J Balvin
TEOGRAPH*J Balvin’s music video for “Perra” in collaboration with Tokischa was removed from YouTube over the weekend, Billboard has learned.
The track that fuses Balvin’s edgy reggaeton beats with Tokischa’s dembow premiered on Sept. 10 and forms part of Balvin’s José album, which earned him his fourth No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart. “Perra” debuted at No. 48 on Hot Latin Songs. With a chorus that says: “I am a female dog in heat/ I'm looking for a dog to hit it/ Hey, you're a hot dog in heat/ And you are looking for a dog to hit it,” the raunchy street-slang lyrics describe two people who desire each other.
The music video, directed by Raymi Paulus, Tokischa’s manager, shows the Colombian artist entering “el bajo mundo,” where he meets up with the Dominican newcomer. The visual shows Balvin tugging at two Black women on leashes, a group of Black people that were made up to look like dogs, and Tokischa posing on all fours inside a doghouse.
On Sunday, the music video was removed from Balvin’s YouTube channel. Neither Balvin nor Tokischa have released an official statement.
The removal of the music video also came less than a week after Colombia’s vice president and chancellor Marta Lucía Ramírez said the visual was “sexist, racist, machista, and misogynistic."
“In his video, the artist uses images of women and people of Afro-descendants -- population groups with special constitutional protection -- whom he presents with dog ears,” she wrote in an open letter published on Oct. 11. "In addition, while walking, the singer carries two Afro-descendant women tied with neck chains and crawling on the floor like animals or slaves. As if this were not enough, the lyrics of the song have direct and openly sexist, racist, machista, and misogynistic expressions that violate the rights of women, comparing them to an animal that must be dominated and mistreated."
In the letter, she publicly encouraged Balvin and the music industry to sign a petition that “includes various commitments for the promotion of women's rights in music and prevention of violence against them.”
Although the audio track for “Perra” is still live on YouTube, Billboard cannot confirm if the official music video was taken down by the artist or the video-sharing platform.
Billboard reached out to YouTube for comment but did not hear back at press time.
NEWS
Lola Young has joined forces with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to release a new T shirt for the charity’s Lifelines collection.
The shirt supports CALM’s suicide prevention work, with proceeds helping to fund vital resources such as its helpline and CALMzone mental health app.
CALM introduced the Lifelines range last year, with Fontaines D.C., Blossoms and Inhaler also contributing their own designs to the collection.
Young’s design includes the words, “There’s a flicker of light. There’s always morning after the night”, taken from her track ‘Flicker Of Light’.
“I wrote this song about realising there is hope. I have often felt like there isn’t, but there is always a reason to keep going,” Young said. “That’s even when you don’t want to get out of bed, you do, and that is amazing, and you’re still here, and you’re still alive, and if anything, that’s something to be proud of.”
CALM CEO Simon Gunning also shared his appreciation for the collaboration, saying: “We couldn’t be more grateful to Lola for supporting ‘Lifelines’ and showing just how powerful music can be as a force for good.”
Priced at £30, the T shirts come in both standard and boxy fits and are available to purchase here.
Young has regularly spoken about her experiences with mental health. She returned to performing earlier this year after calling off her 2025 tour because of exhaustion. The decision followed her collapse during a performance in New York City. During her time away, she later discussed receiving support for addiction and attending AA meetings as part of her recovery.
In an interview with NME in May, Young explained that she believes “all healing journeys are never ending”, although she is now “definitely in a much better place”. She also said she feels “excited and ready to perform and to release music”.
Reflecting on the encouragement she received after publicly discussing those challenges, Young said: “My fans inspire me in the same way I hope to inspire them. I feel like I’ve never tried to be especially honest… it just comes very naturally to me.”
“I don’t really have any other choice but to be honest, so if people connect to that, and that’s amazing.”
Several musicians have also applauded the ‘Messy’ singer for honestly addressing the pressure placed on touring performers. Lily Allen said she was “in awe” of the BRIT and Grammy winner, while Victoria Canal credited Young with bringing greater attention to the damaging impact demanding tour schedules can have on artists’ mental wellbeing.
When NME asked whether musicians were beginning to establish firmer boundaries around their health, Young replied: “I never intended it to start a movement, but I hope that it does in some way.”
