Bad Bunny can do whatever he wants. 

On 2022’s Album Of The Year-nominated Un Verano Sin Ti, the iconoclastic Puerto Rican reggaetonero dabbled ably in dream pop, dembow, dub reggae, merengue and whatever other genre came to hand. His creative abandon reflected that of a bedroom producer, rather than one of the biggest stars in the world with everyone watching him. 

This all makes perfect sense, because Bad Bunny is still a completely independent artist. Whatever it is — adventures into norteño-cumbia, donning a backless white suit with a train and body jewelry, or professional wrestling — el conejo malo will pull it off. Bad Bunny is clearly on a new level and in his new album Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, out today, he declares: "Ya no estoy en mi peak, ahora estoy en mi prime" (I'm no longer at my peak, now I'm in my prime.)

Clearly, he knows he can do whatever he wants and how to do it. Bad Bunny's fifth record is a look at what happens when he confidently embraces this freedom. Here are five takeaways from Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana.

The Concept Of Crossing Over Is Dead

Bad Bunny might have killed the crossover (he at least called it in a recent interview with Vanity Fair). He was never interested in being a "crossover" superstar, singing in English and tailoring his style for non-Latin audiences, even on his own terms. Instead, he created a new mold for a global pop star. He established himself quickly on the international scene as music’s enigmatic trickster hero, the pure embodiment of chaotic good, and used his  music as a plaything — a tool for creating chaos of genre, gender and language, in essence a toy. 

Yet it never seems like he’s chasing a trend: With Un Verano Sin Ti he made a Latin indie album and on El último Tour Del Mundo he rocked out and made an emo rap album with exquisite tropigoth flourishes. On Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, Bad Bunny returns confidently to his roots in Latin trap, having played the major role in raising the genre’s global profile. He brought the entire scene to join him on the album from the OGs Arcángel and De La Ghetto, to newcomer Young Miko. This time around he's mixing in drill, Jersey club and other electronic beats. 

He’s been called a reverse crossover artist, inviting the uninitiated into his world and language. Crossover to Bad Bunny? Sure. If you can keep up with him.

Drill Is The International Language

As the album title nonchalantly states, no one knows what will happen tomorrow, but if you are looking for clues, the latest Bad Bunny album is a good place to start. So, keep your ear to the ground for Latin drill. From its birthplace in Chicago to its spread to South Korea, drill is quickly becoming the lingua franca of youth — and that includes the Spanish speaking world. 

Benito would have to at least dip a toe in, but "No Me Quiero Casar" finds him diving straight into frigid synths and a rumbling drill beat. "Mr. October," with its jackhammer production and horror-movie vibes, is also squarely in that cold blooded vein. Like everyone else who takes up the menacing mantle, he seems to find it cathartic.

He’s Not Afraid Of The Dark

You could view Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana as Bad Bunny's most sonically mature and heavy-sounding album. Bad Bunny and his production team chose a mostly gloomy palette, creating a shadowy world of after-hours sounds. Apart from the drill and trap, there’s "Cybertruck" and "Where She Goes," which lean into hard club rap, while "Hibiki" explores a lush but lightless techno landscape.

This Is His Cinematic Era

He’s been living in Los Angeles and more than dabbling in acting. Never afraid to go high-concept, Bad Bunny seems to have been binging the Criterion Channel and is now going full auteur on Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana.

The album is laden with Western, American New Wave, and neo-noir references. "Nadie Sabe" opens the album with six minutes of film score strings over which he ruminates in a Drakian mode. To really bring the vision home, he stars opposite Al Pacino in the sweeping video for "Monaco."

Throughout the album he adopts the role of the brooding don with the energy of a classically trained thespian doing "Richard III." He is so convincing that those used to the gender flouting loverboy and budding revolutionary might be a little unsettled. Then again, it might not all be acting. Perhaps, as he laments in "Nadie Sabe," he’s pushing 30 and starting to feel the weight of the world. 

He Needed To Vent

A lot of the album is a kiss-off to any and all haters, fake fans, exes and anyone who might want to tie him down. Never one to mince words, every track on this album is explicit. Lines on "Nadie Sabe" can be translated as "This album isn’t meant to be played a billion times/It’s so that my real fans are happy/Although inside I don’t feel like it 100 percent/It’s so they can cancel me and hate me." Wow, Benito, tell us how you really feel.

The rapper is wisely reticent about his private life, but if you didn’t know any better you might think this was at least partly a break up album about packing up and moving on. "Gracias Por Nada" is a farewell to a former novia, much of which does not bear translating. "Telefono Nuevo" is a murky trap epic with the tone of a mob-land saga and the content of a group chat with the boys. Sole well chosen English lyric: "Yes, I know men are trash."

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