Palo is a fantastic slang word that literally means "stick" or "pole", but in the world of music, it has a completely different meaning!
In reggaeton and Latin urban music, palo is used to describe a huge hit song or a "banger". In "Mi Gente", J Balvin boasts, "Es otro palo y ¡blam!", which translates to "It's another hit, and blam!", celebrating his track record of producing successful music. Learning this word will help you sound like a true reggaeton insider.
J Balvin kicks off "Mi Gente" with a simple test: "Si el ritmo te lleva a mover la cabeza / Ya empezamos como es" (If the rhythm makes you move your head / We've already started right). This song is a massive global party, and everyone is invited. Balvin makes his mission clear: "Mi música no discrimina a nadie" (My music doesn't discriminate against anyone). It's all about the power of a beat to bring people together, no matter where they're from. He even points out the collaboration in the lyrics, mixing French and Spanish to celebrate his partnership with French DJ Willy William: "Francia Colombia me gusta" (I like France Colombia).
This is a song full of confidence. J Balvin knows he has a worldwide hit, declaring "El mundo es grande pero lo tengo en mi mano" (The world is big but I have it in my hand). The whole track is a call to the dance floor, asking "Y dónde está mi gente" (And where are my people) before commanding everyone to move. It's a pure celebration of music's ability to create a party that "no tiene fin" (has no end).
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.