A reverent devotee and dutiful practitioner of the art of reggaetón, J Balvin acts as the genre’s informal ambassador to the entire world. With his hometown of Medellín having served as one of the leading cities in pushing the sound forward, the Colombian artist made strong impressions in the scene on relatively early singles such as “Ay Vamos” and the slinky “6 AM” with Farruko. 2016’s Energía and its bubbly highlight “Ginza” kept the momentum going. A remix feature from Beyoncé herself brought the already anthemic “Mi Gente” to new heights and, coupled with his guest spot on Cardi B’s bilingual boogaloo bop “I Like It,” cemented Balvin’s status at the fore of the international música urbana movement. From there, his prominence and popularity have led to myriad collaborations with urbano stars like Bad Bunny (“QUÉ PRETENDES”) and Maluma (“Qué Pena”) as well as outside producers including DJ Snake (“Loco Contigo”) and Major Lazer (“Que Calor”).