Table of Biography
Angie Martinez is an American radio personality, actress, and rapper. Angie Martinez was well known by the nickname “The Voice of New York” during her two-decade tenure at New York City station HOT 97 (WQHT).
Early Life and Childhood
Angie Martinez was born on January 9, 1971, as Angela Martinez in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Currently, she is 53 years old.
Angie Martinez is the daughter of a Cuban and Dominican mother named Shirley Maldonado and her father, a Puerto Rican. According to her birth, her zodiac sign is Capricorn.
There are no details about her siblings available. Moreover, she attended John Dewey High School. This radio personality has grown up in the radio world alongside her mother. Her mother is a program director at a smooth jazz station.
Career
The rapper was given the nickname “The Voice of New York” during her two-decade tenure at New York City station HOT 97 (WQHT). Later, in 2014, she left that position to join crosstown competitor Power 105.1 (WWPR).
In 2018, she won the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Marconi Radio Award for “Major Market Personality of the Year” and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in the year 2020.
Moreover, she got her first break in FM broadcasting at the age of 16 answering hot lines at the urban radio station WQHT (“Hot 97”). Quickly, she picked up on the craft of running a successful radio program.
Also, she hosted the Afternoon Drive weekdays, alongside HOT 97’s DJ Enuff. On June 18, 2014, she left her job at Hot 97. Being an actress, she received small roles in independent hip-hop films such as Paper Soldiers and Blood Is Thicker Than Water.
Then, she appeared in Brown Sugar starring Queen Latifah, Taye Diggs, and Sanaa Lathan. This beautiful actress appeared in Video Girl in 2011, Generation Um… in 2012, and the docu-comedy TV series This Is Hot 97 in 2014.
In the year 1996, she gave rapping a shot on his friend KRS-One’s track named “Heartbeat” from his 1997 album I Got Next.
However, the song gained a strong fan following and her friend Lil’ Kim, offered her a spot on the “Ladies Night Remix” of her song titled “Not Tonight” for the Nothing to Lose soundtrack.
Caption: Angie Martinez in her studio. Source: Instagram
More about her career
Along with Missy Elliott, Da Brat, and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, the ladies enjoyed one of the most successful singles of 1997. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 6 and reached number 3 on the Hip-Hop / R&B charts. Fortunately, the single sold over 1,000,000 copies and was certified Platinum.
Angie recorded songs with Beenie Man titled “Tell Me Remix”, Mary J. Blige’s “Christmas in the City”, Cuban Link’s “Freak Out”, N.O.R.E.’s “Oh No Remix”, and Funkmaster Flex & Big Kap’s compilation album The Tunnel’s “Wow”. Later, she appeared in the music video for R. Kelly and Jay-Z’s “Guilty Until Proven Innocent” in the year 2001.
On April 17, 2001, this rapper released her delayed debut album, Up Close and Personal. The 1st single titled “Dem Thangzzz” was introduced by The Neptunes, and also featured background vocals by Q-Tip and Pharrell Williams. The 2nd single titled “Coast 2 Coast” (Suavamente) featuring rapper named Wyclef Jean re-sparked interest in the album.
More…
Following her first album’s release, she started work on a second record, 2002’s Animal House. However, she recorded a verse for the remix to her artist Sacario’s record “Live Big”. It became the number one record in the tri-state area and coincidentally coincided with the release of her first single from her second album, “If I Could Go”.
The album, Animal House was released on August 21, 2002, and entered the Billboard Hot 200 Albums Chart at No. 11. Moreover, she was featured on a remix for labelmate Lil’ Mo’s track “Gangster”, and Nina Sky’s hype single “Time to Go”.
The radio personality has since earned an honorary degree from Rutgers University, a Marconi Award for Major Market Personality of the Year in 2018, and a Best Rap Performance Grammy nomination artist for her single, Not Tonight. Later, she announced her retirement from the recording industry to concentrate on her other projects.
Brand Endorsements
Martinez has endorsed various products from different brands. However, she has not publicly announced her brand endorsements. But, she has mentioned some brands like Champion hoodies, KrakenRums, Gucci, etc. on her Instagram account.
Personal Life
Angie was engaged to her partner in February 2016. However, the name of her partner is still behind the curtains. Talking about her past affairs, she was dating rapper Q-tip back in 1998.
They ended their relationships and remained good friends. She also dated a rapper named Tamir Ruffin. She got pregnant with his child and welcomed her son Niko Ruffin on 12th June 2003.
Caption: Angie with her son. Source: Instagram
Angie Martinez – Body Measurements
Talking about her physique, Angie Martinez has a healthy body with a weight of around 59 kilograms. She stands 4 feet 11 inches tall.
However, she has frequent variations in her body sizes so present body measurement is not available. This rapper has dark brown eyes and hair. Moreover, she usually dyes her hair blonde.
Social Media
Angie Martinez has around 972k followers on her Instagram account and 903k followers on her Facebook. Similarly, she has garnered about 1 million followers on her verified Twitter account. This personality uses her self-titled YouTube channel which has around 70.7k subscribers.
Caption: Angie Martinez posing for the photo. Source: Instagram
Angie Martinez – Net Worth 2024
The rapper has a total salary of around 3-4 Million USD. According to various sources, it is estimated that her total net worth is approximately 1 Billion USD. However, her source of income is all from her career as a successful radio personality, actress, and rapper.