He censors sexist violence in his songs. Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Ivy Queen turns 50 this Friday, proving that she is “the diva and queen” of the urban genre for censoring sexist violence in her songs and for her continued defense of this musical movement.
Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez, the performer’s first name, was born in Añasco, a municipality on the northwest coast of Puerto Rico, far from where reggaeton evolved in the early nineties on the island: the metropolitan area.
“When he left Añasco, he went to look for luck,” DJ Negro, one of the pillars of reggaeton and one of the first music producers who gave Ivy Queen the opportunity to demonstrate her talent on a record at the age of 24, recalled to Efe.
Although the musical genre was dominated by men – which it still is – Ivy Queen did everything possible to get one of the producers of that time to hear her sing and include her on an album.
The Discovery of Ivy Queen
Ivy Queen was going to meet DJ Negro at the opening of a barbershop, but since the activity was extended in time and she couldn’t show him her musical skills, she finally went to his recording studio another day.
“That’s where I gave him the opportunity to show me his talent,” said DJ Negro, who highlighted that the eighth song that Ivy Queen performed was the one he liked.
That song was titled “Many want to knock me down,” and among its lines were messages against sexist violence such as: “Those who swear love eternally end up giving their wife death.”
The song was included in “The Noise 5” (1995), DJ Negro’s fifth album compilation, and in which the duo of Baby Rasta and Gringo also participated.
Talent and committed lyrics
“There were women who sang, but their style stood out with all the ‘corillo’ of The Noise and that surprised Negro,” Gringo told Efe.
“It was crazy to have her, because the other ‘corillos’ had to push (make an effort),” he added about the singer, whose albums include “Diva” (2003), “Sentimiento” (2007) and the most recent, “Llegó la Queen» (2019).
In addition to expressing her concern and frustration about sexist violence, Ivy Queen criticized in another song the contempt that society had for reggaeton artists with her song “We are rappers, but not criminals.”
Baby Rasta, meanwhile, highlighted to Efe the “innate talent” of Ivy Queen and her strength to achieve “respect” among the group of men dedicated to reggaeton.
It was respected
“Apart from my career as a singer, I see who has talent and who doesn’t… From that first time, I knew that it was going to take on the world in a difficult time for having a sexist audience,” said Baby Rasta about his colleague.
«She came with the cannons ready. She looked like she was going to be a diva, a respected woman. She is just like Daddy Yankee, who will always be on a pedestal apart from everyone, because they followed their careers from the beginning, trying hard and consistent despite all the frustrations they experienced,” she reflected.
With eight albums under her arms, Ivy Queen was the only female voice of twelve performers in the introduction of the album “12 disciples”, in which with the phrase “get off yourself, the horse, the bitch, the diva, the filly has arrived” underlined his reign in the world of reggaeton.
