Gerardo Ortiz was born in Pasadena, California in 1989 to Mexican parents Antonio Ortiz y Cecilia Medina, one of five children. He grew up in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico where he was exposed to music at a young age through his family and participated in the television show Codigo Fama at age 9. As an adult, Ortiz began singing professionally in bars and as an opening act for larger groups before gaining fame for his singing talent, currently living in Los Angeles at age 25 as he works on a new album.