In 2017, Puerto Rican rapper, songwriter and actor Bad Bunny was one of many up-and-coming artists in the hugely competitive field of urbano hitmaking, a newcomer looking for a break. Just a couple of years later, he would become one of the world's biggest pop stars.
It began with a few crucial collaborations. In May of 2017, he released "Ahora Me Llama," an atmospheric Latin trap single recorded with future Colombian star Karol G. Weeks later, he dropped "Mayores," a bouncy reggaetón smash in tandem with American pop sensation Becky G.
While Bad Bunny's star was on the rise, the creative traits that would define his success were already apparent. His prolific work ethic, genre-bending taste, and a distinctive vocal persona — unfailingly genuine, charismatic, occasionally somber — have remained unchanged on his path to global fame. Today, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio is the most streamed artist on Spotify for a third consecutive year, and a two-time GRAMMY winner with an additional nine Latin GRAMMYs to his credit.
His latest opus — a quirky, nostalgic ode to the afterglow of summers past titled Un Verano Sin Ti — is currently the first Spanish LP nominated for an Album Of The Year at the 2023 GRAMMYs. And in October of 2022, his World’s Hottest Tour across the U.S. and Latin America became the highest grossing tour in history by a Latino artist. True to his cultural superhero achievements, Bad Bunny will also star in his own Marvel movie, El Muerto, scheduled for a January 2024 release.
"Bad Bunny has something for everyone," says Eddie Santiago, Head of US Latin, Artist Partnerships with Spotify. "At the root of his music and brand messaging is inclusivity. Benito appeals to groups that, for the most part, have been ignored by the mainstream media, especially in the Latin space."
Benito first demonstrated this inclusivity — or lack of regard for the status quo — on 2020's YHLQMDLG (Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana or "I Do Whatever I Please”), which on Best Latin Pop or Urban Album at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards. He has maintained that attitude on all subsequent works, while some of his intriguing aesthetic decisions — like walking onstage wearing a dress and high heels — have left a further mark on the mainstream.
"I’m taking advantage of this moment in my life when I can do whatever I want and wear what I want, so I get to live life more authentically,” Bad Bunny told Harper's Bazaar in a rare interview. “People on the outside can think that I have a strategy or I wear this to call for attention, but in reality I just know who I am."
"When an artist steps in front of the microphone and expresses himself with utter conviction, people believe in him — and you can certainly go places if you happen to have that gift," says Argentine rapper Tiago PZK. At 21, Tiago has made quite a name for himself in the urbano genre through a poignant session with visionary producer Bizarrap, as well as collaborations with high-profile Puerto Rican singers such as Ozuna and Myke Towers.
"What’s remarkable about Benito is that even though his level of success is off the charts, he is still able to generate songs that ordinary people can identify with," Tiago continues. "Bad Bunny has revolutionized Latin music because, no matter how big he is, you still identify closely with everything he says."
Then there’s the matter of his staggering artistic growth. Benito’s epic 2020 album El Último Tour Del Mundo, which took home a golden gramophone for Best Música Urbana Album at the 64th GRAMMY Awards, had already confirmed him as someone eager to embrace strands from multiple genres. Un Verano Sin Ti ventured even further into the exciting hues of unknown sonic territory — edgy alternative rock, synth-pop, R&B, even a reggaetón duet with Rosalía.
From the childlike cover art featuring a broken heart and dolphins on a tropical beach to his unusual choice of collaborators — Colombian electro-cumbia hipsters Bomba Estéreo, fellow post-reggaetón tastemaker Rauw Alejandro and indie-pop darlings the Marías, to name a few — Un Verano Sin Ti managed the near impossible feat of sounding both intimate and recklessly experimental at the same time.
A sprawling record made up of 23 tracks, it features the expected reggaetón danceathons, then veers into bossa nova chillout ("Yo No Soy Celoso") and idealized reggae ("Me Fui De Vacaciones.") A mega-hit like the kinetic masterpiece "Tití Me Preguntó," on the other hand, blends a bachata guitar line with dembow riddims before fading away on a hallucinatory flash of sheer psychedelia.
"His sound and aesthetics resonate on a global scale," reflects Spotify’s Santiago. "Thanks to streaming, an artist like Bad Bunny can connect instantly with millions of fans."
It is no coincidence that the mixmaster of this pan-Latin revolution hails from Puerto Rico. La isla del encanto has demonstrated time and again an uncanny ability to transcend borders — from the bolero velvet of Tito Rodríguez in the ‘60s to the salsa revolution of El Gran Combo and Héctor Lavoe in the ‘70s, the poppified merengue grooves of Olga Tañón in the ‘90s and the reggaetón explosion ignited in the early 2000s by the likes of Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón and Don Omar. Ozuna, Anuel AA and Rauw Alejandro stand alongside Benito as the stars of a current Boricua wave taking the world by storm.
"I had the pleasure of visiting Puerto Rico," adds Tiago PZK. "It’s a small island where everyone knows each other. You go to a place called la placita at night and an insane party rages on - there’s loud music everywhere. You can see Bad Bunny at one bar, and Daddy Yankee sitting next door. Puerto Rico has generated a musical school of its own, and you can go from 0 to 100 in a minute, because everybody is working on something and they are all open to collaborating with each other. Music is the option of choice for kids who want to get out of the barrio. The hunger to escape has the power to transport you to unimaginable heights."
Bad Bunny plans to take a much needed sabbatical from music during 2023, and it remains to be seen what his return to touring and recording will look like. But his influence on how Latin sounds are perceived around the world will linger for a long time to come.
"Spanish is a world dominant language, and Latin beats tell a story in themselves, whether you understand the language or not," says Santiago. "In the end, the Latin music experience cuts through the noise, and it came to a point where mainstream media could no longer ignore it."
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