J Balvin is entering the new year on a conciliatory note. The Colombian reggaeton superstar publicly squashed his beef with longtime collaborator Bad Bunny onstage in Mexico City a few days before Christmas. Now he’s made peace with another rival.
On Instagram on New Year’s Eve, Balvin posted a photo of himself with Residente of Puerto Rican group Calle 13, marking the end of another feud. In 2021, Balvin boycotted the Latin Grammys and urged his peers to join him, writing on Twitter, “The Grammys don’t value us, but they need us. We give them ratings, but they don’t give us respect.”
In an Instagram video, Residente responded, “If they don’t value us, then why do I have 31 Grammys?” and pointed out that the ceremony that year was set to honor Rubén Blades, “a guy who marked the history of Latin American music; a guy who, unlike you, writes his songs and feels them.” Residente went on to compare Balvin’s music to hot dogs: “Don’t get me wrong, José, everyone likes hot dogs. Understand [that] your music is like a hot dog cart, which many people or almost everyone may like. But when those people want to eat well, they go to a restaurant that… earns Michelin stars.” Balvin responded by posting photos of himself at a hot dog cart. Residente went on to diss Balvin in his 2022 installment of Bizarrap’s BZRP Music Sessions series.
With that context in mind, Balvin posted the photo of himself with Residente, writing that the two artists met up several months ago to work things out. “We hear each other. We understand each other,” he wrote in Spanish. “In the end, time always has the reason.” Here’s the message in Spanish:
Frente a la inmensidad de las cosas que pasan en el mundo, esta es posiblemente una de las más pequeñas. Pero en un mundo tan complejo, que dos personas que no coinciden en todo puedan reencontrarse, nos parece valioso. Hace meses nos encontramos. Nos escuchamos. Nos entendimos. Al final, siempre la razón la tiene el tiempo.
René y Jose
And here it is translated into English:
Faced with the enormity of things going on in the world, this is quite possibly one of the smallest. But in a world so complex, that two people who don’t agree on everything can meet again, it seems valuable to us. Months ago we met We hear each other. We understand each other. In the end, time always has the reason.
René and Jose
Artists including Maluma and Yandel chimed in with comments expressing their excitement about the peace accord. Who will Balvin mend fences with next?
