Balvin was born in a middle-class family in Medellín, Colombia, on May 7, 1985. He is the son of José Álvaro Osorio and Alba Mery Balvin and has a younger sister named Carolina, who is a model. His father was an economist and businessman, and grew up in a large house in the hills outside the city. He grew up listening to rock bands like Metallica and Nirvana , and claims that he incorporates grunge aesthetics into his personal style by having a Nirvana tattoo on his knee. He developed an interest in reggaeton after listening to Daddy Yankee. He recalls that "I was such a fan that I copied his style, the way he moved on stage, his flows, his raps," comparing him to reggaeton's Jay-Z. His father's business went bankrupt and his family lost their homes and cars, demanding that the family move to a poorer neighborhood. During this period of his life, J Balvin observes: "When I went into the favela, people saw me as a rich person, but when I'm around rich people, they see me as someone from the ghetto. They are all perceptions. I like to move between the worlds. I feel equally comfortable in both. ".