Ivy Queen on difficult road to reggaeton success, advice to women: 'Be your own priority'

Ivy Queen is reggaeton royalty and should be treated as such.

The Puerto Rican rapper and songwriter, often referred to as the "Queen of Reggaeton," began her career in the '90s as a member of the then all-male collective The Noise in San Juan, Puerto Rico. For nearly three decades, she's shattered glass ceiling after glass ceiling to cement her place as a pioneer of an otherwise male-dominated genre.

Ivy Queen has fought for recognition and empowered generations of women through her music. Now, at 51, she's entered a blossoming stage of her life, as she calls it, where she can sit back and smell the flowers.

"God has heard every single one of my prayers," Ivy Queen tells USA TODAY in an interview conducted in Spanish and English. "All the recognition serves me as motivation and it's a fuel. It moves me. It's a blessing to be alive and continue to keep doing what I do, and representing the ladies."

Asked if she would go back and do anything in her reign differently, Ivy Queen says: "Not at all. I would go through hell and come back to heaven."

Ivy Queen is Billboard Latin Music Awards' Icon

Throughout her career, Ivy Queen has made an impact with her unique and rebellious point of view. Her lyrics touch on themes of love and heartbreak as well as female empowerment and sexual agency.

Since going solo in 1997 with the release of her debut studio album, "En Mi Imperio" or "In My Empire" in English, Ivy Queen has released nine more studio albums, boasts 20 entries on Billboard's Latin Rhythm Airplay, the third-most among Latin female artists (behind Dominican singer Natti Natasha with 25, and Colombian star Karol G with 24). On Thursday, she will be honored at the Billboard Latin Music Awards with the Icon Award for her trailblazing contributions.

It's just one of many honors in recent years for Queen. "In the life of every woman, there's a point when you blossom and when you flourish," she says, adding there's no specific timeline for when it comes. "Only God and the universe know when to do things."

Born Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez, Ivy Queen says she's "grown" now. With experience, she's gained wisdom and with that, introspection too. "This is how I feel, I'm in this stage of flourishing and appreciating the process more than when I was 16 years old."

Reflections on a male-dominated music industry, reggaeton genre

Ivy Queen opened the doors that today's women in reggaeton − including Natti Natasha, Karol G, Brazilian singer Anitta and Puerto Rican rapper Villano Antillano, who identifies as a trans femme nonbinary person − are walking through.

"There's definitely more of a female presence in the industry," she says, "but men keep dominating and controlling the landscape."

The genre, which has traditionally been spearheaded by men like Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón and Don Omar in the aughts, to modern-day stars Bad Bunny, J Balvín and Ozuna, is now seeing women carve their own paths. They're establishing a collective presence and defying gender roles with major success.

Ivy Queen knows a thing or two about defying the odds.

"I had to learn on my own with blows and force in an industry where I would have loved to have someone walk me through the motions," she says. "So through what I'm doing and how I'm expressing myself, I hope with all my heart to at least transmit a little bit of confidence to other women."

She adds, "We should feel free to say and do what we want, just like men are free to do the same … A woman thinks with her heart and a man thinks with dominance. If he wants to be the best, he's going to do what it takes. No matter what and no matter who he hurts."

This is why for Ivy Queen, "women need to help one another because if you shine, I shine."

It's time:How women like Karol G, Natti Natasha, Becky G and Anitta are transforming reggaeton

Inspiring generations of women through feminist anthem 'Queiro Bailar'

After nearly a decade into her career, Ivy Queen entered the Billboard charts for the first time in 2003 with "Quiero Bailar (I Want to Dance)." The song would go on to become gospel for generations of Latina women, teaching them that it's OK to express your sexuality freely and that doing so doesn't mean men should take it as consent.

Through "Quiero Bailar," Queen flipped the script on how women in reggaeton fulfilled the role of sexual desire. In the song, it's the woman asserting dominance and establishing boundaries while dancing reggaeton at a club and the chorus describes how intense chemistry doesn't mean "que pa' la cama voy (that to the bed I go)."

Empowering women through music has always been at the heart of Ivy Queen's ethos. "I haven't changed my essence and haven't changed the way I am since I started in this industry. Since Day One, I wanted to embrace women and protect them," she says.

She adds, "When I worked on that song, I didn't realize the impact it was going to have. 'Quiero Bailar' has traveled through time, from the mom to the daughter, from the daughter to her daughters − generations of women have been moved by this song and have continued to make it what it is."

Billboard Women in Music top moments:Bad Bunny surprises Ivy Queen, TWICE's magical performance

Ivy Queen says collaborating with Bad Bunny was a 'magical moment'

Had it not been for "Quiero Bailar," Bad Bunny's "Yo Perreo Sola ("I Twerk Alone)" would not exist.

"When I saw Benito dressed as a woman for the music video, I was like, 'Wow. He's literally doing his own version of 'Quiero Bailar' but in his times, through his lens and his lived experience' because at the end of the day, he's still a man," Ivy Queen says.

Bad Bunny told Rolling Stone the song was "dedicated to those who desire to dance alone, and safely, at the club," adding he wrote it from the perspective of a woman. Months after the song was released, the Puerto Rican superstar enlisted Ivy Queen to work with him on the remix.

"It was such a beautiful, magical moment in my story," she says of the collaboration. "It's great to be able to live through that, and the respect and care from Benito hit different."

When she was honored at the Billboard Women in Music event in March, Bad Bunny presented her with the Icon Award. In his speech, he said he has a "little piece" of Queen in his musical DNA. "It's what has given me strength, what has made me work double to prove people wrong, and made me feel proud of who I am like Ivy has always done," Bad Bunny said.

"When you influence women, it hits different because that's your path, you hear that all the time … but when you hear a man say that you influenced him in his career, this is huge," Ivy Queen says.

More:How Bad Bunny's gender fluidity is shaking up a genre, empowering the Latino LGBTQ community

How fashion, music have served as a form of self-expression

For Ivy Queen, expressing herself through fashion and art go hand in hand. When you think back to her style evolution, you think of her extravagantly manicured hands, bold hairstyles and daring clothing choices.

"There was once a time when not many saw my long nails as trendy, they were the subject of every conversation like my long braids, my baggy pants, and then my tight jumpsuits or my short dresses," she says.

It was all white noise to her though. "I don't like to have the same look for a long period of time, so I keep evolving and what I haven't liked about myself, I've fixed it," Ivy Queen says, alluding to getting plastic surgery. "Not because I felt fear or embarrassment, but because to evolve you have to change, and you shouldn't feel embarrassed about changing yourself."

As someone who "went from being a young girl to a woman in front of the world," Ivy Queen's biggest piece of advice to other women is: "Don't forget about yourself."

"Sometimes we forget about ourselves, and when we realize we need to put ourselves first, it's too late. Take care of you," Ivy Queen says. "Never forget about you. Be your own priority."

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