Ivy Queen
Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez, known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. She is considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre. Dubbed the Queen of Reggaeton, she is one of the most influential reggaeton artists of all-time.
Ivy Queen began her career as a member of the otherwise all-male collective The Noise in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There, she performed her first song "Somos Raperos Pero No Delincuentes" . Ivy Queen went solo in 1996, and released her debut studio album En Mi Imperio which was quickly picked up by Sony Discos for distribution in 1997.
She later released The Original Rude Girl, her second studio album for Sony label, which spawned the hit single "In the Zone". However, Ivy Queen did not rise to fame until she moved to an independent record label to release her third studio album, Diva in 2003. Ivy Queen's albums Diva, Flashback, and Sentimiento have all been awarded Gold and Platinum record status by the Recording Industry Association of America. Her seventh studio album Drama Queen was released in 2010, and spawned a top ten single "La Vida es Así". It was followed by the Grammy Award-nominated Musa in 2012. Ivy Queen's recordings often include themes of female empowerment, socio-political issues, infidelity, and relationships.
Ivy Queen is one of the wealthiest reggaeton artists and had a net worth of $10 million in 2017. She is also the host of the Spotify original podcast Loud, where she talks about the history of reggaeton and features prominent Latin artists. The 10-episode podcast debuted August 4, 2021 on Spotify, with episodes released weekly on Wednesdays.
Early life
Ivy Queen was born in Añasco, Puerto Rico. When she was young, Queen's parents moved to New York, where she was raised. She did not finish high school, reaching eleventh grade in the United States, and studied music at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.Musical career
1995–99: The Noise, ''En Mi Imperio'' and ''The Original Rude Girl''
When she was 18, Ivy Queen moved to San Juan, where she met rapper and producer DJ Negro. In 1995, Queen joined an all-male Puerto Rican group called the Noise, at the invitation of DJ Negro. The group became part of the emerging reggaeton scene. DJ Negro began producing a series of CDs centered around the Noise. Ivy Queen made her first appearance on the fifth installment of the CD series on a track called "Somos Raperos Pero No Delincuentes". She became tired of the violent and sexual themes often used in reggaeton, and wished to write about a wider variety of subjects.DJ Negro convinced Queen to go solo, and in 1997 she recorded her first solo album, En Mi Imperiowhich featured the hit single "Como Mujer"for Sony Discos. In 1998, Queen launched her second album, The Original Rude Girlwhich featured Don Chezina, Alex D'Castro, and Domingo Quiñonesand worked with Wyclef Jean on her debut single "In the Zone". The album is bilingual and features hip hop music, a departure from the reggaeton featured on her debut album. The Original Rude Girl was commercially unsuccessful but "In The Zone" charted at number 38 on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40.
In 1999, after a lack of commercial success with her first two studio albums, Sony dropped Queen and she took a break from her musical career. In 2001 and 2002, Queen's music began appearing on reggaeton compilation albums, spawning hits like "Quiero Bailar" from The Majestic 2 and "Quiero Saber" from Kilates. With songs like "Quiero Bailar", Ivy Queen represented women "In a movement that took off commercially with aggressively lyrics and a "doggiestyle perreo dance". Ivy Queen established herself as reggaeton's no-nonsense female conscience. ". In 2003, Queen and her then-husband Gran Omar signed with independent, Miami-based label Real Music, established by Jorge Guadalupe and Anthony Pérez. They appeared on the label's first album Jams Vol. 1. Queen frequently appeared and performed on the reggaeton television show "The Roof", which featured urban music and lifestyle, and was produced by Pérez.
1999–2004: ''Diva'' and ''Real''
In 2003, Ivy Queen released Diva, her third studio album. It spawned hit singles including "Quiero Bailar". The album is considered to have been important for exposing reggaeton to a mainstream audience in 2004. After the success of the albumwhich was certified platinum by the RIAA, Ivy Queen released a platinum edition of Diva in 2004. The platinum edition was nominated for "Reggaeton Album of the Year" at the 2005 Billboard Latin Music Awards. "Quiero Bailar", the album's lead single, became the first Spanish-language track to reach number one on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart of Miami's WPOWan American radio station that does not usually play Spanish music.Queen's fourth studio album, Real, was originally planned to be her first full-length English language album after she received contract offers from several record labelsincluding Sony. Queen said that it was a good opportunity to reach other markets, and in particular the competitive market of English rap. Sony's offer to record an English-language album came after they noticed that her previous Sony albums were being heard in London, thanks to the success of Diva. The album included collaborations with artists including Fat Joe, La India, Héctor Delgado, and Getto & Gastam. American hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz produced the track "Soldados". The album was released on November 16, 2004, and spawneed the Top 10 single "Dile" which was nominated for "Tropical Airplay Track of the Year, Female".
2005–07: ''Flashback'' and ''Sentimiento''
In 2005, Ivy Queen partnered with José Guadalupeco-founder of Perfect Image Recordsto form the record label Filtro Musik. Later that year, Univision Records signed Filtro Musik to promote Ivy Queen's fifth studio album Flashback. This ensured that the album was positioned in Latin and mainstream accounts that would normally not carry Latin product. Queen's first compilation album The Best of Ivy Queen, consisting of tracks from Diva and Real, was released the same year. On October 29, 2005, she released Flashback, which contained the singles "Cuéntale", "Libertad", and "Te He Querido, Te He Llorado". At the 2006 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Flashback was nominated for "Reggaeton Album of the Year" for a second consecutive year. The following year, Ivy Queen, and Gran Omar presented the reggaeton and hip hop compilation album Cosa Nostra: Hip Hop. She later appeared on the Spanish-language recording of the Star-Spangled Banner, "Nuestro Himno". She then received the first Premio Juventud "Diva Award", which honored Queen for her musical career.In April 2007, Ivy Queen released her sixth studio album entitled Sentimiento. She began working on the album in 2006 after Cosa Nostra became a commercial failure. As a part of her evolution in reggaetón, Sentimiento includes "solo turns" instead of duets with guest artists. The solo tracks include; "Pobre Corazón" by Divino, "Manaña Al Despertar" by Baby Rasta and Norieganone of which feature Queen's vocals. She said she wanted to give a 180-degree turn to what people think of reggaetón. She said, "any think reggaetón is just nice rhythms to dance to. And they forget there are song-writers and composers, who, like everyone else, also suffer and aspire in love ... Love is what makes us write things, what keeps us alive. If we did not have love, we would have nothing". The album spawned a Top 10 hit "Que Lloren" and the moderately successful singles "En Que Fallamos" and "Sentimientos". At the Latin Grammy Awards of 2007, Calle 13 won the Best Urban Music Album award for their album Residente o Visitante
Queen's Sentimiento was nominated in the same category.
Calle 13's 2008 album "Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo" included a song entitled "Que Lloren" which criticized Queen and asked her "to cut herself with a razor". She responded stating "I'm the queen of this genre, a genre that contains male rappers such as Don Omar, Wisin & Yandel and Tego Calderón who respect me a lot for an idiot to have my name in his mouth." After Calle 13 had won various awards in the urban music category, Queen called the duo to let them know publicly how she felt about them. She was unhappy because despite the abundance of awards and nominees, only Calle 13 received awards explaining "they dedicated the night to Calle 13." The duo called Queen a hypocrite.
2008–10: ''Ivy Queen 2008 World Tour LIVE!'' and ''Drama Queen''
In 2008, Queen released the single "Dime", which was featured on her first live album Ivy Queen 2008 World Tour LIVE!. In April 2010, she was signed to Machete Music. The signing, described as a 360 deal, includes profit sharing in tours, sponsorships and merchandising. Univision Records, was acquired by Machete's parent company Universal Music Latin Entertainment in 2008. Walter Kolm, president of Universal Music Latino and Machete, said in a press release, "t's a privilege to have Ivy Queen a part of our artistic roster. Ivy is an extraordinary woman with incomparable talent, and she's number one in her genre. We're happy to be able to work with her on her new album as well as future projects". Queen said of the partnership, "I'm very proud to be a part of Machete Music. They are a young, vibrant company that has created a name for itself in Latin music in the United States and the world. They are a strong and important company that has been recognized for nurturing their artists' creative talents ... ".Drama Queen, released on July 10, 2010, was originally intended to be released after her third compilation album Cosa Nostra: Hip-Hop as a concept album on which Ivy Queen would performing duets with female singers from different genres. Sentimiento was released instead. Queen told EFE that she started writing for the album while she was heartbroken at home. Her emotions then burst out in the recording studio. She added the album contains 16 of 26 songs she wrote during this period. When Latina Magazine asked her about the drama between the release of Sentimiento and Drama Queen, Queen said:
Drama Queen sold 3,000 units in its first week and dominated urban album sales for nine consecutive weeks. It debuted and peaked at number 163 on the US Billboard 200 chart, number three on Top Latin Albums, and number 18 on Rap Albums. Drama Queen received a nomination for Best Urban Music Album at the 2011 Latin Grammy Awards, which was won by Calle 13 for Entren Los Que Quieran. Queen also received two nominations at the 2011 Latin Billboard Music Awards for Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Female and Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Female. Shakira won both awards.