December was a slow month for new music but it did bring us the latest beef in the world of Latin music. Just before Christmas, Jhay Cortez and Rauw Alejandro started a musical war. Think Drake vs Meek Mill, Biggie vs Tupac, Kanye vs basic social conventions. This one came out of nowhere but has taken the Latin music world by storm.
Where did it begin? What’s happened?
Let’s break down the full story.
The Origin
On December 16th, Jhay Cortez and Rauw Alejandro both appeared on there mix of “Si Pepe” by Ankhal. To be honest, I had no idea this song even existed but this is the jumping off point for the whole beef.
In Jhay Cortez’s verse, he throws a few jabs towards Rauw. Jhay says that Rauw “dances like a cockroach” and, basically, that Rauw’s Spanish girlfriend (Rosalia) wants to fuck him. This is pretty soft stuff if you ask me, but I could see how this could get under someone’s skin.
Rauw Fires First
After the “Si Pepe” remix dropped, Rauw took to Twitter. He first stated that Jhay Cortez should do a collab album with him so that he would finally crack the top 3 on the charts. (For what it’s worth, we rated Jhay Cortez’s Timelezz higher than Rauw’s album this year). Rauw went on to say he found his number 1 fan (Cortez) and that he should keep the women out of it.
In response to that short verse, Rauw recorded “Hunter” and released it on Christmas Eve.
In “Hunter”, Rauw sets the tone by making fun of Jhay’s concert not selling out. Rauw accuses Mora of writing Jhay Cortez’s verse on “911”. He tops it all off by saying that he and Rosalia are like Jay Z and Beyonce and that where they go no one knows who Jhay Cortez is.
Jhay Responds
Jhay Cortez responded with his track “Enterrauw” which is a play on the word “enterado” or buried. Cortez tested positive for COVID-19 but still recorded this track. In the lyrics he calls this his Jordan Flu Game. Even though he had COVID, he felt fine enough to create a fake death certificate for Rauw.
In “Enterrauw”, Jhay really doesn’t hold back much. He criticizes Rauw for working with Chris Brown and says Rauw “has a dick like Lady Gaga”. He also repeatedly harps on Rauw’s dancing.
My favorite Jhay line here is that Rauw couldn’t land a punchline even if Mayweather trained him. In the Outro, Jhay directly addresses Rauw’s accusations, specifically stating that Mora did not write his viral verse on “911”. He also states that it’s about time for Rauw to drop his “fake machismo” and “fake humility”.
Rauw responded directly to Jhay’s line that you won’t catch him dancing with a previously unseen video of Jhay at a dance lesson years ago.
Rauw Responds Again
Rauw responded again with his latest track “JhayConflei” (Jhay Cornflakes). This track a few more pointed lines than “Hunter”.
Rauw really goes all out here. He accuses Cortez of physically abusing his baby’s mother. He goes on to make some pretty, uh, explicit reference to Cortez’s girlfriend Mia Khalifa and her former line of work. Rauw says, in a literal translation, that Jhay’s breath smells like gringo “milk” after referencing Mandingo. Yikes.
My favorite line is when Rauw says that his grandmother makes more money than Jhay by playing bingo. He also says that Jhay owes all of his success to Bad Bunny.
The Current State of Affairs
Ever since Rauw dropped “JhayConflei” it’s been relatively quiet. Twitter users have been having a field day though.
Now, if I had to choose the winner so far, I would give the slight edge to Rauw Alejandro. It’s the slightest of leads but I think Rauw had the better punchlines and insults so far. Jhay could very easily come back over the top and win. I have a feeling this is only halftime and I’ve seen much bigger leads blown.
Whatever the next phases of this beef are, keep it here and we’ll keep you up to speed.
For our review of Jhay Cortez’s Timelezz click here.
For our review of Rauw Alejandro’s Vice Versa, click here.
Great content! Keep up the good work!