Billboard connects with singers Maluma and Shakira for its latest cover feature. Photographer Ruven Afanador captures the Chantaje singers. Meanwhile, Julian Rios styles Maluma, while Marjan Malakpour dresses Shakira for the accompanying photo shoot. Mirroring his effortless style, Rios outfits Maluma in distressed denim from Dolce & Gabbana.
Related: Maluma Covers Vogue Hombre, Talks Responsibility to Young Fans
Maluma also talks to Billboard about his risqué lyrics. I say what I think because that’s the way I am,
says Maluma. I don’t like to do music thinking about what’s working in radio at the moment. I don’t like to deal with taboos. At a cultural level, Latin music hasn’t developed like American music.
The 24-year-old singer continues, If you listen to American radio, the top songs deal with all kinds of dirty stuff, and [my song] Felices los 4 doesn’t even come close. In Latin America, to see an artist who’s not trap or underground do a song like 4 Babys is a culture shock. But it also opened the door for other [Latin] artists to go further.
Read more at Billboard.com.