Ebro Darden is one of the more recognized hip-hop radio hosts out there, and if his latest interview gambit pays off, may blessings fall on the man’s head. During his recent Beats 1 conversation with J Balvin, Darden may have just brainstormed The Business into thinking about a full-scale collaborative album with pal Bad Bunny.
“Would there every be a J Balvin-Bad Bunny collaboration album?” started out Darden. “Is that up for consideration? Because I know you guys hang out.” Balvin took the opportunity to wax rhapsodic about his “Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola” co-creator; “I love [Bad Bunny], man. He likes what I like and he’s about the culture, and he’s super humble.”
Balvin let it slip that the duo have six or seven unreleased songs together, and Ebro sensed a further opening, asking what this album’s name would be should it ever come into existence. Lo and behold, Balvin didn’t have to think twice — he said he’d go for Oasis, a word that is spelled the same in Spanish and English. “Those beautiful places in the middle of dry [land] that stand out,” Balvin went on. “You see it like, ‘Wow, that’s different and that’s special.’” He concluded, “I know [Bad Bunny]’s down.”
Thus emboldened, Ebro launched into some free promo advice. “So then we build this perfect oasis out in the Caribbean Ocean [sic], where all people from all the islands can come to this one concert…and then you guys incorporate reggae artists from Jamaica, artists from South America and Mexico, and it’s like this whole —”
“Like, a festival,” supplied Balvin. Further planning included preparation for cruise ships and lots of women.
In the interview, Balvin also had a few words to say about working with Beyoncé on the remix that pushed “Mi Gente” into undeniable ubiquity. “I just work with people that I love and respect,” explained Balvin. “I think it was a real beautiful cultural moment. People see me with the queen. Like, if she’s working with him, he’s for real. She’s not the type of girl who works with everybody.” Which is all true, even though Balvin must be the first person to refer to Queen B as a “girl” since — I don’t know, Girls Tyme’s loss on Star Search?
Watch the highlights below, and tune into Beats 1 on Thursday, May 24 at 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST on Beats 1 for the full conversation.