Prior to the release of J. Balvin's sixth studio album Jose last month, the Columbian singer and rapper shared "Perra" with Dominican rapper Tokischa. "Perra" was followed with a vibrant and lively music video, but in the weeks since its release, both the song's lyrics and its visuals have been met with backlash.
According to AllHipHop, the Raymi Paulus-directed music video — which features J. Balvin walking two Black women, with dog ears and makeup, on chained leashes as well as several other dark-skinned people depicted as dogs throughout the video's runtime — was taken down on Sunday after Colombian Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez spoke out against J. Balvin's visuals.
"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," Ramirez wrote in an open letter on Monday, October 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."
It turns out that many people agreed with Colombian Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez because the video is no longer accessible via YouTube. Per Billboard, it has not yet been confirmed whether YouTube or J. Balvin's team were the ones to ultimately pull the plug on the official "Perra" music video, and both parties have also not publicly commented on the situation either.
Keep it locked to HNHH for more updates regarding J. Balvin and Tokischa's "Perra" music video, and as a reference, you can listen to the song below.