moore established herself as an R&B singer. Her debut studio album '' Precious'' w ...

Michel'le Michel'le Denise Toussant (born December 5, 1970), also spelled Toussaint, is an American R&B singer known for her songs from 1989 to the early 1990s. Her highest charting song is the top ten US Hot 100 hit "No More Lies". Between 2013 and 201 ...

Lil' Mo Cynthia Karen Loving (born November 19, 1978), known professionally as Lil' Mo, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, television and radio personality. She is best known for her 2001 single " Superwoman Pt. II", featuring then-unknown rapper ...

Dawn Robinson Dawn Sherrese Robinson (born November 24, 1966 or 1968) is an American singer best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop group En Vogue, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. Following her departure from En Vogue, Robinso ...

, and

Kelly Price Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. She started her singing career in 1992. Price originally garnered attention by singing backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her ''Billboa ...

. As of March 27, 2015, Ortiz will be starring in Tyler Perry's new stage play ''Madea on the Run.'' She has also landed a recurring role as Claudia on Tyler Perry's ''

If Loving You Is Wrong ''If Loving You Is Wrong'' is an American prime time television soap opera created, executive produced, written, and directed by Tyler Perry. The series premiered on September 9, 2014 and ended on June 16, 2020. It focuses on the lives and relati ...

''.

Personal life

In an interview Ortiz spoke about her daughter and how she did not know the guy reported by the media as her daughter's father. "So hold on… you don’t know that guy that is being reported as your daughter’s father?" Claudette Ortiz: "No I don’t know who that is. I saw a rumor on Wikipedia a while back saying I was dating him and had a child by him… I was in the studio with Bryan Michael Cox and we were laughing about it… I wasn’t even pregnant with my daughter yet… I don’t know that guy and never met him. My daughter's father is just a normal hard working business man. He's not even in the industry." In 2013, Ortiz was contemplating joining the U.S. Air Force Reserves, when she was contacted by TV One's producer Phil Thornton to do ''R&B Divas''. She relocated her family from New Jersey to partake in the series.

Discography

Singles

As featured performer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Claudette 1981 births American soul singers Living people People from Willingboro Township, New Jersey Willingboro High School alumni American people of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American musicians American contemporary R&B singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers Singers from New Jersey Hispanic and Latino American women singers