After years of bad blood, J Balvin and Residente announced, via a joint Instagram post, that they have officially buried the hatchet. The post included a picture of both artists and the following message: (translated to English)
“Compared to the vastness of things happening in the world, this is perhaps one of the smallest. But in such a complex world, the fact that two people who don’t see eye to eye can reconnect seems precious to us. We met months ago. We listened to each other. We understood each other. In the end, time always reveals the truth.”
This olive branch comes after J Balvin and Residente had numerous issues with one another starting in late 2021, after Balvin tweeted that he wanted to boycott the Latin Grammys due to a lack of reggaeton nominations. Residente fired back, calling him out in a lengthy video on Twitter titled “Querido José,” or “Dear José,” criticizing Balvin for disingenuously boycotting the award show, even though he believed that “they’re people who depend on a Grammy to organize a tour” and need the recognition to push their careers, he said to Rolling Stone.
Residente would also reveal that the animosity had been brewing for a long time. He also recounted to Rolling Stone:
“The first time that J Balvin met me, he started making fun of me because I didn’t ‘have hits on Spotify.’ I was talking to Daddy Yankee, and after that I didn’t say anything. Then his boycott of the Latin Grammy Awards happened, the thing with the videos, and that was when I uploaded my video.”
In the video, Residente compared Balvin’s music to that of a “hot dog,” and Balvin took the insult and ran with it, posting a photo to Instagram of him standing next to a hot dog cart on the set for his remix of Sech’s “Sal y Perrea” with Daddy Yankee. Allegedly, the phrase “chupo,” or (“suck it,” in English) was written on the side of the cart, only angering Residente further.
The gloves would then come off in March of 2022, when Residente hopped on Argentine super-producer Bizarrap’s platform BZRP Music Sessions, where he makes tracks with artists to be performed in a live format (similar to Kenny Beats’ The Cave). Residente dropped scathing three-chapter “tiradera,” (or “diss track”) named “BZRP Music Sessions #49/66,” aimed at Balvin, directly calling him out across every aspect of his career, from his relationships, to how he does business, to his views on politics and mental health.
From here, the relationship looked irreparable. For the past few years Balvin had hinted that he did not hold anything against Residente. He mentioned that he had moved on from the entire situation and actually forgave Residente in an interview with streamer, Ibai Llanos.
Balvin also had beef with long-time collaborator and friend Bad Bunny, but the two reconciled in Mexico after Bunny brought out Balvin at the final show date. At the show, they told the audience that they had spoken weeks prior, sorted out their differences, and agreed that onstage at this show would be the perfect time to reunite. (Read a full timeline of their complicated friendship here)
J Balvin even went on Bizarrap’s platform, making peace with him as well, and did a session of his own the day after Christmas called “BZRP Music Sessions #62/66,” which probably was a hint to this monumental peace between him and Residente.
Similar to how he handled things with Bad Bunny, Balvin and Residente took weeks to discuss their differences privately before making their reconciliation public. Going into the new year it appears all of Balvin’s beefs in Latin music are sorted.
Hopefully, this means new music and new collaborations will continue to push Latin music even further into the global sphere in 2026.