At a young age Ivy's parents moved to New York where she was raised. When she was in her teens, her parents returned to their hometown, Añasco. Ivy went to school and graduated from high school.
When Ivy was 18, she moved to San Juan and met rapper and producer, DJ Negro. DJ Negro helped her and introduced her to a group called "Noise". With "Noise" she wrote and performed her first song "Somos Rapperos Pero No Delincuentes" (We're Rappers, Not Delincuents). Soon, DJ Negro convinced Ivy to go "solo" and in 1997, she made her debut with the recording of the album "En Mi Imperio" (In My Empire) for the Sony International Records label which sold over 100,000 copies. In the same year, Ivy traveled to Panama where she represented Puerto Rico in "The Battle of Rap". She also did some presentations in the Dominican Republic, which were all "sold out" and later that year, she participated in "The First National Festival of Rap and Reggae". There, Ivy was proclaimed the "Rap Singer of the Year". Also, in 1997, Ivy was awarded the "Artista '97" award, naming her "The Peoples Favorite Rap Singer", by Artista magazine.
In 1998, Ivy recorded her second album, for the Sony Label, titled "Original Rude Girl" which carried the following hit songs "Interlude in the Zone", "Que Sabes Tu" (What Do You Know?) and "The King and The Queen". It sold more than her first album and was highly acclaimed by her growing fan base.
Ivy's third album "Diva", was released in 2003. The songs were originally written by her and performed with the participation of various artists.
Ivy Queen's style does not include the crude language so common in that genre. Instead she focuses on her lyrics which contain positive messages for her generation. Ivy usually speaks in her songs about Puerto Rico and about the abuse that many women suffer.
La Mala
Ivy Queen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(yea) se reporta la cocorota (ra) la que muchos no soportan
Mercenario sosa...
Segun tu yo soy la mala
Segun yo esto es un drama
Y tu me llamas tu bandolera
Yo soy tu fiera
Asi es la vida nene
Tu te lo buscaste
Con todas las que jugaste
Y te llego tu parte (jugaste)
CORO
Tu querias bailarme y provocar
Yo me acerque pa darte mas y mas
En la boca yo te tube que besar
Provaste y veneno
Y quieres mas
Tu querias una vida junto ami
Cansando de rodar estas asi
Tus amigos lo dicen por ahi
No hay nadie como yo
Pa hacerte feliz
Mala hice lo mismo que tu haz hecho
Que haz provocado
Y con miles de corazones
Haz jugado
Para ti yo soy la mala segun yo esto es un drama
Bandolera guillaa de rencorosa pa mi
No hay otra cosa que seducirte
Informarte que no haz estao matando
Esto lo que hizo pa provocarnos
Y tu te lo estabas buscando
Pa jugarnos
-CORO-
Bandolera yo soy tu fiera
La que te llega la que te tiene en pena
Asi es la vida nene
Tu te lo buscaste con todas la que jusgaste
Y te llego tu parte (jugaste)
Asi es la vida pa (asi es la vida) hey
A todo cocorote (hey) divas y cocorotas pa
Asi es la vida pa
Asi es la vida pa
Asi es la vida pa
Asi es la vida pa
Pa los boricuas (queen)
Bateamos duro
Vamo a marlos pa
Ye ye bandolera
La diva, ivy queen
Soy yo yeh don don hey
La diva
In the song "La Mala" by Ivy Queen, she establishes herself as a strong presence in the music industry, starting off with an introduction of her various personas. She presents herself as the "caballota," or the powerful woman, and the "bandolera," indicating that she doesn't follow conventional rules and will do what she wants. Through the lyrics, Ivy Queen addresses the concept of being labeled as the "mala," the bad girl, but dismisses it as a mere drama. She seems to be unconcerned with societal norms and expectations, choosing to live her life the way she wants to live it.
In the chorus, Ivy Queen states that the listener wanted to dance with her and provoke her, which she obliged to. However, she warns that he may not be able to handle the consequences, which she presents as poison, but he still seeks more. She also addresses the idea of a relationship between them, with him wanting to settle down with her, but she rejects this, stating that she is not the settling down type. The bridge of the song indicates that she has done exactly what the listener has done, played with hearts, but warns him that he will regret playing with hers.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, yo, es ivy queen la caballota la diva la bandolera
Hello, it's me, Ivy Queen, the rider, the diva, the bandit. I introduce myself as the boss, but many people can't stand me.
Segun tu yo soy la mala
According to you, I am the bad one.
Segun yo esto es un drama
According to me, this is a drama.
Y tu me llamas tu bandolera
And you call me your bandit.
Yo soy tu fiera
I am your animalistic side.
La que te llega la que te tiene en pena
I am the one who comes and makes you suffer.
Asi es la vida nene
That's life, baby.
Tu te lo buscaste
You brought it upon yourself.
Con todas las que jugaste
Because of all the people you played with.
Y te llego tu parte (jugaste)
And now, you're getting what you deserve (you played).
Tu querias bailarme y provocar
You wanted to dance with me and provoke me.
Yo me acerque pa darte mas y mas
I came closer to give you more and more.
En la boca yo te tube que besar
I had to kiss you on the mouth.
Provaste y veneno
You tasted the poison.
Y quieres mas
And you want more.
Tu querias una vida junto a mi
You wanted a life with me.
Cansado de rodar, estas asi
Tired of wandering, you're like this now.
Tus amigos lo dicen por ahi
Your friends say it around.
No hay nadie como yo
There's no one like me.
Pa hacerte feliz
To make you happy.
Mala hice lo mismo que tu haz hecho
I did the same bad thing you did.
Que haz provocado
What you have caused.
Y con miles de corazones
And with thousands of hearts.
Haz jugado
You have played.
Bandolera guillaa de rencorosa pa mi
You call me spiteful, rancorous bandit.
No hay otra cosa que seducirte
There's nothing else but to seduce you.
Informarte que no haz estao matando
Let me tell you that you haven't killed me.
Esto lo que hizo pa provocarnos
This is what you did to provoke us.
Y tu te lo estabas buscando
And you were asking for it.
Pa jugarnos
To play with us.
Asi es la vida pa (asi es la vida) hey
That's life pa (that's life) hey.
A todo cocorote (hey) divas y cocorotas pa
To all the hoodlums (hey), divas and bandits pa.
Asi es la vida pa
That's life pa.
Pa los boricuas (queen)
For the Puerto Ricans (Queen).
Bateamos duro
We hit hard.
Vamo a marlos pa
Let's go to beat them pa.
Ye ye bandolera
Yeah yeah bandit.
La diva, ivy queen
The diva, Ivy Queen.
Soy yo yeh don don hey
It's me, Yeh Don Don Hey.
La diva
The diva.
Contributed by Peyton I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.