Natti Natasha was born on 10 December 1986 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, where she started in music. When she was 8, she registered at the school of Fine Arts in Santiago, where she took classes for singing and developed her singing abilities. The artist describes this time as one of the best in her life. From a very young age she had admired artists such as Bob Marley and Jerry Rivera, and especially Lauryn Hill, whom she still names as one of her favorites. Natasha also expressed that she has followed and admired Ivy Queen since the beginning of Queen's career, with Queen responding via Twitter: "Thanks for the respect, admiration. That's having class and more than anything intelligence".