It was sunset in Southern California whenJ Balvinmade history atCoachella2019.
“It was crazy.
I’m so grateful.”
J Balvin and Sean Paul.Credit: Morgan Kranston
Music’s supposed to bring people together, and that’s what he did."
“There wouldn’t be reggaeton without dancehall.
It started in Africa and then Jamaica,” says Balvin.
And it’s also crossed over to being very pop right now."
It’s with that mindset and mutual respect that the two set out to collaborate on a track.
But it wasn’t until “Contra” that they crafted something together.
But this was the one that everyone said, ‘Yo, this is fire.
He’s gonna blaze this.’
" Balvin appropriately responded with a text comprised solely of fire emojis.
“Sean is a legend.
He was the first to take dancehall to another level,” says 34-year-old Balvin.
But even as they strive to honor their musical predecessors, Paul and Balvin embrace what makes them unique.
And Balvin has bucked the crossover trend of translating Spanish-language hits into English.
“I think the world keeps getting smarter.
What happened with Coachella was that we didn’t cross overthe people crossed over to us.
Even though most of the people didn’t understand what we were saying, they just vibed with us.
And I think that’s beautiful.”
Paul adds: “And it’s not just Spanish.
[Korean pop star] Psy took the world by storm.
I didn’t know what he was saying, but I got into it.
I was doing the horsey dance.”
Hearing this, Balvin playfully whaps him on the arm and exclaims,
" ‘Gangnam Style!’
