Maluma On Smelling Like A Boss, His Dad Era, & Waking Up Before The Sun

Maluma is in his dad era. The 32-year-old Colombian superstar born Juan Luis Londoño Arias made waves in the music world when he was just a teenager, and fans both at home and around the world watched as the talented, handsome young star turned into a global force. He grew up in the spotlight, but recently, though, he’s traded the club and stadiums for morning meditations and diaper changes. He still knows how to find a balance between his onstage life and his quiet moments, as tells NYLON: “I don’t stop myself from having fun, and that’s also the key: being here and there in the right moments.”

When he’s not at home in Medellín taking care of his young daughter, Paris, and preparing for the arrival of his son, Maluma is also a Boss campaign star, and his latest moment with the brand comes with the arrival of the new Boss Bottled Beyond Eau de Toilette Intense. It’s a delicately composed yet instantly gripping scent that has strong leather notes mixed with the intricacy of the orange blossom. It is, in short, just like the masculinity displayed by Maluma and other campaign stars Bradley Cooper and Vinícius Júnior — not aggressive or domineering, but forceful in the right ways and soft in other ways.

Maluma’s latest album, Loco X Volver, feels like a homecoming, and a doubling down on the more nuanced man he’s become. He switched up his usual trap and club-ready sounds for gentle guitars and more intimate songwriting. The projects traces a line through the many sides of his personality and, as he says, “I decided to go back to the kid, to those situations that were so simple.” As his family grows and his priorities change, he’s realizing the “less is more” mantra is paramount, and that no is a full sentence: “Sometimes I want to have drinks with my friends, but then I decide, f*ck no, I want to stay at home. I want to share time with my family.”

In between recording sessions, Maluma dialed in from his home studio in Medellín to talk about being a Boss man, getting ready for a global tour, and how revealing every aspect of himself makes him stronger.

Tell me about working with a brand like Boss.

It’s amazing, man. I really admire the brand, but more than the brand, it’s the people of the brand. It’s been a beautiful journey. We’ve been working together for a couple of years and made crazy, crazy things. I remember performing in New York, and we put on the Colombian flag in this huge building. We’ve been making history together. I’m very grateful I found such a great team to work with.

The new fragrance has that balance of sexy and soft, which I think you embody as a modern masculine man. How important is it for you to be able to fully express all of yourself?

I feel related to the fragrance because as you said, it’s just like me. Maybe I look like a strong man, but I’m very vulnerable. For me, that’s masculinity, and that’s the way I’m living it. I’m not afraid of telling my own story and showing myself the way I am. This has been a journey to share with people who Juan Luis is. There’s not a lot of people that know my heart, and for me, this is the most important time of my life. At the end of the day, I got tired of the bullsh*t of the industry. I want to be a normal human being, a guy that can show himself crying, show himself suffering in situations that people think we don’t suffer. For me, being strong is showing myself just how I am.

I’m sure being a father has made you feel more rooted in who you are as a man.

Big step, man. Big, big step. I’m still very young. When [my daughter] Paris was born, I was 30 years old, and then I decided two years later to have another baby. This was my dream. This is what I always wanted. When I got into the music industry, I got too involved. I was so deep in the industry that I was not living my personal life, but then I decided I wanted to blend my personal life with my artistic career. This has been, to be honest, one of the most important steps I’ve ever taken in my life.

It feels crazy knowing my second child is about to be born. After my daughter was born, I felt very vulnerable; I felt very nervous; I felt lost because kids don’t come with any instructions and you just have to deal with it. When they give you the baby in the hospital, you’re like, “Holy sh*t. Now what I do with this?” But this has been the most amazing journey I’ve ever had in my life. It’s been hard, man. The industry is not used to seeing artists the way I’m showing myself. They were interested maybe in the casanova, the Don Juan, and all the stuff. I stopped behaving like that because I wasn’t feeling that way anymore. I wouldn’t change the moment I’m living right now. I feel very grateful, but it’s tough when you have a family and you have to balance so many situations every day. This whole journey gave me the strength I needed to be here right now.

That’s a part of growing up in the industry, finishing one chapter and starting a new one while figuring out your priorities.

It’s transforming, and transforming is always hurtful. You cannot become something without leaving something behind. It’s just the way life is. I could not be more grateful. Everything was worth it and it’s worth it right now. People that didn’t want to see Juan Luis glowing and Juan Luis growing, they’re not part of my career anymore.

Besides your Boss fragrance, what else is in your daily routine right now?

That’s also been a journey too, because I’ve tried a lot of things. I’m very into wellness. The only way you can balance life is by being conscious. That was the No. 1 step: being conscious about the food I was putting inside my body, the way that I was breathing. I wake up every morning and meditate. I have my morning coffee, and I have time for myself. I love reading, and that’s the time for me to read because Paris is not awake yet. That’s my moment before the sun rises, because I wake up every morning at 5, 5:30 a.m. After that, I go to the gym, then I have breakfast, pretty regular, normal. Sometimes in life you get too complicated. That’s what was happening to me. I was putting so much information in my body: I want to try the peptides; I want to try this. Now, I feel less is more, and I’m living it in my life in every situation. Feeling calm is the best way to start my day.

In the afternoon, I’m always in the studio in Medellín. I came here because I can’t live without music, so I make music the whole day. Sharing time with my family, being grateful, seeing the sunrise, seeing the sunset. I love being barefoot, walking in the grass. I love grounding so much. Those things are the right tools in my life to keep growing, not only handling what is going on, but also motivating me to the future and for things to come. A lot of things are about to happen.

I just released the album, and with the album, we’re planning a big tour. I’m getting ready for that moment where I want to be 100% physically and mentally, and it takes discipline. Sometimes I want to have drinks with my friends, but then I decide, f*ck no, I want to stay at home. I want to share time with my family. To be honest, when I learned to say no, that’s when I improved my life. That’s when I started growing. Less is more.

If you had to choose one of the songs from your album to soundtrack this campaign, what would you say fits the vibe the best?

“Loco X Volver” because it talks about coming back to my city, coming back to the situations I miss so much. I spent 15 years touring nonstop. I decided to go back to the kid, go back to those situations that were so simple. With the fragrance, that’s what I’m living right now. I love horses and I live on a ranch here with horses. Every time I’m close to the horses, I feel the same vibe with the fragrance, which is very interesting too. The fragrance also helps me to go back to the real things, to the things that really matter.

Are there any other scents that invoke those same memories?

It’s the horse. It’s the dog. It’s the grass. It’s the morning pollen that comes from the flowers. Those little things remind me and take me there every time.