"[3] At age seventeen, she performed onstage for the first time, and adopted the stage name La Mala.

In 2001 Her song "Tengo lo que tu quieres" was part of the BSO of the Spanish movie Sex and Lucia.

The song gained notability when its controversial music video was banned from Spanish TV because of its depiction of a young female drug dealer.

[6] In 2008, Rodriguez was invited to join Julieta Venegas for her MTV Unplugged performance singing the song "Eres para mí".

[7] She performed with Maroon 5, Björk and LMFAO at the Festival Imperial[8] in the Autódromo La Guácima racetrack in Alajuela, Costa Rica in March 2012.

[10] In 2015, Mala Rodriguez was one of the many artists featured on President Barack Obama’s Summer Spotify playlist.

[11] NPR named one of her earlier singles "Yo Marco El Minuto" as one of the 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women.