Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio in Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny has become one of the most prolific figures in Latin America Latin trap and reggaeton musical style. Hitting the scene during the mid 2010s, the artist gained traction by collaborating with artists such as J Balvin, Ozuna and Karol G, but it was in 2018, when Bad Bunny hopped onto Cardi B’s 2018 hit I Like It that the artist became a global phenomenon. Tapping into his Latin musical influences and playing the bad boy side that comes with a stage name like Bad Bunny, the artist has given a new face and new experimental sounds to the reggaeton genre.
Bad Bunny has now become one of the most streamed artists on Spotify for 3 years in a row, hitting 18.5 billion listeners last year – the highest record of all time. Each of his albums are now expected, as they do, to rank high on the charts, and his world tours to become a sold-out event where everyone brings the energy and the moves. With three Grammys and four Latin Grammy awards under his belt, Bad Bunny has become one of the most prominent figures from Latin America. Keep reading to find out about 5 defining tracks that has led the artist to where he is today.
SOY PEOR
Translating to I’m Worse, Soy Peor became one of Bad Bunny’s early breakout hits. The song follows the Latin artist as he talks about a previous tormenting experience with love and relationships, and how heartache has changed him and the way he approaches life. The song peaked at no. 19 on the Hot Latin charts and generated just over 1 billion streams on YouTube. This trap-infused sees the Spanish-speaking singer dive deep with his poignant lyrics, proving from the get-go that his artistry is not just reggaeton-style dance hits.
SOLO DE MI
While Soy Peor explored a breakup that went sour, Solo De Mi also covers the story of heartache, but this time in a much more remorseful way. Bad Bunny mixes his soothing voice with slower reggaeton beats and melancholic instrumentals, putting emphasis on the singer’s torn emotions. The song itself sees Bad Bunny trying to detach himself from a woman who has been hurt by his actions, and the accompanying music video was part of an anti-domestic violence campaign.
LA ROMANA FT. EL ALFA
La Romana was ahead of its time when it was first released in 2018. Reminiscent of beach parties and good times during the summer season, this crossover of artists brought together Bad Bunny’s playful reggaeton influences and El Alfa’s Dominican dembow flow. Starting off with a classic Latin guitar riff, the middle of the song features a beat change, turning into a much more uptempo, high energy track with background vocals repeating the word “fuego”. While this may not be one of Bad Bunny’s most popular songs, it showcased his experimental and genre-merging abilities.
YO PERREO SOLA
This song is dedicated to all the women who like to leave it all on the dance floor. Yo Perreo Sola – meaning I Twerk Alone – goes back to the roots of reggaeton and explores the sexual and fun influential dances to come out of Africa and the Carribeans. The music video itself sees Bad Bunny performing in drag, a subversive move from the artist whose initial intention when writing the song was to have a woman sing it.
TITÍ ME PREGUNTÓ
One of his latest songs, Tití Me Preguntó goes down a Latin pop root without compromising Bad Bunny’s artistry. Tapping into his player persona, this song flaunts the fact that when Bad Bunny’s aunt asks him about his girlfriend, he responds by saying he has a new one everyday. With the high-energy reggaeton beats and accompanying alarm-like sounds, Tití Me Preguntó has become yet another song that undeniably just makes you want to get on your feet and move.
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