NEW YORK — The titanium sheen is a distraction. The cover of “Rayo,” Colombian singer-rapper J Balvin’s first album since 2021’s “Jose,” depicts a futuristic-looking vehicle wrapped in chrome. On closer inspection, it’s a Volkswagen Golf, a popular-the-world over, nondescript city car. But in Balvin’s universe, it’s blinged out — his characteristic smiley face logo emblazoned on the rims underneath opened scissor doors, a feature typically reserved for a luxury vehicle, like a Lamborghini.
It serves as a perfect allegory for the album: A familiar figure, made in Balvin’s image, and a direct reflection of his early hustle and future success.
A VW Golf, it turns out, was his first car. And on “Rayo,” J Balvin returns to his first love: feel-good, party-ready music.
Last year, Balvin told The Associated Press about his song “Amigos,” what he dubbed a return to “romantic reggaetón” — the music that made him a name in the first place. It was at least partially a response to his fiery single “Dientes,” a ’00s club-inspired Latino urbano track which interpolates Usher’s “Yeah!.” When that was released, he said his fans loved it, but they were expecting reggaetón — his “original sound,” as he put it. “Rayo” is the organic continuation of that idea. Across 15-tracks of life-affirming dembow and synth-y pop, stacked to the brim with collaborations, the album does not attempt innovation. Rather, it succeeds as a single, self-sustaining playlist, all high-octane club bangers for the backyard and South Beach in equal measure.
Not that there aren’t new attempts: “3 Noches,” one of the few solo songs on the album, experiments with Afrobeats. On “Gato,” Balvin enlists Catalan urbano singer Bad Gyal, whose raspy vocal tone offers a new texture.
But it is, of course, reggaetón, that drives “Rayo.” Don’t take our word for it, take his: Balvin asks you to dance with him to the stuff (the lyric “Ven y bailemos reggaetón,” in “3 Noches”), and he instructs you to put it on (“Ponle reggaetón” in “Swat.”)
Highlights are found in some of the energetic collaborations, like in the earworm “Origami” with Ryan Castro and Blessd, or “Doblexxó,” which features fellow Colombian superstar Feid.
“It’s a song that represents a lot of Medellín’s reggaetón,” Balvin told the AP recently. “We are two ‘paisas’ (countrymen), with paisa slang in this song.”
Then there are more classic moments, like “Polvo de tu Vida” and “Lobo” with Puerto Rican reggaetón legends Chencho Corleone and Zion of Zion & Lennox, respectively.
Cool downs are few and far between in this audio party, perhaps limited to the ballad “Stoker,” with regional Mexican musician Carín León – a rare risk that pays off for Balvin.
J Balvin has been known as a hitmaker across his career. That continues on “Rayo.” But what comes next?
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Associated Press Writer Berenice Bautista contributed to this report from Mexico City.
