The Lucky 13: Rapper Angeltiz, aka Angel Ortiz

The Coachella Valley is packed tight with talented musicians who have found success online. Angel Ortiz, whose rapper name is Angeltiz, currently has a song on SoundCloud, “Calling My Phone,” with more than 1 million streams; some of his other songs have been streamed tens or even hundreds of thousands of times. He features a lot of Coachella Valley locations and iconography in his many music videos—and he’s accomplished all of this at the young age of 19. For more, visit instagram.com/angeltiz.

What was the first concert you attended?

Coachella fest 2022. I’ve gone to a few shows before, but wouldn’t consider them concerts.

What was the first album you owned?

Encore by Eminem. I used to listen to a lot of genres, and still do, but Eminem is what really had me gravitating toward rap and all subgenres of it.

What bands are you listening to right now?

Collectives such as the Jackson 5, Cigarettes After Sex, A$AP Mob, Neptunes, N.E.R.D, Run-DMC, and a bit of Slipknot.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?

There’s definitely music out there that maybe I won’t religiously listen to, but I wouldn’t say I don’t get or understand it. What I do definitely understand is that music as a whole will be nothing without diversity or versatility. I open myself and my mind to all sorts of sounds, because aside from music’s variety of catalogs, every single song is inspired by the mass collective of sounds throughout every genre. It all comes from somewhere else. It works full circle, pretty much.

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?

I would love to have lived in a time when seeing the great Michael Jackson perform live was still possible. I believe with the easy access to technology in today’s day in age, there will never be as big of an anticipation to see somebody in the flesh like it used to be before. With the change of the music industry and what is considered a “star” nowadays, we won’t get another anticipated act from a super-talented artist with a career that lasts that long.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

I enjoy using instrumentals of my favorite songs and singing the songs, bar for bar, acting as if I had come up with such a hit. Sometimes it’s cool to manifest that feeling in your own way, I guess.

What’s your favorite music venue?

Sahara Tent at Coachella fest.

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?

“Thoughts you had penciled ’em in, probably should’ve wrote ’em in pen, and maybe they’ll come to life,” “Come to Life” by Kanye West.

What band or artist changed your life? How?

XXXTentacion. When I first decided to pursue music in 2017, that’s an artist I would listen to heavily, and I noticed he sampled a lot of music that had little to nothing to do with rap or hip hop. The sound was more alternative than what I was used to, and I grew attached to it. I was also heavily influenced by the positive and wise influence he set out for his supporters and the willingness to change into a better being.

You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?

I would ask Kanye West: “When you had made it out, when you overcame all those sleepless nights, when all the pain finally paid off, how did it feel? How did it feel when it was all said and done?”

What song would you like played at your funeral?

“All My Friends” by Dermot Kennedy, but only the Lost in the Soft Light Sessions version.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

17 by XXXTentacion.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

I would definitely want to say one of my songs, but I would have to humbly confess that none of the music I have out now is anything compared to what I could be creating, and currently am creating. Everything throughout the years has been trial and error, but I’m putting all my major musical influences at work in my mind for the future of my career in music, which should be right around the corner. I also need to remind myself that I’m only 19, so there’s plenty of time to be able to showcase that. So in the meantime, just listen to any Kanye; Tyler, the Creator; Capital STEEZ; Kendrick; or Frank Ocean song, because that’s the level of greatness I aspire to reach and will eventually reach.