Major Lazer Teases Major New Project With J Balvin Coming This Year
Major Lazer is without a doubt one of the most recognizable dance music act in the world. The group’s Latin-inspired rhythms and forward thinking, out of the box productions have helped them ascend to iconic status. J Balvin took over the entire world in 2018, becoming the most streamed artist on Spotify towards the latter half of the year.
Just this week, Major Lazer and J Balvin announced that they have been working together and have something very special planned for 2019. We can expect at least a collaboration coming from this gang of legends in early 2019, but could this be something more? With the popularity of J Balvin and similarities in style, we don’t think it is too farfetched to imagine an EP or more coming from this collaboration.
Especially since Diplo starts side projects like they are hotcakes. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
The Collaboration Turned Into ‘Que Calor’
The tease paid off in a big way. Major Lazer, J Balvin, and Dominican star El Alfa linked up for “Que Calor,” a summer-ready reggaeton and dancehall hybrid that arrived in September 2019, complete with a colorful, high-energy music video shot in the Dominican Republic. It became exactly the kind of crossover hit this teaser promised, blending Major Lazer’s genre-hopping production instincts with two of Latin music’s biggest names at the height of their commercial power.
Riding The Wave Of Latin Dance Music’s Global Rise
This collaboration landed right as reggaeton and Latin pop were experiencing an unprecedented global surge, with J Balvin becoming one of the most streamed artists in the world during that stretch. Major Lazer had already spent years building bridges between dancehall, moombahton, and Latin American sounds, so teaming up with Balvin felt less like a stretch and more like the natural next step for a group that had been chasing genre fusion since day one.
Diplo’s Track Record With Side Projects
The joke about Diplo starting side projects like hotcakes proved pretty accurate in hindsight too, between Major Lazer, LSD, Silk City, and his own solo output, Diplo has consistently juggled multiple simultaneous creative lanes throughout his career. That willingness to constantly chase new collaborations rather than sticking to one sound is exactly what made a partnership as ambitious as this one with J Balvin feel entirely plausible the moment it was teased.
