Martin Riviera (born October 20, 1983), better known as Noztra, is a

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

. Born in

San Francisco de Macorís San Francisco de Macorís is a city in the Dominican Republic located in the northeast portion of the country, in the Cibao region. It is the capital of the Duarte Province and the sixth most populated city in the country since 2010. The name ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, his family moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

looking for work when he was seven. At the age of 16, Noztra began composing his own lyrics and music.

Biography

In June 2005, Martin Riviera better known as Noztra made history by being the first Dominican Reggaeton artist in the United States to be signed to a major record label;

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

’

Machete Music Machete Music is an urban music label owned by Universal Music Group. The label was once largely associated with reggaeton music, but in recent years, it has also signed non-reggaeton artists such as Malverde, Mala Rodriguez and Chino XL. The l ...

. This offered him the ideal platform to expand his brand and be able to open up for artists like

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (; born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee (), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor who rose to worldwide prominence in 2004 with the song "Gasolina". Dubbed the "Honorific ...

Nicky Jam Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known professionally as Nicky Jam, is an American singer. He is best known for hits such as " X", " Travesuras", " El Perdón", " Hasta el Amanecer", and " El Amante"; the latter three are from his 20 ...

Tego Calderon Tego may refer to: * Tego (toego), Bhutanese clothing *Tego film, an adhesive sheet used in the manufacture of waterproof plywood *Tego Calderón Tegui Calderón Rosario (born February 1, 1972) is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor. He b ...

Don Omar William Omar Landrón Rivera (born February 10, 1979), known professionally as Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is also known as the " King of Reggaeton" by music critics and fans alike. The ...

Wisin & Yandel Wisin & Yandel were a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo consisting of Wisin and Yandel. They started their career in 1998 and stayed together until 2023, winning several awards including a Grammy Award in 2009. They became the first and the only regga ...

Ivy Queen Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez (born March 4, 1972), known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actress. She is considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, commonly referred to as the Queen of Reggae ...

Zion & Lennox Zion & Lennox was a Puerto Rican music duo from Carolina, Puerto Rico. In 2004, Zion & Lennox released their first studio album titled '' Motivando a la Yal'' under White Lion Records. After their first album, Zion & Lennox decided to start thei ...

and

Hector El Father In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

among others. Noztra has proven to be an undeniable crowd pleaser with his powerful, jampacked, energizing sets. He performed in three Megatons (Houston, NY, LA), Vivaton 2006, Reggaeton Explocion 2 (San Francisco & LA) and at 105.9 FM La Kalle’s Block Party at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. After two successful mixtapes; Conteo Regresivo 1 & 2, Noztra released his first full-length 19-track album entitled “Ya’ Ain’t Ready.” The album was produced by Luny Tunes, Nesty, Monserrate & DJ Urba, Notty-Mekka, DJ Sonic, Myztiko and A&X. The album covered many different sound experimentations including sandungueo, bolero, hip hop and malianteo. His videos off of the album received solid airplay on television networks like MTV en Español, Mun2, HTV, Mas Musica and many others. The release of his album did not stop Noztra from advancing his career. He also appeared on a slew of compilation albums including Sangre Nueva, El Draft 2005 and Da Fuxion: Mas Que Perreo to name a few. After all of Noztra’s accomplishments, he decided to take a hiatus from the music and become a successful businessman as well as a family man. Now Noztra is ready to return to the spotlight in more than the genre he paved the way for. The first release from his new body of work “La Funda” is already on heavy rotation in the Dominican Republic and is making its way to his hometown of New York City. Fast forward to now, Noztra returns much wiser, with a new focus. His music now has a sexy and grown undertone to it. Being able to do both street records as well as pop records is a natural thing for a natural artist. Noztra is currently working on his new album “Dinero, Poder y Respeto”. Wait and see what Noztra has in store soon!!

History

In 2002 he conducted one of the first reggaeton radio shows to air in

. Shortly after, Noztra opened shows that featured reggaeton stars. Noztra entered the scene with his single "Damelo Duro", which was distributed on

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

s and had great success on radio. His first album, ''Ya’ Aint Ready'', contains 19 tracks and a variety of sounds such as Sandungueo, Bolero, Streets/Gangsta

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and social themes. The first single off this album is "El Maquinon", and was produced by

Monserrate & DJ Urba Monserrate and DJ Urba (also known as Los Jedys) are reggaeton producers from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, respectively. They have been on the business for some years, but they really got a start when Daddy Yankee hired them to produce ...

. It peaked at number 31 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Latin Tropical Airplay The ''Billboard'' tropical charts began in 1985 when an album chart were introduced as Tropical Albums in the June 29 issue of the magazine. In October 1994, ''Billboard'' then established Tropical Airplay, which initially rank the most-played song ...

chart. "El Maquinon" (Latin Tropical Airplay chart) ''

'', October 8, 2005. Noztra was the first reggaeton artist to sign with a major label.

Discography

Albums

* '' Ya' Aint Ready'' (2005)

Mixtapes

* ''Conteo Regresivo Vol. 1'' (2005) * ''Conteo Regresivo Vol. 2'' (2006)

Compilation appearances

* '' Sangre Nueva'' (2005) * ''The Draft'' (2005) * ''The Fuxion: Mas Que Perreo'' (2005) * ''

Los Dueños del Flow LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

'' (2006)

References

External links

Interview
at CorrienteLatina.com
Bio
at CorrienteLatina.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Noztra 21st-century Dominican Republic male singers Dominican Republic rappers Dominican Republic people of Spanish descent Rappers from New York City Dominican reggaeton musicians 21st-century American rappers 1982 births Living people