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María Rodríguez Garrido, known as Mala Rodríguez, is a Spanish Latin hip hop artist based in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. She appeared as a judge on Spain's '' La Voz'' prior to releasing her first album in seven years, ''Mala'', in May 2020. Rodríguez released her memoir, ''Cómo ser Mala'', in June 2021. Rodríguez is also the first female artist to win both Best Urban Album and Best Urban Song at the Latin Grammy Awards, as well as the first urban artist to win Spain's National Music Award.


Early life

Maria Rodríguez was born in
Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway bet ...
,
Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
on February 13, 1979. She grew up in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
and became involved with the city's thriving hip-hop scene as a teenager. The daughter of a hairdresser in an Andalusian family, she describes herself as being from a working-class family, saying, "My mother and I are both young, and all I know is that my family experienced hunger back then, and that sticks with you. I didn't grow up with luxury, but I never missed a meal either." At age seventeen, she performed onstage for the first time, and adopted the stage name La Mala.


Musical career

She rose to prominence in the late 1990s alongside fellow Sevillian hip hop acts such as La Gota Que Colma, SFDK, and
La Alta Escuela La Alta Escuela was one of the pioneering formations of the rap in Sevilla, Spain. Formed by Tote King (mc), Juaninacka (mc) together with Juanma (MC) (mc), Dj Randy (dj) and El Tralla (mc) (the one who left the group before extracting his only ...
. After she adopted the stage name La Mala, she appeared on La Gota Que Colma's album ''Mordiendo el Micro'' on the songs "No Hay Rebaja", and "Dando Guerra". She also appeared on SFDK's ''Siempre Fuertes'' and La Alta Escuela's ''En Pie de Vuelo'' on the song "Espectáculo en la Gancha". She made her solo debut with A Jierro/Toma la Traca, a maxi-single released by
Zona Bruta Zona Bruta (Spanish for “Uncouth Zone”) is a Spanish hip hop record label in Madrid founded in 1996. It was one of the first Spanish hip hop specialised labels, and the most important. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, ...
in 1999. The song was originally planned for release by Zeroporsiento, a Sevillian label for which she had recorded the tracks. In 2000, she signed to Universal Music Spain, and released her full-length debut album, ''Lujo Ibérico''. In 2001 Her song "Tengo lo que tu quieres" was part of the BSO of the Spanish movie Sex and Lucia. Her second album, ''Alevosía'', featured the single, "La Niña". The song gained notability when its controversial music video was banned from Spanish TV because of its depiction of a young female drug dealer. On the soundtrack of the film ''
Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...
'' her single "Volveré", from the ''Malamarismo'' album, was featured. In 2008, Rodriguez was invited to join
Julieta Venegas Julieta Venegas Percevault (; born November 24, 1970) is an American-born Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer who sings pop-rock-indie in Spanish. She went on to join several bands including Mexican ska band Tijuana No!. Ve ...
for her MTV Unplugged performance singing the song " Eres para mí". She performed with Maroon 5, Björk and LMFAO at the Festival Imperial in the Autódromo La Guácima racetrack in Alajuela, Costa Rica in March 2012. In April 2013 she revealed on her Facebook page that her album, ''Bruja'', would be released on June 18. On September 12, 2013, she went back to Costa Rica. In 2015, Mala Rodriguez was one of the many artists featured on President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
’s Summer Spotify playlist. NPR named one of her earlier singles "Yo Marco El Minuto" as one of the 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women. After a four-year hiatus, Mala released the single "Gitanas" on July 6, 2018. ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' called her vocals "bold and unflinching, when she boldly asks 'Quién me protege?' ("Who protects me?") you can almost feel the ground quake beneath her feet. Mala already knows the answer to her question. Without missing a beat, she cries out, "Yo!" ("Me!"), daring anyone to doubt her." In 2019 Rodriguez became the first urban artist to win Spain's National Music Award and was a judge on Spain's ''La Voz'' (''The Voice'') leading up to her first album in seven years, ''Mala'', released in May 2020. Rodriguez released her memoir ''Cómo ser Mala'' in June 2021.


Discography


Albums


EPs


Singles


Featured in


Collaborations

* La Gota que Colma "''Mordiendo el micro''" (1998) * SFDK "''Siempre fuertes''" (1999) * El Imperio "''Monopolio''" (1999) * La Alta Escuela "''Espectaculo en la cancha''" (1999) * Jota Mayúscula "''Hombre negro soltero busca...''" (2000) * Ygryega "''XXL''" (2000) * Poison "''El Poeta de Mi Barrio''" (2001) * Dnoe "''Que Piensan Las Mujeres 1: Personal''" (2002) * La Super K "''Agüita''" (2002) * VV.AA. "''Laboratorio Hip Hop CD1''" (2003) * VV.AA. "''Flow Latino (Habana – Madrid)''" (2003) * Jota Mayúscula "''Una vida Xtra''" (2004) * R de Rumba "''Fabricante''" (2004) * Full Nelson "''Confía en mí''" (2005) * VV.AA. "''Bien Sobre Mal Vol.3''" (2005) * Akon "''Locked Up (reedición)''" (2005) *
Vico C Luis Armando Lozada Cruz (born September 8, 1971), known by his stage name Vico C, is an American rapper and record producer. Regarded as the founding father of reggaeton, Vico C has played an influential role in the development of Latin America ...
"''Vamonos Po' Encima''" (2005) * Upsurt "''Втората цедка''" (2006) * Kultama "''Nacional e importación''" (2006) *
Antonio Carmona Antonio Carmona Amaya (born 21 May 1965) is a Spanish gypsy singer of flamenco. He also has French nationality. From the early 1980s, he was a member of the Spanish flamenco-fusion group Ketama.Calle 13 "''Mala suerte con el 13''" (2007) *
Bajofondo Bajofondo is a Río de la Plata-based music band consisting of eight musicians from Argentina and Uruguay, which aims to create a more contemporary version of tango and other musical styles of the Río de la Plata region. It was founded in the ...
"''El Anden''" (2007) *
Julieta Venegas Julieta Venegas Percevault (; born November 24, 1970) is an American-born Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer who sings pop-rock-indie in Spanish. She went on to join several bands including Mexican ska band Tijuana No!. Ve ...
"''Tiempo Pa`Pensa''" Malamarismo (2007) *
Vicentico Gabriel Julio Fernández Capello (born July 24, 1964 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a musician and composer better known by his stage name Vicentico. Co-founder and vocalist of the band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Los Fabulosos Cadillacs is an Arg ...
y
Kumbia All Starz Los Kumbia All Starz are an American musical group from Corpus Christi, Texas, created by A.B. Quintanilla. Kumbia All Starz are not to be confused with Los Kumbia Kings although some members are originally from Los Kumbia Kings. Their 2006 debut ...
''"Vuelve"'' (2008) * Jota Mayúscula "''Juega con el monstruo''" * Jota Mayúscula "''Como un títere''" * Mentenguerra "''Por La Noche''" *
Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired de ...
and
Julieta Venegas Julieta Venegas Percevault (; born November 24, 1970) is an American-born Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer who sings pop-rock-indie in Spanish. She went on to join several bands including Mexican ska band Tijuana No!. Ve ...
"''
Bajo Otra Luz "Bajo Otra Luz" (English: "Under Another Light") is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado featuring guest vocals from Mexican-American singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas and Spanish singer-rapper La Mala Rodríguez. It was ...
''" (2009) * Diego Torres "''Mirar Atrás''" (2010) * Sebastian Yepes "''De Lo Oscuro a Lo Puro''" (2011) * Romeo Santos "''Magia Negra''" (2011) * Kinky "''Negro Día''" (2011) * SOJA "''Like It Used To''" (2014) * El Guincho "''Comix''" (2016) *
Ibeyi Ibeyi is a French musical duo consisting of twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. The duo sings in English, French, Spanish and Yoruba, In Yoruba, Ibeyi (''Ìbejì'') means "twins". Their music has elements of Yoruba, French and Af ...
"''Me Voy''" (2017) * Beatriz Luengo "''Caprichosa''" (2018) *
Juan Magán Juan Manuel Magán González (born 30 September 1978) is a Spanish producer, singer, remixer and DJ of electronic dance music, recognized internationally for his contributions to the "Electro Latino" category of music. As a remixer, he has worke ...
"''Usted'' " (2018) * Stylo G "''Contigo'' " (2018) * Dellafuente "''Tenamoras'' " (2019) * Denise Rosethal "''Agua Segura'' " (2019)


Notes


External links

*
BrownPride.com

RockEnEspanol.com

DiarioLasAmericas.com
Article in Spanish posted July 13, 2007, in Miami's Diario Las Americas daily newspaper
Mala Rodriguez Concludes Her Appearance at the LAMC with Great Success
Mala Rodriguez article posted in Chicago's Extra News, July 13, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Maria 1979 births Living people People from Jerez de la Frontera Hip hop singers Feminist musicians Spanish women rappers Spanish women singers Latin Grammy Award winners Singers from Andalusia Spanish songwriters Latin music songwriters Women in Latin music Women in hip hop music Universal Music Latin Entertainment artists