Ozuna

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Ozuna Talks New Album ‘Aura,’ Akon Collab, Cardi B, and More

Ozuna

Ozuna
Ozuna (Source: Instagram)

As he prepares to drop his new album Aura on Friday (Aug. 24), Latin superstar Ozuna sat down with Billboard for an interview.

The Puerto Rican artist discussed many topics, including revealing that the project contains a Spanish-language track with Akon. He also confirmed that his Cardi B-assisted hit single “La Modelo” will appear on Aura.

Other topics covered include why he likes to collaborate often, his relationship with J Balvin, and the pressure of topping his record-breaking debut album, Odisea. Released in August 2017, Odisea is currently in its 45th week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.

Working with Akon:

“Working with someone who shares your vision, your work ethic, and who likes to create as you do makes it easy. When we got together, we made four songs in one day. There’s one song for his album and two for a future release. Yes, he sang in Spanish, and I even sang in English. He doesn’t speak perfect Spanish, and I don’t speak perfect English, but we understand each other.”

His relationship with J Balvin:

“He’s an extremely important person to me. I value his opinion and his presence in my projects. He has an impressive aura about him, he’s brilliant and intelligent, and he puts his heart into his work. He’s someone who always gives it his all. I can ask him for advice even when it’s not his song, and he’ll tell me what to fix.”

Why he likes to collaborate often:

“I like it because it’s like being in a group. Working with people like Reik, Anuel AA, Wisin & Yandel, and J Balvin, you get to do things like film videos. So we enjoy it because that’s where we can be free to be ourselves, talk, and create. I can’t walk down the streets of Miami without getting mobbed, for example. But I can be on set with Balvin and Arcangel and feel comfortable.”

Topping his debut album:

“It wasn’t about doing something bigger or better. I don’t like to proclaim things like saying it will be better because it might or it might not. It’s just that nowadays, people demand a lot more music. It’s not how it used to be when you didn’t need to put out so much music. But I’ve learned that each week, there are new sounds, new rhythms, new technology, new artists, and you have to evolve. Odisea made an impact, but the people want more music.”

Watch the interview, which was conducted in Spanish, below.

Related: Watch Anuel AA’s ‘Brindemos’ Video Feat. Ozuna

| Videos
Billboard, DJcity Latino, Interview, Ozuna,
Friday, August 3, 2018

Watch Anuel AA’s ‘Brindemos’ Video Feat. Ozuna

Ozuna & Anuel AA

Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA has shared the video for his Ozuna-assisted Latin trap single, “Brindemos.” The neon-lit visual finds both artists performing in front of luxury cars and beautiful women.

Released in mid-July, “Brindemos” currently sits at No. 19 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart and has amassed over six million streams on Spotify. It is the lead single from Anuel’s latest album, Real Hasta La Muerte, which is currently in its second week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.

Anuel AA is widely considered as one of the leading figures of the rising Latin trap movement. He released his album by surprise on July 17, hours before he was released from prison where he had spent 30 months on gun possession charges. In his first interview since being out, Anuel told Billboard that the majority of the album was recorded during his time behind bars.

Watch the video above and download “Brindemos” on DJcity.

Related: Watch Tory Lanez and Ozuna’s ‘Pa Mi’ Video

| Tracks, Videos
Anuel AA, DJcity Latino, Music Video, Ozuna,
Thursday, July 5, 2018

Watch Tory Lanez and Ozuna’s ‘Pa Mi’ Video

Tory Lanez and Ozuna

Tory Lanez and Ozuna have shared the video for their dancehall and reggaeton single, “Pa Mi.” The track, which peaked at No. 1 on DJcity’s Hot Box chart, became the second most-downloaded song of June.

In the visual, Lanez and Ozuna perform in front of a Puerto Rican flag and expensive cars. The video also features scenes with beautiful Latin women dancing.

“Pa Mi” serves as the lead single from Lanez’s forthcoming Spanish-language album, El Agua. Meanwhile, Ozuna jumped on the remix of Nicky Jam and J Balvin‘s smash hit “X” last Friday alongside Maluma.

Watch the video above and download “Pa Mi” on DJcity.

Related: Watch Tiesto and Dzeko’s ‘Jackie Chan’ Video Feat. Preme and Post Malone

| Tracks, Videos
Music Video, Ozuna, Tory Lanez,
Thursday, April 26, 2018

Watch Q&As From the 2018 Billboard Latin Music Conference

Maluma
Maluma at Billboard’s Latin Music Conference at The Venetian in Las Vegas on April 25, 2018. (Credit: Nicole Pereira)

Latin music’s popularity is at an all-time high thanks in part to artists like Bad Bunny, Maluma, and Pitbull. They, along with other Latin stars, have topped charts and sold out shows in record numbers all over the world over the past year.

Now, they’ve all gathered together in Las Vegas for the 29th annual Billboard Latin Music Week. The event, which ends Thursday night with the 2018 Billboard Latin Music Awards, began Monday with a three-day conference.

Among the festivities at the conference was a series of individual Q&A and panel interviews with the top artists, producers, and executives in the game. Topics included a look back at the past year, how collaborations came together, and future projects.

We put together some of the best Q&As below, most of which were conducted in Spanish. The list includes interviews by the aforementioned Bad Bunny, Maluma, and Pitbull as well as Ozuna, Maná, and songwriter Descemer Bueno.

Watch them below.

Bad Bunny

Maluma

Ozuna

Pitbull

Iconic Songwriter Descemer Bueno

Maná

Related: Watch: Nicky Jam Explains How J Balvin Collab ‘X’ Was Made

| Music Industry, Videos
Bad Bunny, Billboard, Descemer Bueno, Interview, Maluma, Maná, Ozuna, Pitbull,
Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Post Malone Enlists Nicky Jam and Ozuna for ‘rockstar’ Remix

Nicky Jam

Nicky Jam
Nicky Jam / Facebook

Looking to extend the life of his smash “rockstar,” Post Malone has dropped a remix featuring two of Latin music’s biggest artists: Nicky Jam and Ozuna. The track features Nicky and Ozuna rapping in Spanish while the original hook, sung by Post in English, is maintained.

Stream the remix below and download it on DJcity.

Related: Top 5 Remixes of Post Malone and 21 Savage’s ‘rockstar’

| Tracks
Nicky Jam, Ozuna, Post Malone, Remix,
Sunday, August 20, 2017

Watch Ozuna, Farruko, Bad Bunny, and More Discuss the History of Latin Trap

Ozuna

Ozuna
Ozuna

As part of their A Brief History Of series, Billboard spoke with some of the biggest names in Latin trap music to discuss the history of the genre.

In the video, artists Ozuna, Farruko, Bad Bunny, De La Ghetto, Messiah talk about how Latin trap began, how it has evolved, and where it is today.

The genre is gaining momentum thanks to a new generation of “trapperos” like Bad Bunny and Anuel AA.

Puerto Rican rapper De La Ghetto agrees, saying in the video that Bunny is “the most important trap artist right now.” Bunny was recently featured on the remix of Major Lazer‘s hit single “Know No Better.” On Friday, rising New York rapper Cardi B enlisted Messiah for a remix of her breakout hit “Bodak Yellow.”

“[Trap is] the closest expression to the streets and to the way the new generation is living,” Farruko says in the clip.

“What people were doing was a small imitation of what American artists were doing,” Bad Bunny says. “They took American hits and turned them into their songs.”

Watch A Brief History Of below.

Related: IAmChino Talks Blending EDM and Latin Music

| Music Industry, Videos
Bad Bunny, Billboard, De La Ghetto, Farruko, Messiah, Ozuna,

Popular