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J Balvin
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
J Balvin is a Colombian singer and songwriter. His real name is José Álvaro Osorio Balvín and he was born on 7 May 1985 in Medellín, in a family of Spanish and Syrian descent. He grew up with rock such as Metallica and Nirvana and has a Nirvana tattoo on his knee. At sixteen he went to Oklahoma on an exchange programme and then to New York to study English and music. He lived with an aunt on Staten Island and walked dogs. Back in Medellín he began making and distributing music without a record label, together with his DJ and business partner David Rivera Mazo.
Music and breakthrough
His breakthrough came in 2014 with 6 AM, with Farruko, which reached number two on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. Ay Vamos and Ginza followed, and in 2016 the album Energia appeared, with Bobo, Safari and Sigo Extrañándote, among others. In 2017 he made the single Mi Gente with Willy William. Ay Vamos won a Latin Grammy for best urban song, and its video is one of the most watched Latin American clips ever.
Influence
His music is mainly reggaeton, but he also experimented with electronica, house, Latin trap and R&B. His first songs were imitations of reggaeton from Puerto Rico; after that he chose a calmer, more minimalist sound. He collaborated with Ozuna and Nicky Jam, among others. In 2020 he was on the Time list of the hundred most influential people in the world. Balvin brought reggaeton from Colombia into international pop and made the genre less dependent on Puerto Rico.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
Mentioned in other articles
- Latin trap Genre
In 2018 I Like It by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin reached number one in America.