Over the past few years, Bad Bunny has become known worldwide as a Latin trap and reggaeton superstar. His success skyrocketed with the production of three chart-topping albums, qualifying him as the most streamed artist on the planet and allowing him to pursue other careers in the entertainment industry such as acting and wrestling. With this rapid increase in popularity and his move to Los Angeles in 2023, Bad Bunny found himself far from his home–Puerto Rico.
But his love for his culture and language continues to be evident in all of his work. He released his sixth album and “most Puerto Rican album yet” on Jan. 5., “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” (I Should Have Taken More Photos), an album dedicated to reconnecting with his Puerto Rican roots and recorded with other Puerto Rican artists. This album combines old rhythms with new styles and slang, creating a new type of music.
It shows that even after the demands of the music industry took him away from Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny has decided not to conform to the industry’s pressure to “go worldwide.” Not only in the title song, “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos,” which has risen to No.1 on the Billboard Charts, but throughout all of the album’s 17 diverse tracks, Bad Bunny explores themes of enjoying life to the fullest, urging listeners to seize every minute. Looking back on his personal life, he realized he “should’ve taken more pictures.”, which inspired the title of his album.
It has been so much fun listening to this new music for the past few months. When he made the album announcement the day after Christmas, I wondered which direction he would go this time–whether it would be more like the widely loved “Un Verano Sin Ti” (A Summer Without You) from 2022, which echoed summer vibes and propelled Bad Bunny to his status as a global superstar, or more like his most recent album, from 2023, “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana” (Nobody Knows What’s Going to Happen Tomorrow), which I personally couldn’t stop listening to but which received more criticism for its unpredictable, somewhat tense and tough style. When I first heard the new singles, “Pitorro de Coco” (Coconut Rum) and “El CLub” (obviously – The Club) in the days leading up to the album’s release, I was left waiting excitedly to find out what vibe the album would explore. From the first song I heard when the full album was released, I was hooked. The album explores a range of styles from songs that imitate an amped up house music vibe, to some that are more mellow, and even melancholy.
