CLAUDETTE ORTIZ

from
www.city-high.com

"Our music is something totally different. All our songs have depth and contain provocative lyrics with messages that relate to real issues. We talk about issues that pertain to everyday life, and as you listen to the music you'll notice how we are able to express a message on every track without preaching."

Wyclef Jean's latest protégés City High have been tearing up the charts with their hit single "What Would You Do." The heart touching song focuses on a young woman who decides to become a stripper in order to feed her child. Comprised of male vocalists Robby Pardlo and Ryan Toby as well as siren Claudette Ortiz, the group recently described their music saying, "Our music is something totally different.

All our songs have depth and contain provocative lyrics with messages that relate to real issues. We talk about issues that pertain to everyday life, and as you listen to the music you'll notice how we are able to express a message on every track without preaching." Ryan also discussed how he and his group members initially hooked up and how they created their new single. He said, "When I was a senior in high school, Robby was a sophomore and then when I graduated, Robby moved up to be a senior and Claudette was a freshman so we all knew each other indirectly. We were all solo artists back then. That was about three years ago. Robby met Wyclef first at a showcase and Clef wanted to work with him as a solo artist. But since I knew Robby and we used to sing together all the time and I was going back into the studio all the time and then Claudette started hanging out in the studio all the time, Clef started seeing all three of us together.

He started getting the idea because we all were singing together and doing harmonies and stuff like that so he was like, 'Yo, you sound kind of hot as a trio, maybe I want to do it as a trio type of thing.' 'What Would You Do' actually is the first song that we recorded together and we weren't even doing it as a group. It was just that we had a good idea and started recording. We were like Claudette should sing the hook, and she sang the hook and when Wyclef and them heard it, they were like, 'Yo, this is a hit.' We were like, we were just playin' around, but they were like, 'No, for real this is a hit.' They was flippin' and they were like naw, 'This got to be a group.' We was like cool. By a couple of weeks later, it was official, we was a group."