If his real-world cartoon aesthetic is any indication, J Balvin has a thing for Spongebob Squarepants. While we don’t know if the Colombian reggaetonero still watches Nickelodeon reruns of the yellow sponge on Saturday mornings (although we wouldn’t be surprised,) it is clear that Balvin is fully invested in Spongebob’s trippy brand of weird — whether we’re talking rainbow leopard hair or cutesy animatronics at his concerts. Now, the 34-year-old man child is collaborating with the Los Angeles-based designer, Ian Delucca, to create a way to carry Spongebob with him everywhere he goes: grills, baby. We can already hear the seabear — I mean, hypebeast — bros scrambling to get their own set.
But you’re probably gonna need a special wish from the magic conch if you’re trying to afford these grills. Delucca’s take on the Spongebob set — which were designed in honor of the 20th anniversary of the series, along with a host of other J Balvin x Spongebob merch — are ritzy as all hell. We’re talking 14-karat gold, overlaid with a pop art design by the Chicago-based artist, Louis De Guzman.
“We developed techniques specifically for this project,” Delucca told HYPEBEAST. “This is the first time we’ve seen graphics applied directly to gold teeth, particularly in such an essentially seamless way.” J Balvin’s Spongebob grills also come ready with a toothbrush made of silver, and a custom hand-luggage case covered in J Balvin touches and kawaii Spongebob characters. Like plenty of Spongebob’s own oddball moments, it’s a strange sight that we can’t help but enjoy.
J Balvin, who has readily shared pieces of his Spongebob collaboration across social media in recent weeks (appealing to the soundcloud crowd and skater kids alike,) took to Instagram again to show off his grills a la Delucca. His new smile is just the latest “Pa la Cultura” moment he’s given us— apparently, Latinos have a second home in Bikini Bottom.