After months away from the spotlight, Rels B presented love love FLAKK on Thursday (May 7) at Madrid’s Plaza Mayor, just hours before the project officially hit streaming platforms at midnight ET. Released under Dale Play Records, the new album navigates between afrobeats, R&B, bossa nova and urban pop.
In front of approximately 11,000 people, according to figures provided by the label, the Spanish rapper turned the Plaza Mayor into a massive listening party. Performing from a large stage set up in the middle of the square and surrounded by a transparent structure, he played all 11 songs from the project while hundreds more fans watched from balconies or even perched on lampposts. “In these times when everything is so instant, having your attention is a privilege,” Rels B said as he took the stage.
Much of love love FLAKK was born during the six months the artist spent in El Retiro, a mountainous area on the outskirts of Medellín, Colombia, where he set up a small studio alongside his closest collaborators. “We set everything up there, with a fireplace and lots of coffee,” Rels B recalls about the house where the project began to take shape, in an interview with Billboard Español.
Rels B presents his new album, ‘love love FLAKK’ at the Plaza Mayor, on May 7 2026 in Madrid, Spain.
Alejandro Bethencourt
From that space, he started to reconnect with a different approach to creating music. “I started to enjoy a more natural way of life, connecting with the simple things, stepping away from the city and all the noise,” he continues. “I started calling my friends to come over there instead of me going to them, and we made music.”
The experience also served as a personal and artistic reconciliation. “I had grown a bit resentful of my project and my way of making music,” Rels B admits. “So the mountains were like a reminder: ‘No, you have to be proud of what we’ve done.’ love love FLAKK is like a hug to myself, to my music and to everything we’ve created.”
He adds, “We’ve created an incredible album — for me, it’s the No. 1 album of my life. We’ve also healed a lot of things and learned so much. We owe Colombia a big hug.”
Over the songwriting process, love love FLAKK found its core in “Aprendí a Decir No” (which means “I Learned to Say No”), a track Rels B identifies as the conceptual heart of the album. “I came from not knowing how to say no,” he explains. “I started to understand that there are people in life you have to say no to. That’s when I wrote that song, and I thought, ‘This could be the album’s central message.’”
The sound also reflects that journey, with “Pañuelito de Seda” providing one of the album’s most unexpected moments. Built around a soft, atmospheric bossa nova, the song showcases a musical exploration that the artist says he wants to continue pursuing. “I’ve been a huge fan of bossa nova for years,” he says about the Brazilian genre. “I have a lot of respect for it because it’s such professional and delicate music, but I feel like I studied it enough to dare try it myself.”
The album also features a collaboration with Kali Uchis titled “El Cielo.” “I’ve been a fan of Kali Uchis for a long time,” Rels B says. “The first message I ever sent her was literally, ‘I’m a fan of yours. I hope we can make music together someday.’ She still has that DM.”
The collab came together naturally during the album’s recording sessions. “One day, we came up with a song, and I thought, ‘She’s going to like this,’” he says. “We sent it to her, and she responded super excited. She jumped on the track and absolutely killed it.”
On July 4, Rels B will take the stage at Madrid’s Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium for the final show of his A New Star World Tour, where several songs from love love FLAKK will make their live debut. “It’s going to be a one-of-a-kind concert,” the artist teases. “We’ve got so many musicians, two different bands and more than 40 songs. I’m going to give it my all and close this chapter on a high note.”
Listen to Rels B’s love love FLAKK below:
