When J Balvin was 17, he attended an English exchange program in Oklahoma , but was disappointed by the experience, saying, "I was expecting the US that everyone knows about Hollywood." Shortly after the experience, he moved to New York to study English and music, living with an aunt in Staten Island and working as a dog walker. During his time in New York, he was fascinated by the business knowledge of rappers 50 Cent and P. Diddy of New York. J Balvin worked in various jobs in New York, Miami and Medellin, including working illegally in the United States as a carpenter and house painter. He finally decided to return to Colombia and began performing at various urban clubs in Medellín and increasing his social media afterwards. He enrolled at the prestigious EAFIT University in Medellin for seven semesters studying international business. At 19, he began to seriously pursue a career in music and adopted the stage name J Balvin "El Negocio", which means "the Business" in Portuguese. 