Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez (born March 4, 1972), known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actress.

Ivy Queen went solo in 1996, and released her debut studio album En Mi Imperio (In My Empire) which was quickly picked up by Sony Discos for distribution in 1997.

Her seventh studio album Drama Queen was released in 2010, and spawned a top ten single "La Vida es Así".

She did not finish high school, reaching eleventh grade in the mainland United States,[6] and studied music at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Ivy Queen made her first appearance on the fifth installment of the CD series on a track called "Somos Raperos Pero No Delincuentes".

In 1998, Queen launched her second album, The Original Rude Girl—which featured Don Chezina, Alex D'Castro, and Domingo Quiñones—and worked with Wyclef Jean on her debut single "In the Zone".

With songs like "Quiero Bailar", Ivy Queen represented women "In a movement that took off commercially [and dominantly was led by men] with aggressively lyrics and a "doggiestyle perreo dance".

[15] In 2003, Queen and her then-husband Gran Omar signed with independent, Miami-based label Real Music, established by Jorge Guadalupe and Anthony Pérez.

Queen frequently appeared and performed on the reggaeton television show "The Roof", which featured urban music and lifestyle, and was produced by Pérez.

[19] "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 WPOW—an American radio station that does not usually play Spanish music.

[20] 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".

[28] The solo tracks include; "Pobre Corazón" by Divino, "Manaña Al Despertar" by Baby Rasta and Noriega—none of which feature Queen's vocals.

[30] 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".

Walter Kolm, president of Universal Music Latino and Machete, said in a press release, "[i]t's a privilege to have Ivy Queen a part of our artistic roster.

[43] 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.

[46] It was announced in September 2013, that Queen had changed management and returned with Jorge "Goguito" Guadalupe, president and co-founder of Filtro Musik, to release her ninth studio album, entitled Vendetta[47] in February 2014.

[66] She worked with salsa singers La India on "Cuando Hieres A Una Mujer" and Víctoria Sanabría on "No Te Quiero".

Queen cites Celia Cruz, La Lupe, and other "classic Salsa singers" as inspirations for her style of hip-hop music.

[67] Her main influence is Selena, to whom she pays tribute on her fifth studio album Flashback with a "reggaeton-ed up twist" on "Si Una Vez".

[68] Queen told Ramiro Burr of the Houston Chronicle, "I admired Selena because she had that famous crossover success, but sadly she never got to enjoy it," she said.

[72] Queen said that to stand out in the male-dominated world of reggaeton, she would have to deliver a strong point of view from a female perspective, saying, "God blessed me with a powerful voice.

Instead of the vulgar lyrics common in reggaeton, Queen prefers to sing about defending women while touching on themes of social political matters, homosexuality, racism, love and heartbreak.

Since beginning her career, Queen has wanted to create and compose songs "that have some kind of subject matter" so that people understand the concept and message.

[110] In 2012, then-California governor Jerry Brown designated June 10 as "Ivy Queen day" in West Hollywood for her work advocating LGBT rights.

[115] Queen made her acting debut in February 2012 in the Spanish-language production of Eve Ensler's play "The Vagina Monologues" staged in Orlando, Florida.

[122] In 2019, she was referenced by Joyce Santana on the remix to "Costear" performed by Almighty and Jhay Cortez which also featured Juanka, Bryant Myers, Rauw Alejandro, Justin Quiles, Lyanno, Eladio Carrión.

In 2021, Puerto Rican rapper Kevvo mentioned Queen on "Dime Si Tu", which also featured Anonimus, Nicky Jam, Guaynaa, Arcángel and De La Ghetto.

[126] A year after their separation, Omar said that Queen had tricked him, and that she owed him money from the sales and production of the album Cosa Nostra: Hip-Hop, which they presented together because of their obligations and contract with Univision.

[129] She later said "Sentimientos" was the song that best represented her at that time, saying, " ... if you think you can only conquer me if you're famous, rich and have an expensive car, you're wrong, because I'm a woman who needs affection, someone to open the door for me, to bring me flowers and sing to me.

[130] She said that although she quit high school after fourth year (eleventh grade), she graduated from the academy "Street" with a Bachelor of Life and honors.