Ivy Queen - Early Years

Early Years

Ivy Queen was born in Añasco, Puerto Rico. When she was young, Ivy Queen's parents moved to New York City where she was raised. Her parents returned to their hometown of Añasco when Ivy was in her teens. There she spent her time perfecting her craft while hanging out with barber/rapper chu chu tren. When she was 18, Ivy Queen moved to San Juan where she met rapper and producer, DJ Negro. In 1995, she joined the all-male Puerto Rican group called The Noise, composed of artists, DJs, and club coordinators with the invitation of DJ Negro. The Noise would perform at a club catering to the emerging reggaeton scene, where DJ Negro began producing a series of CDs centered around The Noise, and Martha -- as Ivy Queen -- made her first appearance on the fifth installment of the CD series with a track called "Somos Raperos Pero No Delincuentes." This song responded to the criminalization of reggaetón, at the time known as underground by the Puerto Rican press, middle class, and members of the older generation from Puerto Rico. She became tired of the violent and sexual themes often used in reggaeton, and wished to write about a variety of subjects.