J Balvin
He met his DJ and business partner David Rivera Mazo in a freestyle rap 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." 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 reached number 35 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart. His first international success was the one-night " Yo Te Lo Dije". J Balvin signed with Universal's subsidiary Capitol Latin, a year later.