IG— What other music did you listen to when you were young?
JB— I was listening to a lot of rock bands. I love Nirvana. I love Metallica too— I was so honored when they asked me to be part of paying tribute to The Black Album.
IG— I know you also like TuPac [Shakur] and Biggie [Smalls]. Aside from their actual music, what is it about them, and artists like Kurt Cobain, that have inspired you in your career?
JB— When I was younger, I resonated with their attitude and energy more than anything else. There was something so cool about the different styles of confidence and swag that each of them had. Same with Dipset—the look and attitude was just as important as the music they were making. That inspired me to own whatever I was doing and just deliver it with confidence, whether it was playing shows to hardly any fans early on in my career or playing to stadiums like I do now.
IG— Who are some artists that you're inspired by right now?
JB— My brother Skrillex is always inspiring. We've been friends for a while now, so it was fun to collaborate with him and to see him working with others. I'm also really excited seeing people that I've worked with for years having their own moments: Sech and Jhay Cortez are definitely on that list. María Becerra is super inspiring too.
IG— Speaking of stadiums, why do you think Latin music has finally broken into the mainstream? Or do you think it still hasn't gotten the respect and attention it deserves?
JB— I think there are a few reasons: obviously, Latin culture has grown globally, especially the amount of people speaking Spanish in places like the United States. I also think that I played an important role in helping push Latin culture forward. There were many times that I was asked to take part in a song and keeping my contributions in Spanish was always incredibly important to me to show that you don't have to sing in English to reach an English-speaking audience. When Beyoncé remixed "Mi Gente" and made some of her contributions in Spanish, that felt like a huge moment for Spanish culture.
IG— As other Latin music artists continue to achieve success, I’m curious what you think about the state of Latin music in 2021— do you think this ‘Latin music renaissance’ is going to continue?
JB— This is the most exciting time that has ever existed for Latin music, period. I spent the first half of my career trying to establish an audience for Latin music among people that don't speak Spanish, and the way that has grown in the last few years has been amazing and it’s opened the doors for so many Latin artists to be heard by a wider audience than ever before. Now that we've really established that audience, there’s room to innovate and explore new sounds— something I always try to do through my own work and am proud to see other Latin artists exploring, too.
IG— You mentioned the fact that you only sing in Spanish because you wanted to show that you don’t have to sing in English to reach an English-speaking audience. Is that the only reason? Is it a comfort thing? Or a political thing?
JB— It’s a cultural thing. I speak English fluently, but performing in Spanish is very important to me. I want to continue to push Latin culture forward the same way that I have through my entire career, and I think part of the widespread success of Spanish-language music now comes from me not willing to compromise and perform in English all the times I was asked earlier in my career. People used to tell me that not performing in English would hold me back, but now if you look at the charts, many of the biggest artists in the world are performing exclusively in Spanish. I don't know if that would be the case if I had taken that advice.