Sismo literally means 'earthquake' or 'seismic tremor'. It's a powerful word used to describe the shaking of the earth.
In 'Ginza', J Balvin uses this word as a vivid metaphor for intense chemistry on the dance floor. He sings, "Tu cadera con la mía / Hacen un sismo" (Your hip with mine / Make an earthquake), painting a picture of their dancing being so energetic and connected that it's powerful enough to shake the ground.
Colombian superstar J Balvin keeps things delightfully simple in "Ginza": if you need reggaeton, just go for it! From the jump, the chorus sets an intense club vibe with the blunt invitation, "Si necesitas reggaetón, dale / Sigue bailando, mami, no pares" ("If you need reggaeton, go ahead / Keep dancing, mami, don't stop"). In Latin American Spanish, the word "dale" is everyday slang that means "go for it" or "hit it." Balvin isn't interested in traditional romance here. In fact, he outright dismisses slow courting with lines like "El amor ahora es turismo / Diciéndole que no al que viene con romanticismo" ("Love is now tourism / Saying no to anyone coming with romanticism"). On this dance floor, everyone is equal ("En esta disco todos somos iguales"), and the only goal is losing control to the beat.
There is zero subtlety when it comes to the physical chemistry he describes. Balvin hypes up his partner's wild moves—what he calls her "swing salvaje"—and compares their hips colliding to an earthquake: "Tu cadera con la mía / Hacen un sismo" ("Your hips and mine / Make an earthquake"). He watches her dance in her skirt, playfully noting she carries herself with grown-up confidence ("Ella es señora, no es señorita"), while admitting he is left wanting more. The track thrives on sheer kinetic energy and animal magnetism, demanding you get close, drop the sweet talk, and let the bass take over.
J Balvin grew up in Medellín playing guitar in a teenage rock band with Nirvana and Metallica on repeat, and spent part of his teens in Oklahoma and New York picking up English. Born José Álvaro Osorio Balvín in 1985, he had been releasing music in Colombia for about a decade before anyone outside it paid attention.
"6 AM" with Farruko changed that in 2014, and "Ay Vamos" and "Ginza" followed: "Ginza" held number one on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart for 22 weeks, a record at the time. He kept singing in Spanish anyway, and "Mi Gente" reached number three on the Hot 100 once Beyoncé joined the remix, before "I Like It" with Cardi B and Bad Bunny went to number one in 2018. His albums run La Familia, Energía, Vibras, Colores (every track named after a color, and a Latin Grammy for best urban album), José and Rayo, plus Oasis, a joint record with Bad Bunny. In August 2019 he became the first Latino artist to headline Lollapalooza in Chicago.