New 'stack up: "I can love A Tribe Called Quest, Masta Ace, Gang Starr, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and JAŸ-Z, as well as J. Cole, Samara Cyn, and Tyler, the Creator but I also enjoy a good Drake record that doesn’t make me think about the sociopolitical weight on black and brown people. It’s just a vibe.
I can pinpoint the exact moment I became a Drake fan. It was the late 2000s and I had recently left my first staff hip-hop magazine job at SCRATCH. I had grown disillusioned with hip-hop music and found it increasingly difficult to ideate for artists whose music I didn’t think highly of.
Fast forward: Drake is performing for the first time in NYC at SOBs. Once again, my hermano Carl, who was working at XXL at the time, hit me and said he had a plus one for the showcase. On May 26th, 2009, two days before my born day, I witnessed a rap superstar being born at 204 Varick Street."
Link in bio.
#drake #iceman #jesustalks #hiphop #sofargone
Sometimes you have to remind yourself who YOU are:
🎤 As a college student, I was already interviewing MCs such as Nas, 50 Cent, JAY-Z, Ghostface Killah, and many more, for professional media outlets.
🎵 First to interview Daddy Yankee in the U.S.
One of the first to cover reggaeton in English language media.
🖊️ I wrote one of the first feature articles on reggaeton (in The Source).
📕 I was a founding editor at one of hip-hop's most beloved magazines, SCRATCH.
🇪🇨 I was the Editor-in-Chief of Fuego, the first national men's magazine targeting U.S. born Latinos.
🇨🇴 One of the first to interview J Balvin in the U.S.
🇵🇷 Booked Gina Rodriguez for her first national cover, which debuted two weeks post her Golden Globe win.
🗽 Booked Romeo Santos for one of his best covers; a week after he headlined and sold out Yankee Stadium.
🌟 Booked/wrote one of Fifth Harmony's last covers and booked/wrote one of Camila Cabello's first covers.
🇲🇽 Booked Becky G's first national cover.
Also, booked Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Jessica Alba, Zoe Saldana and many more for covers for Latina.
🎭 Interviewed Lin-Manuel Miranda at the height of Hamilton.
🤩One of the few to book and interview Bruno Mars for a cover story.
🎙️Booked Rauw Alejandro and Anthony Ramos a few years before they were selling out arenas and headlining blockbuster films, respectively.
🗣️Profiled and interviewed as a Latin music expert by Rolling Stone, Oprah, Men's Health, POPSUGAR, NBC, and more.
📲One the first to playlist and support Feid, Eladio Carrión, Anitta, and more.
A few months ago I told Balvin, "You're the culture, bro!" He corrected me and said, "WE are the culture!"
As we begin May and approach Gemini season, I need to remind myself I've always been H.I.M. and my evolution continues. 📸: @phraa
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#jesustalks #latinmusic #expert #journalism #media #streaming #musicbiz #brooklyn #newyork #jesustrivino #latinpopcultureexpert #reggaeton #jbalvin #ivyqueen #daddyyankee #gemini #geminiseason♊️
To any kid, specifically to those who were raised with the same struggles I went through, this is for you. I’m born and bred in the ‘hood (Brooklyn). Just like you. I’m the product of immigrants (Guayaquil, 🇪🇨). Just like you. I started working at 11 (at a kosher butcher shop with my pops). Just like you. They’ve mispronounced my first name. Just like they have yours. Today, I shine. Just like you will. Thank you, hip-hop and reggaeton. I was molded by both and I’m humbled to be recognized as one of reggaeton’s early advocates/storytellers on the U.S. Latinx side. PopSugar did a dope profile on me; great job by @cup_of_johanna , and big ups to the homie, @goldenladyj . Also, @maynanevarez , a longtime collaborator and friend, honored me with one of the best secondary quotes you can give anyone in our field. Photo Credit: By another BK hermano @_ericespino_ 🙏🏽 Shoutout to @tyeshafriday@afinkels and team. LINK IN BIO IS TO DONATE TO HELP OUR GENTE. /// Para cualquier niño, específicamente para aquellos que se criaron con las mismas luchas por las que pasé, esto es para ti. Nací y me crié en el barrio (Brooklyn). Igual que tú. Soy producto de inmigrantes (Guayaquil, Ecuador). Igual que tú. Empecé a trabajar a los 11 (en una carnicería kosher con mi papá). Igual que tú. Han pronunciado mal mi primer nombre. Como lo hacen el tuyo. Hoy brillo. Al igual que lo harás. Gracias, hip-hop y reggaeton. Fui moldeado por ambos y me siento honrado de ser reconocido como uno de los primeros narradores de historias del lado latino de EE. UU. PopSugar hizo un perfil sobre mí; gran ✍🏽 de Johanna, y un gran saludo para mi homie, Jada. Además, Mayna, colaboradora y amiga desde hace mucho tiempo, me honró con una de las mejores quotes que le pueden dar a alguien en nuestro campo. Crédito de la foto: Por otro hermano de BK @_ericespino_ 🙏🏽 EL ENLACE EN BIO ES PARA DONAR Y AYUDAR A NUESTRA GENTE.
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#profile #latinx #kidsofimmigrants #jesustalks #popsugar #TIDAL #reggaeton #success #grateful #gratitude #latinmusic #musicbusiness #journalist #musicstreaming #executive
Today’s Mother’s Day isn’t like last year’s for my beloved wife. She unexpectedly lost her mami a few months ago and her wound is still very much open. Even among the pain and the necessary healing, I find solace in the mother she herself is because of the way her mother raised her.
She makes sure our daughter knows she is loved, valued and cared for in every sense of the word. She cooks sopita, Selly’s favorite. She does science experiments with her, they make arepas together, they caulk the window frame edges together: she’s building a well-rounded lady.
I know her mother, Maria Luisa, was so proud of my wife. You could see it in her eyes every time she looked at her. Proud of her education, proud of her rise in her career as an advertising executive, proud of the wife and, especially, the mother she’s become to Selena.
Time heals pain, but I also want her to know that the time spent raising a strong, loving, intelligent person makes your memory live forever. Maria Luisa begat Yvette and Yvette begat Selena. And so on and so on.
Happy Mother’s Day, Yva and to our mothers in heaven.
#happymothersday #bonitapplebum #felizdiadelasmadres #jesustalks
First pic: true Latin love.
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An amazing pre-Mother’s Day celebration for J Balvin’s birthday, his dope collab album 'OMERTA' with Ryan Castro, and our beloved Latin culture. Bumped into so many friends and artists, my head is still spinning. Ha! Thank you for having us! Salute @dnlrey and my @rocnation fam for always showing love. ///
Primera foto: el verdadero amor latino.
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Una celebración increíble previa al Día de la Madre, con motivo del cumpleaños de J Balvin, su brutal álbum colaborativo 'OMERTA' junto a Ryan Castro, y nuestra amada cultura latina. ¡Gracias por invitarnos!
#jbalvin #ryancastro #omerta #rocnation #jesustalks
New 'stack up: "'Humility is the key to success,' J Balvin says, simply. I can attest to it. I’ve collaborated with José on various projects since I first interviewed him in the early 2010s.
Here’s a perfect vignette of who the man is: as a person, as a human. In 2018, I had recently begun my role at Tidal as the head of Latin. Needing to prove myself, I quickly secured an on-camera interview with Balvin, at the height of his 'Mi Gente' fame.
Long story short. Security saw a bunch of Latinos, who spoke English as a second language, arrive dressed in hip-hop garb and were quick to deem them unworthy of being inside the fancy building. It was racism, clear as day. As a Latino who grew up in Brooklyn, I know how racism smells and looks.
Still, I was at a loss. My team had rented a crew and an apartment with no interview. After talking to his team, they agreed to do it at his apartment. Later in the day. Much later.
Before that, I called my wife because guess what, it was her birthday. She fully understood: get the interview, then come home.
Then, right before we started rolling, he goes: “How’s your wife?” I told him it was her birthday. He looked me straight in the eye and said, let’s film her a video wishing her a happy birthday. Clearly, José knows Colombian women better than I do and he knew he had just saved me."
Happy G Day, José!
Link in bio.
#jbalvin #happybirthdayjbalvin #jesustalks #latinmusic
Too $hort. 60. Undefeated. The Oakland legend sat down with us to talk the independent hustle, grief, girl dad life, his legacy and why it only gets better.
Link in bio.
📷: Ryan Postas
🖊️ : @jesustalks
Native Brooklynites, such as myself, are so proud of our beloved borough it borderlines on obsession. We also take pride in the great talent it’s produced. As a matter of fact we have a saying, “BK All Day, home of Biggie and JAŸ." It’s far from a humblebrag, it’s simply the truth. Yet, Brooklyn is also welcoming of other cultures such as they welcomed my immigrant parents from Guayaquil, Ecuador. This past Wednesday they embraced another South American, Feid.
Feid took to the stage at The Paramount, which is directly across from the borough’s famous Junior’s, and reminded everyone why he’s in a lane of his own. The Feid vs. Ferxxo: Falxo Tour — El Mano a Mano Del Año is purposely intimate, built for connection, not spectacle. Two sides of the same artist, battling it out for the soul of a crowd that knew every word.
As a known hip-hop head, I’m sure performing in the land of Mos Def and Big Daddy Kane for a second time felt like a rite of passage for the kid from Medellín. And it showed.
This show wasn’t for the casual listener who streamed “Classy 101” in 2023. It was for the ones who have been riding since the beginning. For the ones who used “XNTS” to lullaby their baby girl to sleep like me. Feid knows his people, and his people know him. That mutual love made the night feel sacred.
Like Talib Kweli and Masta Ace, Feid is a true master of ceremonies. A kid from Medellín, Colombia moved the crowd in Crooklyn, Bucktown, Brooknam, Brooklyn.
PS: Special shoutout to Salomón, Luis, Ariana, and everyone for treating my family con cariño.
#feid #ferxxo #jesustalks #reggaeton #brooklyn
An excerpt from my essay on the long lasting impact of last night's Coachella performance:
"Karol G’s dominance isn’t just a sign that the music industry has gone global. It’s a rallying cry. A reminder to Latinas everywhere: know your worth. As someone married to a powerful Latina — a colombiana like Karol and an extraordinary sales executive — I can tell you firsthand that representation in the rooms where we typically aren’t invited matters more than we can measure.
That’s why last night wasn’t just historic for the young Latinas watching from the crowd. It was for the little ones tucked in bed, getting ready for kindergarten in the morning like my daughter. Karolchella filled my heart with the endless possibilities she’ll have by the time she’s grown. Whatever field she chooses, may it be as fruitful as Karol’s. Or even more so."
Photo: Alex Loucas
Link in bio.
#karolg #karolchella #coachella #jesustalks
New 'stack up: "But beyond the accolades, what’s been moving me lately is something more personal: Yankee’s reclamation of his faith. And honestly? That might be bigger than anything he’s ever put on wax.
“The recognition from the Latin Recording Academy is a dream come true,” he said in a press release.” It means a lot because it represents more than just a successful career. It’s recognition of years of discipline, struggle, faith, and commitment to our culture. Receiving something like this is to honor Puerto Rico, to honor all Latinos, and especially an entire generation that believed in our music when no one else understood it.”
I was part of that generation. First as a fan, then as one of the first journalists to chronicle reggaeton’s rise in the States. A kid of Ecuadorian immigrants, born and raised in Brooklyn, who fell in love with hip-hop and reggaeton at the same time like they were always meant to find me together. If that isn’t divine intervention, I don’t know what is."
Link in bio.
#daddyyankee #latingrammys #jesustalks #reggaeton
New 'stack up: "Few artists have had the chance to inspire a generation with their music, fashion, and overall being—let alone in a mere 23 years. In hip-hop, Tupac Shakur is held on a saintly pedestal by anyone who’s ever picked up a mic, fought the system, or battled with good and evil weighing on their shoulders. Similarly, almost every present-day Latin (and sometimes non-Latin) artist gives themselves a bendición in honor of the late Selena Quintanilla.
If you know our journey as parents, then you know our daughter is adopted—and that’s how our family became complete. We honored Selena’s namesake even further by giving her the middle name Estrella, because she’s our guiding star in every sense of the word."
Link in bio.
#selena #selenaestrella #selenaquintanilla #jesustalks
New 'stack up: "Homegrown New York City hip-hop heads got a gift from the rap gods this week. The greatest of all time is celebrating his greatest of all time career by performing his personal greatest of all time albums at the greatest of all time sports arena. Translation: on July 10 and 11, JAŸ-Z is running back 'Reasonable Doubt' and 'The Blueprint' at Yankee Stadium. Epic.
It instantly took me back to my young buck days as a reporter, when I somehow, some way, got tapped to review his “retirement” concert at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 25, 2003."
Link in bio.
#jayz #jesustalks #musicjournalism #rocnation #brooklyn
