Natalie Yepez, known by her recording name Maluca Mala, draws people in with animated stories punctuated by exclamation marks. The native New Yorker was raised in Washington Heights and the East Village, an eclectic backdrop where the sultry sounds of bachata, merengue and cumbia rang loud in her household.
Photo by Elvin Tavarez
Musically, Yepez falls into an amalgam of rhythms coalesced with emotion. More intimately, she is playful and charming. You can find Yepez encouraging her friends to play board games at any of her gatherings. She likes to see people smile, she said, and embrace an innocence often lost in adulthood. At every corner, Yepez is curious, passionate and cares deeply. She dives in heart first, ready to stand with and for those oppressed. A human rights activist, Yepez often uses music to promote equality and support the Black and Brown transgender community.
Her music ranges in versatility – expansive and upbeat – incorporating her Dominican roots with a touch of tropical punk and layered with electronic instrumentation. Lyrically, there is a political and spiritual undertone, and sonically, it bounces and reverberates into cascading dance beats.
Her moniker, Maluca, was chosen by her uncle when she was a kid. “It means mischievous or crazy girl in Portuguese. It has a negative connotation in Spanish, but Yepez said she uses it to make a statement. “My uncle would go out to the nightclubs: ‘We are going to Copacabana tonight. Get dressed,’ he’d say. I was six years old and thought I was going to the disco.” Yepez would be fast asleep by 7 pm. “We all lived together at that time: my grandmother, mom, uncle and myself. When he came home in the morning, I remember always saying, ‘Hey, you left me.’”
The namesake took. “I noticed every Spanish female artist had two names, like La Lupe or J.Lo, so I thought I needed a second name,” she said. Yepez added the word Mala to her artist name – a playful take on being prankish.
Before Yepez took to music professionally, there were formative moments that helped shape her career in music. “I was in every talent show or dance and acting class as a kid. When I was in 6th grade, my music teacher was floored; she spoke to my mom about me scatting and how children don’t often have that skill,” she said.
Yepez belonged to New York’s underground dance scene and her stepdad, who was a vinyl collector, owned an expansive music collection. She remembers hearing Nina Simone for the first time on a record player – the crackle of vinyl playing over smooth vocals.
She recounted her first introduction to the music of Gil Scott-Heron. “An ex-boyfriend at the time got me a CD, and I sat in my parent’s TV room where the piano was – I listened to it from front to back. I cried so hard. I felt very inspired,” she said.
Yepez also emulated ESG, a pioneering sound that fused musical genres and produced cross-cultural hybrid compositions. “The moment I first heard ESG, I told myself that’s what I wanted to sound like,” she said. “They were these Puerto Rican girls from the Bronx creating Latin and electronic music. It was unheard of at the time.” Other female artists such Bjork, Erykah Badu and Siouxsie and the Banshees became part of Yepez’s musical influences.
Yepez’s stepdad worked in marketing with artists such as Tone Loc and the Jungle Brothers, including label makers Delicious Vinyl (DV). When DV moved to Los Angeles, they flew Yepez out to perform as their first solo artist. “I think it was New Year’s Eve and I remember loving the feeling of being on stage,” she said.
In her mid-twenties, Yepez was offered another opportunity that would change her trajectory. She was in a rock band, Bowery Riots, where she met producer Diplo. “He knew I made music, but I was too shy to show him my work, but he’d often come out to support all my weird stuff,” she said.
Yepez was also in a burlesque group and wanted to join an all-women goth group, Escandalo. While attending one of her shows, Diplo brought rappers Spank Rock and Amanda Blank. “I guess they were impressed because they asked me to join them on tour. I became their backup singer. I was pretty busy doing shows with them on the weekend and also had my rock band and bartending. My job at the club [warned] me that I was getting too many shifts covered, so they gave me the ultimatum, ‘you or the club,’ so I chose me,” Yepez said.
In 2009, Diplo and Yepez debuted their first work, a funky, electro Latin number “El Tigeraso” – later accompanied by a video in which Yepez showcased her provocative, signature sound.
Since then, the singer-songwriter has released numerous tracks and participated in collaborative efforts that channel a “New York sound,” as she calls it. “If New York was a genre, that’s how I would describe my music,” she said.
Some of her more recent projects include a smoothed-out reggaeton song entitled “Mala” and a house track with singer Robyn, “Love is Free.” Another, is the ’90s freestyle-inspired anthem “NYC Baby” produced by Sam Sparro and additional collaborative work with producers Nguzunguzu and Jubilee.
Yepez expressed that she still gets nervous but has come into her own as an artist. “My songwriting has gotten stronger, more confident. Unfortunately, there are not that many female producers and this industry is very male-dominated. Working with strong, male personalities, you have to learn to assert yourself and diversify your abilities. So, my skills as a producer have grown. Knowing how to arrange a record or knowing what I want or how to say ‘no’ in the studio is important,” she said.
For now, Yepez is in her studio groove. It changes, she said, and it goes through transitions. Sometimes she prefers performing on stage and other times, not so much.
Photo by Hailey DelValle
Advice for youth:
Biggest advice for the youth interested in working in the music industry is to really create your own voice whether it’s through music or art.
Get to know her:
Cross-word puzzles or video games
Video Games
Island vibes or city
Island Vibes
Sweet or savory
Both - I love sweet and savory at the same time. That’s why I love chicken and waffles.
Sultry or classic
Sultry
Favorite place to meditate
Outside
Favorite food
I love chicken, waffles, rice and beans. But I love food.
People watch or talk to strangers
People watch - I am definitely not trying to talk to everyone.
Spirit animal
A crow ! I went to the crystal shop recently and the guy was like, ooh we should find your spirit animal and it ended up being a crow. A crow is about magic and mysteriousness. The crow is a trickster and mischievous, as well.
Today’s mantra
Everything I need, I already have inside.
What don’t we know about you?
I am ambidextrous. I write with both hands but I use my right hand to do regular day-to-day stuff but left for sports – I shoot a basketball and bowl with my left.