J Balvin
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. Balvin 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. He 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.".