He’s remained true to his roots
In honor of hip-hop’s 50-year anniversary, I want to highlight one hip-hop artist that should be talked about more – Bad Bunny.
Actually, that came out wrong. Bad Bunny is talked about a lot. Like, a lot.
He‘s been the most streamed artist on Spotify for the past three years and his albums consistently top the charts upon their release. His sometimes political, yet playful, and always authentic brand of music has led GQ to dub him “the barrier-blurring king of Latin trap.” But while his achievements are impressive in their own right, his refusal to crossover into English music impresses me the most.
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“I’ve never made a song saying, ‘This is going to go worldwide,’” he said to GQ. “I never made a song thinking, Man, this is for the world. This is to capture the gringo audience. Never. On the contrary, I make songs as if only Puerto Ricans were going to listen to them.”
It’s monumental that Bad Bunny can see such immense success while not catering his music to English-speaking audiences. His commitment to staying true to himself is a luxury that not every Latin artist could afford in the past. Many had to cross over to the English market as a business tactic for them to expand their already-existing success.
There was a “Latin explosion” in the music industry during the late 90s and early 2000s. In 1999, Ricky Martin performed his Spanish hit “La Copa de la Vida” to a Grammy audience largely unaware of his success in Latin America. A little over a month later, “Livin La Vida Loca” hit American radio stations. The single was fresh off Martin’s first self-titled English-language album — Ricky Martin. His venture into global superstardom. Martin is considered to be the start of the Latin explosion.
Leila Cobo, Vice President at Billboard, said the reaction of music executives to Martin’s Grammy performance led to his English-language crossover.
“After that performance, they said, ‘Oh my God, this was such a hit. We need a similar song,’” said Cobo said in an NPR interview. “[They said] ‘How do we make it Latin without being too Latin, right? Because we want it to be a global hit.’”
Shakira’s first English-language album, Laundry Service, released in 2001, led to her career taking off internationally. The lead single “Whenever, Wherever” went number one in multiple countries.
Bad Bunny is one of the most successful artists in the world right now and sings his Latin trap entirely in Spanish. If he had started out during the 90s, that would have been considered a death sentence.
“It’s true that now Spanish has become mainstream,” Shakira told Variety in 2021. “But breaking through that barrier at the time was so important, not only for me as an individual but also [for] the culture I was representing.”
Artists like Thalia, Enrique Iglesias and more recently, Prince Royce, have all made crossovers from Spanish into English music with varying levels of success. Now, it’s the listeners that are making the crossovers from English to Spanish music. Artists like Ozuna, Daddy Yankee and Maluma have remained in the Spanish-language market and have seen enormous amounts of success. None have compared to the levels that Bad Bunny has gone to, however.
Some artists have actually made the crossover from English to Spanish. Mexican-American artist Becky G began her career with English music that saw moderate levels of success (I recall her one hit “Shower” was on rotation on Radio Disney). However, when she released her Spanish single “Mayores,” featuring the man of the hour himself, Bad Bunny, she gained widespread recognition and success in the traditionally male dominated world of Latin urban pop.
Bad Bunny is one of the most successful artists in the world right now and sings his Latin trap entirely in Spanish. If he had started out during the 90s, that would have been considered a death sentence. Despite Ricky Martin and Shakira already having successful careers, their pivot to English launched them to levels that were previously unattainable.
To me, this is bigger than Bad Bunny. This is a message about the music industry and the world as a whole. In such a short amount of time, there has been a major shift. Foreign artists are now receiving recognition from English speakers. The explosion in international popularity for Latin music purely in Spanish is partly due to Bad Bunny.
His dedication to his language and culture has made him an icon in the eyes of his fans. His music sets him apart from the Latin artists before him who had to accommodate English-speaking audiences.
Artists were told by their labels that they needed to learn and sing English to have a successful international career. Some people felt that the artists turned their back on their culture by doing so. While I don’t consider an artist who caters to an audience separate from their own culture as betrayal, I do understand the frustration. People value their language. Having a singer that represents your language start making music in another can feel a lot like betrayal. Bad Bunny is making sure his fans never feel betrayed.
His most recent album, nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mañana, is a great example of this. Released on October 13, this 22-track work is a time capsule back to his early music days of Latin trap. His trap music is what catapulted him into fame back in 2016 with the gritty “Soy Peor.” His music since then has deviated in styles and tones (his massive album Un Verano Sin Ti has been described as an encapsulation of various Caribbean music genres), but he has always had a handle on his hip-hopness. “Nadie sabe” is pure Latin trap, and Bad Bunny is still the king.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico Bad Bunny’s pride in his country and in his language are an integral part of who he is. He also has multiple politically-charged songs involving then-Puerto Rican governor Ricardo Rosselló, the island’s electricity crisis and the 2020 presidential election. His dedication to his language and culture has made him an icon in the eyes of his fans. His music sets him apart from the Latin artists before him who had to accommodate English-speaking audiences. Overall, he says it best in the title of his second album: Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana.
I do what I want.
Header by Samarah Nasir
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