There’s more to J Balvin than just being a global ambassador for reggaetón. In an interview with Apple Music in 2021, he clearly stated his mission to illuminate his—and his listeners’—everyday struggles with mental health. “Talking about a lot of things that people are suffering, but they just can’t talk about it,” he said. “So, I do talk about it. I want to help them. I want them to feel like it’s OK to not be OK.” Born José Álvaro Osorio Balvín in Medellín, Colombia, in 1985, Balvin grew up listening to rock music before falling in love with Daddy Yankee and reggaetón. He moved to the States as a teenager, first for a language exchange program in Oklahoma and then to New York City, before heading back to Colombia to start making music. And he has sustained that grassroots, home-first approach throughout his career.
Balvin’s biggest songs—from early singles like “6 AM” and “Ay Vamos” to 2017’s massive “Mi Gente” and 2019’s ROSALÍA collaboration “Con Altura”—are crossover Latin tracks, but not because they’re trying to cross over. Along with peers like Bad Bunny, he represents a generation of Latino artists having global impact without needing to cater to mainstream pop audiences. Even when he has teamed up with the likes of Cardi B, Skrillex, Major Lazer, and Beyoncé herself, Balvin has prioritized Spanish delivery over English. And on 2024’s Rayo, you can hear him bringing us into his own distinctive world of sound and emotion rather than making any concessions to grow his following. That approach has helped reveal a changing understanding of who his audience actually is. In other words, he and his peers didn’t break into the conversation; they brought the conversation to them. And they’re having it in Spanish.
