You may recognize Feid’s name from years ago. J Balvin shouted out Feid’s name on his 2015 breakthrough single “Ginza.” The Colombian superstar was giving props to his compatriot who helped write the song. Fast forward five years later and now Balvin is part of an all-star remix that Feid assembled for his rising hit “Porfa.” The biggest names in reggaetón like Balvin, Maluma, Nicky Jam, and Sech join Feid and Justin Quiles on the momentous remix.
Feid, born Salomón Villada Hoyos, received a career jumpstart once “Ginza” took off. While developing himself as an artist, he continued to write for other acts like Maluma, Nicky Jam, Latin pop group CNCO, Brazilian superstar Anitta, and Argentine pop princess Lali. Feid made his mark as an artist when his second album 19 was nominated for Best Urban Music Album at last year’s Latin Grammy Awards.
Feid’s third album FERXXO VOL 1: M.O.R. arrived in April. With FERXXO VOL 1: M.O.R., he proved himself as more than just a reggaetón artist, pushing the genre to new places with influences of R&B and traditional reggae in the mix. It’s hard to define the diverse album, but reggaetón sentimental could be a way to put it. Feid is most in his feelings on “Porfa” with Quiles, the album’s biggest hit. With just those two artists, the song peaked at No. 51 on Spotify’s Top 200 chart with over 120 million streams.
To build off that momentum, Feid released a remix to “Porfa.” As of press time, the star-studded music video has crossed over 16 million views on YouTube in less than a week. Feid talked with Remezcla about going from songwriter to artist, how he made the “Porfa” remix happen, and his upcoming mixtape.
How did your life change after “Ginza?”
Wow! My life changed a lot. At that time, I didn’t know anything about the music industry or royalties or anything. We were just making music in home studios. Then to have a hit record with that song and J Balvin going super global with it…That was one of my first co-writes with Sky [Rompiendo]. It put me on the map in the music industry. A lot of people started following my work.
What’s the difference between writing music for another artist and for yourself?
It’s super different because when I’m writing for me, I’m writing whatever I want. I’m using the words that I want. When I used to write for other artists, there was control in writing those songs. It was cool writing songs for other artists, but right now I’m having so much fun writing for myself.
What was your inspiration for the song “Porfa?”
We wanted to do a song with that feeling that we have in Medellín, my city. “Porfa” is a common word used in Colombia. Nobody used that expression in music. We wanted to use that in a song. Sky had a lot of ideas about the chorus and hook of the song. We threw around melodies. It was like painting. I would paint something here and he would add something there.
How did the “Porfa” remix come together?
The original song went viral. I was thinking, if we’re going to do a remix, it’s going to have to be something big–like a super remix. I wanted the biggest artists in the industry, but people who are close to me. Nicky Jam is very close to me. I knew him from Medellín many years back. J Balvin too. Maluma too. Sech too. It was hard to get them all together on one song, but it was a cool experience. It was like two or three weeks without sleep. I was putting everything together, talking with them to record, making sure every lyric was on-point, and producing the song again with Sky.
You’re worked with all these guys before on their projects. How did it feel to now get them all on one of your songs?
It was so cool. I helped them when they needed it, and now they were giving back the time that I spent with them.
What was the experience like filming the music video?
It was super chill because everyone on set, we were all friends. There’s a lot of pictures of us joking around. We really had that good time.
What can you tell us about the mixtape?
The name of it is Bahía Ducati. There will be 11 songs on it, including the “Porfa” remix. I just have two songs by myself and all the other songs have featured artists. Every collaboration on the mixtape, it’s going to be a first for those artists I’m working with.
What did you think when Rosalía was singing “Porfa” on Instagram?
That was huge! I texted her, “This video really made my night. I’m going to sleep so happy.” She texted me back. She told me, “I love what you’re doing with your career, your project, and everything. I hope you keep getting bigger.” That was really cool for me.
I hope you two collaborate in the future.
I hope so too! I will make sure to keep working hard to get that collaboration.
