City High were an American R&B/hip hop trio consisting of Ryan Toby, Robbie Pardlo, and Claudette Ortiz. The group's sole studio album City High (2001), was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Their biggest hit, the Wyclef Jean-produced single "What Would You Do?", was an MTV staple, and earned them a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards.[1][2] Their 2001 single "Caramel" featuring rapper Eve peaked within the top twenty on the US Billboard Hot 100. City High disbanded shortly after.[3]
City High | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Willingboro Township, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop, R&B |
| Years active | 1999–2003 |
| Labels |
|
| Past members |
|
Career
editIn 2001, City High released "What Would You Do?" from their self-titled album. Their follow-up single was "Caramel", with a remix featuring rapper Eve.[4] The final single from the group's debut and only album was "City High Anthem".
Prior to the creation of City High, bandmates Claudette Ortiz and Robbie Pardlo dated throughout their high school years.[5] After meeting and performing for Wyclef Jean, they were signed to his Booga Basement recording label. As Wooga Booga already had a duo, they invited Ryan Toby and became the City High trio instead.[5] Following her breakup with Pardlo, Ortiz went on to date Toby. Ortiz and Toby married in 2004, but later divorced in 2007.[6][7]
About the disbandment, Toby said: "We did a second album, it wasn't as good as the first album, it was a little rushed. There was some turmoil in the group, the vibe and chemistry was off. We decided to walk away."[8]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [9] |
US R&B [10] |
CAN [11] |
GER [12] |
NZ [13] |
UK [14] |
UK R&B [14] | |||
| City High |
|
34 | 23 | 55 | 82 | 11 | 89 | 14 | |
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [16] |
US R&B [17] |
US Rhyth. [18] |
AUS [19] |
CAN [20] |
GER [12] |
NZ [13] |
SWI [21] |
UK [14] | |||||
| "What Would You Do?" | 2001 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 24 | 20 | 7 | 3 | City High | ||
| "Caramel" (featuring Eve) |
18 | 9 | 3 | 47 | — | 70 | — | 72 | 9 | ||||
| "City High Anthem" | 2002 | — | — | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "City High | Artist | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ Sfetcu, Nicolae (7 May 2014). The Music Sound. Nicolae Sfetcu.
- ^ Skripnikov, Ilya (26 January 2010). "City High's Robby Pardlo Faces 'Intervention' On A&E". Billboard. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ Smith, Kerry L. "City High | Music Videos, News, Photos, Tour Dates, Ringtones, and Lyrics | MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Claudette Ortiz From City High Defends Herself From Wily Temptress Accusations". Dimewars. 2 February 2010. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Ryan Toby Interview". Randb.about.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ^ "Ryan Toby Talks Solo Career, City High Debut Album, Writing Behind The Scenes (Exclusive) - YouKnowIGotSoul.com". You Know I Got Soul. 5 June 2020. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Billboard 200 – Week of June 9, 2021". Billboard. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Week of June 9, 2001". Billboard. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. 12 July 2001. Archived from the original on 10 December 2004. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Discographie von City High". GfK Entertainment (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Discography City High". charts.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ a b c "City High". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "American certifications – City High". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "City High – Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "City High – Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "City High – Chart History: Rhythmic Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Discography City High". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "City High – Chart History: Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Discographie City High". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "British certifications – City High". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 January 2024. Type City High in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.