(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BORRO CASSETTE")
MALUMA: (Singing in non-English language).
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Maluma is one of the biggest stars in Latin pop, making music since he was a teenager. Through songs with Shakira and Madonna, The Weeknd and Ricky Martin, his music captures the nightlife of his native Colombia.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BORRO CASSETTE")
MALUMA: (Singing in non-English language).
RASCOE: Maluma is now 32 and a father to a 2-year-old daughter.
MALUMA: And she was the reason that I wanted to change my life. So I decided to stop for a while and restart that conversation with myself, with my spirit, my soul, my heart, my music. And we can say that this is like a rebirth.
(SOUNDBITE OF MALUMA SONG, "LOCO X VOLVER")
RASCOE: Maluma's new album's called "Loco Por Volver." It's a big departure from his older music, and it comes after a creative break.
MALUMA: That's when I decided that I wanted to do an album to also honor my roots, my ancestors, my Latino community, which was something that I found in the time that I decided to stop and refine myself.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BORRO CASSETTE")
MALUMA: (Singing in non-English language).
RASCOE: When you say you found your Latino community, what do you mean by that?
MALUMA: Yeah, because when I started my career, my dream was going out, you know, like, being successful in the United States, being successful around Europe, around Asia. And that was my dream. I just wanted to be out. And in that time, those years were almost like 10 years. And I felt that I just lost my, you know, my roots, and I was losing that. I was losing my beautiful Latino vibe because I was just flying around the world. And I just wanted to come back to feel myself. And that's when all these things happened.
RASCOE: When you talk about, like, returning to the Latino community, is there a song on this album that reminds you, maybe, of a specific memory of growing up in Colombia?
MALUMA: At the beginning of the process of making this album, I had a meeting with my grandparents and my dad. I'm pretty lucky. I have three grandparents. They're still alive. So I had this meeting with my family, and I was like, yo, guys, please tell me which songs were the songs that we used to listen when I was when I was a baby. One of them is El Cantante, Hector Lavoe.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EL CANTANTE")
HECTOR LAVOE: (Singing in non-English language).
MALUMA: He's my favorite artist. I feel inspired about him, and then I decided to go back to my roots and start making some salsa.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TU RECUERDO")
MALUMA: (Singing in non-English language).
And now in this moment, I decided to come back to Colombia and record some Colombian musicians and make the kind of Colombian salsa that I also used to listen when I was a baby, or my parents, they used to listen when I was younger, too. And the song is - the name of the song is "Tu Recuerdo."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TU RECUERDO")
MALUMA: (Singing in non-English language).
It was like a full circle when I went to the studio, and I was I was so - like, so sure about the sound that I wanted to have in this salsa song. This is an album for the mass, you know, for the people that they dream, and they want to become someone, you know?
RASCOE: When you're talking about making the salsa music, I mean, you're known for music that's great to play at a party, to dance to, something, like, close to reggaeton but not quite. And this album is a lot more traditional.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EL VALLENATO")
MALUMA: (Singing in non-English language).
RASCOE: I mean, that's beautiful. But it sounds like great party music, too, like, just a different kind of party, right?
MALUMA: Yeah, that's Colombia. Welcome to Colombia. That's our folklore. That's our roots. For this song, that is "El Vallenato." For sure, a lot of people there are going to talk that maybe and - I'm a little bit ambitious, you know, in a good way, like, trying to perform such a different genre for me. But I love my versatility, too, you know? And I love, like, going through different paths and just not being in a comfortable song.
And you were talking about partying. And this is a song to go and drinking with your friends. And we call this special (ph) song, you know, when - a heartbreaking song when you want to just go out and cry for that guy or that girl that you really miss. And it's a pretty deep song, too, you know?
RASCOE: There is a collaboration with the singer Yeison Jimenez.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CON EL CORAZON")
YEISON JIMENEZ: (Singing in non-English language).
MALUMA: (Singing in non-English language).
RASCOE: And tragically, Yeison Jimenez died this year in a plane crash in January, and, you know, I'm so sorry for your loss. Like, can you tell us a bit about who he was?
MALUMA: Yeah, I can say that Yeison was and he's still the king of Colombian regional music, the country music of Colombia. And yeah, sadly, he passed away a month after we recorded the song, so this was pretty shocking for all of us. I had the opportunity to talk to his family, and they said that his dream was releasing the song, that he wanted to put the song out. And when he died, I just wanted to honor his memory and make him proud also. And I was proud of him, you know? He was such a cool guy, such a gentleman and so young. He was only 34 years old when he passed. And the good thing is that his legacy is still alive, and we can be with Yeison Jimenez through his art.
RASCOE: Yeah. How did you become a musician? How did you find music when you were growing up and get into it?
MALUMA: Well, my grandparent, my mom's dad - I remember going to his house when I was a kid, and every time I would go there, he was listening to music, like, nonstop - different genres, different artists, from Colombia, from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic. The influence was also very Latino for me. You know, people from Argentina - he used to listen a lot of tangos from Argentina.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MALUMA: But then when I started growing up, I really loved hip-hop and R&B. So I started listening to Jarreau. I started listening to Nelly.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HOT IN HERRE")
NELLY: It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes.
MALUMA: And I just wanted to be like them. I feel a little bit inspired of both sides. And now I found my own sound, you know, so I feel inspired from different artists around the world.
RASCOE: What would you tell your younger self? With what you know now, what would you tell your younger self?
MALUMA: Wow, that's a great question. I would - so I would say that - to that kid, keep moving, man. You're doing great. You're building the path.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "1+1")
MALUMA: (Singing in non-English language).
KANY GARCIA: (Singing in non-English language).
MALUMA: (Singing in non-English language).
But the work is going to be every day. If you stop working, you know what's going to happen. So keep hustling, man, and don't forget your roots. Don't forget where you're coming from. But at the end of the day, the character or the guy that I am right now is that guy that I built through all these years in my past, so I'm proud of it, too, you know?
RASCOE: That's Colombian singer and songwriter Maluma. His new album, "Loco Por Volver" is out now. Thank you so much for being with us.
MALUMA: Thank you very much.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "1+1")
GARCIA: (Singing in non-English language). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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