Karol G’s Parents: Her Mom Was Once Tipped by Pablo Escobar Dad Worked in the Music Business

Before their daughter became famous, Karol G’s parents worked tirelessly to help the singer accomplish her dreams of becoming a performer. And now, as she tops the charts, Karol G gives credit to her parents, who never stopped believing in her.

Karol G was born in Medellín, Colombia, to Juan Guillermo Giraldo Ramírez and Marta Navarro. She developed a passion for singing from a young age, with her father — a local Colombian artist — noticing her strong voice and rhythm from age five.

After spotting their daughter’s talent before anybody else, Karol G’s parents made it their mission to see their daughter succeed — from selling her CDs to supporting her through years of rejection. And now, Karol G ensures her parents enjoy the fruits of their labor with her.

Karol G grew up in Colombia in the 1990s, when the drug lord, Pablo Escobar, was still alive. According to her, it was “a strange” time. Though he once gave Navarro — who was working as a waitress — a sizable tip that changed her family’s life, it was during his era that the singer’s uncle died.

On the other hand, her father was an aspiring artist who was afforded little opportunity to turn his dreams into reality. Instead, Ramírez spent his time exposing his children to different genres of music and his weekends playing in a band.

And in 2021, the singer took a trip down memory lane and shared an old clip of her and her father dancing and singing together, surrounded by her first “fans.” The singer’s caption, in English, read:

“January 1, 1996. My first stage. My first manager. My first fans. Dreams come true.”

When Karol G was 15, her father encouraged her to try out for the Colombian version of “X-Factor.” The singer passed the initial stages but was eliminated a few rounds before the final.

However, that was the beginning of a long journey to the top. After the singer’s father quit his job to become his daughter’s manager, Ramírez and his wife sold their car and drained their savings to help their daughter chase her dreams.

Karol G revealed that her father still gets emotional when she updates him about her career milestones.

“[It was like] cutting a path through a jungle with a machete,” Ramírez said of the uphill battle that was helping his daughter break into the male-dominated Raggeaton music industry. However, his efforts did not prove to be futile, as Karol G shared:

“It was a challenge to keep believing in myself. And if it wasn’t for my parents convincing me that I could make it, I would have felt ashamed and abandoned the whole thing.”

After fighting her way into the music industry and persevering in the face of adversity, Karol G made a name for herself as a Grammy-award-winning, chart-topping artist with collaborations with Spanish artists such as Daddy Yankee, Shakira, and Becky G.

However, she would not have been able to do it without her parents’ unwavering help and support. “They believed in me since the first day,” she said. The singer added:

“I always spend time with my parents and bring them anywhere I go so they can enjoy the fruits of the labor.”

During an interview, Karol G revealed that her father still gets emotional when she updates him about her career milestones. In 2023, she took to TikTok to document the heartwarming moment she played one of her songs with sentimental background for her parents.