We were already planning on having Maluma’s bilingual World Cup anthem with Jason Derulo stuck in our heads all summer, but it looks like there’s more even more hits from the Colombian pop star coming down the pipeline.
Yesterday, Maluma posted an Instagram story of himself hanging out with Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee in Los Angeles. In the clip, the Mississippi rapper called Maluma a “fly guy” (a fitting description for the pretty boy pop star) and teased a potential collaboration. “Maluma x Sremm fucking the charts up, fucking shit up,” he says in the video. “I’m telling you, this guy’s amazing bruh.”
Sure, this might be a WTF moment that’s the product of some savvy industry maneuvering, but Maluma has been racking up the crossover collabs in recent months. Last year, he teamed with Flo Rida on “Hola” and linked with French Montana for the Jersey club-inspired bop “GPS” – as well as the aforementioned Jason Derulo track in the works. After linking at the Latin Grammys last fall (who can forget that absurd French Montana-Pioladitingancia-Diplo moment?!), it’s possible that French connected Juan Luis Lodoño with his “Unforgettable” collaborators. It’s not clear if the track will appear on F.A.M.E., Maluma’s forthcoming third album, or SremmLife 3, the triple-disk project that features solo efforts from Swae Lee, Slim Jxmmi, in addition to joint tracks.
Considering the success of “Unforgettable,” which peaked at no. 3 on the Hot 100, it’s a good chance the collab could catapult Lodoño to the next mainstream level. Here’s hoping it’s not just a throwaway pop moment.