'One Margarita' rapper That Chick Angel on her viral hit and knocking 'the s--- out of' Cindy Crawford
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Who woulda guessed that a TikTok preacher warning Louisiana State University students against the evils of wanton women in Mexican restaurants would lead to 2023's song of the summer?
"If you buy her one margarita, she will spread her legs!" Sister Cindy proclaimed one day to the crowd, who cheered in what we could only hope was ironic fervor. Meanwhile, Angel Laketa Moore heard a hit. One that went a little something like this:
Give me one margarita, I'ma open my legs
Give me two margaritas, I'ma give you some head
Give me three margaritas, I'ma put it in my puss
Give me four margaritas, I'ma put it in my tush
Give me five margaritas, I'ma have some fun
Give me five margaritas, I'ma put it in your bum.
Look what Sister Cindy hath wrought.
"I freestyle, especially when I'm drunk, all the time," Moore tells EW. "That's when I'm just like, "Oh, there's no rapper better than me.'"
Moore has been rapping, singing, performing, and just plain hustling for years. She earned an MFA in acting from University of California, Irvine; she had a recurring role on E.R. from 2006 to 2009; and her list of credits includes Workaholics, Black-ish, Shameless, Angie Tribeca, 9-1-1, and A Black Lady Sketch Show. But it wasn't until she put out "One Margarita" on May 31, under the name That Chick Angel, that this chick Angel took flight.
She was originally planning to debut the track's rap on her podcast, Here's the Thing, with her good friend Kevin Fredericks, a.k.a. KevOnStage.
"When we were recording the episode, I was like, 'Kev, give me a beat.' And I started freestyling," Moore recalls. "And unlike usual, this freestyle actually ended up good. I stuck the landing. Usually, I might come out the gates real strong, but then things go off track. I'm making up words that don't make any sense."
Ted Sun That Chick Angel, a.k.a. Angel Laketa Moore
The song turned out to be "fire," so she pulled it from the episode and instead posted the clip on social media, knowing someone would eventually put a beat behind it — "because that's what people do on social media."
The mother of four started making social content in 2009 when, pregnant with her first child, she was worried about not getting hired for any acting gigs. So Moore knows a thing or two about how the internet works. Sure enough, producing partners Casa Di (a.k.a. Carl Dixon) and Steve Terrell ended up setting a New Orleans bounce beat to Moore's vocals; once it started gaining traction, the duo reached out to see if she wanted to do a full song.
"Now, my initial reaction was, 'Look at these scammers trying to take advantage of me,'" Moore admits. "That's what I think half the time. It's such a shame."
But she took some time, prayed on it, and wrote a verse before even responding to the producers. After a successful Zoom call, they put "One Margarita" together in four days. Fast-forward to summer '23 and it's taken on a life of its own.
There are at least two remixes out — one with buzzy rapper Saucy Santana and the other a good old-fashioned lady emcee posse track featuring some of the hottest young gals in the game: Flo Milli, Sexyy Red, and FendiDa Rappa — with more on the way. And then there's the music video, a mastwerkpiece of boozy irreverence featuring none other than supermodel of the world Cindy Crawford recreating her iconic Pepsi ad, only to get hip-checked by a marg-swilling Moore.
We went bar-hopping with That Chick Angel on a recent Friday night in August, sampling one margarita at each locale around Manhattan's Union Square to get the answers to some of life's toughest questions — like what really happens after five margaritas?
One Margarita - Rosa Mexicano
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You've been creating content since 2009. How does it feel to have a hit with this now?
That Chick Angel: You know what? One, I consider it a blessing. Because the age that I am, it's easier for me to make good decisions. I'm not thirsty or hungry for it. And looking back on all the years I've been doing all this other stuff, I don't think I realized how much I have been preparing myself for this moment. Everything seemed arbitrary before. But it feels like it all culminated for this.
May I ask, how old are you?
I'm 43.
Work!
You didn't know! You had no idea, did you?! A proud 43-year-old woman. [Laughs]
So how did you get Saucy Santana on the remix?
The song was growing on its own and we weren't doing anything, so we knew if we partnered with the right record label, it could become something bigger. So we went with Giant Music. And when we met with them, they were like, "What do you all think about Saucy Santana on the remix?" Well, they didn't know we had already put his name on the list of people we thought would be great for it. His energy is amazing. He's super funny. And that's what the song is. It's a song with amazing energy, but it's also hysterical. When we talked to him, he was just like, "Oh, yeah, no, I love the song. It's fun. It's what the summer is." Truly, his energy was perfect for it.
Tell me your margarita preferences. What are your favorite flavors? Do you prefer them on the rocks or frozen?
I definitely am an on-the-rocks type of margarita girl, because the frozen ones you got to drink slow or you'll get a brain freeze. I do not like salt on my margaritas. I feel like salt is meant for soups, and this is not a gazpacho, this is a drink. So if I'm going to have something, it's going to be sugar. And I like interesting fruit combinations. I like pomegranate. I like guava. [Motions to her drink] This prickly pear is okay. I usually like it a little bit sweeter. I don't need it to be too tart. Or I'll do a mango. Anything that makes me feel like I'm on an island, I'm on vacation.
Ted Sun That Chick Angel
Two Margaritas - Javelina
So how did Cindy Crawford get involved in the music video?
Listen, I feel like Jesus and all of his angels had to make that happen. When we decided we were going to do this amazing video that was directed by Jake Wilson, who is just a genius, he had created a video concept that did not involve her. However, we knew we were going to try to get a tequila brand on board, and Casamigos came on board because of the relationship they had with Giant Music. And Cindy Crawford's husband [Rande Gerber] is one of the owners of Casamigos.
So Casamigos loved the song, and then they pitched it to Cindy. She thought the song was hilarious. She didn't know anything about me, so she watched a couple of my videos and thought I was funny. She asked her kids, who are in their 20s, if she should do the video, and they were like, "Yes, you should."
I tell you, she was such a good sport, willing to go with the comedic moment. Because I know a lot of her fans were like, "Who hip-checked Cindy Crawford?! That was unnecessary!" Cindy Crawford told me to hit her harder. I was like, "Ma'am?" She was like, "Angel, I got to have something to react to. Really bump into me." I wanted to be like, "You know I got about 100 pounds on you easy — easy?" Everybody was like, "Oh, was that a stunt double?" No, I knocked the s--- out of Cindy Crawford! I hip-checked the s--- out of her, but she took that thing like a champ.
How do your kids feel about the song? Because they're of an age where it's part of their lives now.
Oh, well, my oldest son, he knows that it's now popular amongst high schoolers because he's heard them play it. And they were actually at a camp this summer in Kentucky and the camp counselor somehow figured out that those were my kids. And so they asked my oldest son, who was a counselor in training, "Is your mama the margarita lady?" And he was like, "Yes." They were like, "FaceTime her. We want to meet." So I think he's understanding that, "Okay, my mom is getting more and more popular." And I don't think it weirds him out. I think he's actually happy for me.
Do you plan to go back to acting at all?
I want to do it all. I used to abide by these rules of what an actor had to look like. And I remember even when I started content-creating, I wanted to keep them very separate. I didn't want people who thought of me as an actor to see me as a content creator because I felt like it diminished my acting credit. I'm done with that. I realized that everything plays hand in hand. And Angel is a woman that can do multiple things. Angel is a woman that can create really funny, relatable content. Angel is a woman that can write raunchy raps that make you want to twerk. And Angel can also emote and create real goals for a character to achieve and work through obstacles that you believe. And I don't think any of them have to be at the mercy of the other thing. I feel like I can do all those things. Once the strike is over, absolutely, I plan on going back to acting.
Ted Sun That Chick Angel
Three Margaritas - Library of Distilled Spirits
So has life changed dramatically since the song hit?
Yes and no. Yes, I've had to learn about the music industry. I knew nothing, other than the horror stories. Other than when you hear about people not getting paid, people that don't own their masters and all this stuff. And I was like, "Oh, God, what does that even mean?" So I've been on a very steep learning curve. And a lot more people are more verbal about knowing me. Like, I knew I had a nice-size audience base, but now people are stopping me and being like, "Give me one margarita!" I'm like, "Oh, okay. Okay. I ain't got it on me, but I'll twerk for you real quick."
How are you trying to capitalize on this success?
I said to myself early on — after I finished having my panic attacks about what the hell am I doing — that any door the Lord opened for me in this process I would walk through boldly and confidently. So that's what I'm doing. I'm saying yes as I get more knowledge and trying not to be scared, because it's easy to get scared. I am not a spring chicken. This industry is for the young. I'm saying yes. They're like, "Can you...?" "Yep, I can. Let's go."
Ted Sun That Chick Angel
And do you have plans for the next stage?
Yes, I'm performing at the Atlanta Pride Festival in September, so that'll be my first big live performance of the song. Listen, we remixing this song more than there are flavors of margaritas. There's another remix coming out. We want to make sure that "One Margarita" lasts past the summer, so we're trying to reach as big an audience as possible. Because one thing about margaritas, outside of them not being for people underage: They're pretty universal.
My big question is: After five margaritas, what happens?
After five, it's your business, not mine. [Laughs] I'm laying out a potential map that you can follow, but you don't have to — you can voyage off. Because my husband is not for anything over three, so we have to come up with our own four and five. Fourth margarita might just be a repeat back to number two. You know what I'm saying? We might not make it to the actual four in the song. So I think what happens after five, if you are still alive, it's whatever your preference is. You can remix it yourself.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
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