On his biggest tour US tour – “Vibras”, the stage is reminiscent of taking a ride on a Steven Spielberg movie. The fans will receive proper instructions on how to have the most fun with rules including – dance, take photos, make friends with the dinosaurs walking with the audience and throwing your undergarments onto the stage. Well, these were taken with light-heartiness.
And all of this while the dinosaurs are dancing to the raggaeton sound of latin flavor to the main stage. And the audience will see an array of visuals including miniature-size palm trees and orange-spinning eyeballs.
Almost a year since his last visit to California, a lot of things have changed. The reemerge of Latin trap music has become more prevalent in the mainstream. And it is not only J Balvin. Among others include Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny – these artists arise from areas of Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.
For J Balvin, the new music has stayed within his core of latin rhythm and beat. What has changed is aiming to cater his sound to other people including non-spanish speaking audiences. If the formula for success worked with Daddy Yankee (in the early 2000s) then history tends to repeat itself.
The album, Vibras was made for the mainstream audience. With a mix of latin flavor and hip-hop, the musical roots of his culture can be transcended to the US mainstream audience without any issues. If the language cannot get one person to be engaged then look more further and to feel the vibe. It is a big transition from his two album compilations – La Familia and Energia.
If dinosaurs are enjoying themselves then so should everyone – no matter where they are from and how the music flows.
Photo Credit: Rich Fury