Rodriguez was born as James Mui on February 2, 1954 in the Little Italy/Chinatown area of Manhattan, New York City, to a Chinese father, Chueng Mui (Chinese: 梅莊, Méi Zhuāng), who obtained U.S. citizenship by joining the Merchant Marines during World War II, and a third-generation Puerto Rican mother, Gloria Figueroa Rodríguez.

In his late teens, he joined Orchestra Dee Jay in Brooklyn, originally as a band boy, then later as an occasional coro (chorus) singer.

Maestro de Kung-Fu contained "La Computadora", the first Latin recording using a MOOG synthesizer, played by Larry Harlow.

[6] Rodriguez's second album, Si Te Vas Mi China, was recorded in 1976 after a year's worth of daily rehearsals.

He returned to the business side of the music industry in 1991, becoming Senior Vice President and General Manager of the newly formed Hidden Faces Records.