Yesterday on Beats 1, Hot 97’s Ebro kicked it with J Balvin as part of a new show called Crash Course. Ebro dedicates each episode to a different genre, and chronicles its history, talking to heavyhitters and major artists in the game. This week is focused on the history of reggaeton.
On Tuesday, Ebro sat down with Nina Sky and music mogul Boy Wonder, who recalled the Colombian reggaetonero’s start with wide-eyed wonder. “I remember seeing him and saying, ‘Yo this is a new movement when people really didn’t believe that an artist could come from another country and have that kind of stardom.’”
Last night, Balvin finally got in the hot seat with Ebro, where he dished about living in the U.S. as a teenager and his rock past. He got a chance to school Ebro in Daddy Yankee’s oeuvre, and geeked out over Yankee’s early, underground reggaeton days, where no one knew who he was. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the interview was the fact that Balvin used to play Nirvana and Metallica songs in a cover band back in Medellín. Balvin also revealed that his rock idols are Slash and Prince. Does this mean he’s going to switch up his live take on “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for a “Purple Rain” cover? We’re down.
Listen to the full interview below:
Balvin will also premiere new music when he returns to Beats 1 tonight at 4:30 p.m. PST/7:30 p.m. EST. Listen on Apple Music here.