He met his DJ and business partner David Rivera Mazo in a freestyle street battle in Medellin. The two became friends and began producing and promoting their own music without a record label. The first songs by J Balvin were described as "basically poor imitations of Puerto Rican commercial reggaeton," but he soon adopted a more relaxed and minimalist style in his music. He signed with EMI Colombia in 2009 and soon afterwards released the single "Ella Me Cautivó", which was 35th place on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart. He released his debut album, Real , in 2009. In 2012, J Balvin released a mixtape with many of his early hits in Colombia, including "In The Dark" and "Like an Animal." His first international success was the one-night " Yo Te Lo Dije, " and he signed with Universal's subsidiary, Capitol Latin , a year later.