Natalie Ann Yepez, better known by her stage name Maluca, grew up in

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the uppermost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest natural point on Manhattan by Continental Army troops to defen ...

. Raised on a steady diet of

bachata Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a genre of Latin American music **Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music * Bachata (dance), a dance style from the Dominican Republic * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "Bachata ...

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...

, merengue, and

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music *Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particular ...

, as well as hip-hop and other club music, Maluca's music has been described as "experimental tropical punk, ghetto tech, and hip-house". Although a bad case of stage fright kept her out of the spotlight for much of her life, a chance meeting with

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

while performing karaoke eventually led to "El Tigeraso", Maluca's first single. The years 2009 and 2010 saw her touring, performing, and releasing what she calls "tropical punk" tracks. Since the release of her single in 2009, Maluca has recorded tracks that range from merengue mashups to kuduro to old-school deep house and focused on her stage show, which includes two dancers named the Cookies. China Food is her latest release as she prepares for a second visit to

South by South West South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

. The name ''Maluca'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

is a derivative of ''Mala'' which means bad or mean girl. In

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

''Maluca'' means a crazy or mischievous girl.

Discography

EPs

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/maluca-mala-la-crazy-bad/?ref=t-magazine

External links

malucamala.com
Official site
Maluca on Soundcloud
1983 births Living people American electronic musicians American women pop singers American dance musicians American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Spanish-language singers of the United States 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers {{US-singer-stub