Less than two years ago, the exotic, daring and even a little irreverent style of a “bad rabbit” took over the music market worldwide. Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, self-proclaimed bad bunny, enjoys a popularity and success that have led him to be the creditor of multiple Latin Grammysparticipate in the superbowl with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez and dance the Macarena with the models of fashion; furthermore, we saw him in a duel at gunpoint with Brad Pitt in the trailer of Bullet Train.
And it is that the Puerto Rican composer, in a short time, has already ventured into fashion and acting, and even had his own version simpsons with his video clip I wish you the best. In 2020 he became the first Latino urban artist to be on the cover of the magazine rolling stone. A year later, the magazine Time considered him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, being only 27 years old.
In the vertiginous time, he released three albums in the same year (2020), one of them without prior notice: YHLQMDLG (I do what I want), The ones that were not going to leave and the last tour of the worldwhich became the first full album in Spanish to reach the top of the Billboard 200 chart.
Bad Bunny went from packing other people’s purchases in a supermarket to making the world dance at his feet.
“Do you know what I do when I’m sad? I listen to Bad Bunny,” says one of the characters in his clips to another, who was about to hang from a rope. But what makes Bad Bunny so popular? What is the reason for its success, marked by a large group that loves it and others who resist doing it? THE UNIVERSE He went to specialists in the musical field to make a complete review of the character and his sound proposal.
Garbage letter?
For Juan Carlos Urrutiadirector of choirs and a graduate in Musical Pedagogy, this current success responds to a desired aesthetic, to a facileness, eroticism and cognitive elementalism. “It’s like fast food: you like it for the moment, but it doesn’t feed you in the long run”expresses the also composer.
the culture manager Mario Raphael Maldonado He considers that his ovation is due to a loss of values that has caused a social decomposition. “His lyrics are sexist and offend women; and yet they don’t seem to care. (…) In this very superficial era, people dance what is fashionable to be inbut he doesn’t listen to the lyrics.” opines.
In his songs he deals with sex in a very explicit way, in safaera (song that was removed from Spotify in 2020) has phrases like: “My bug is on the run and I want you to hide it from me, grab it like a bonga”; on Yonaguni, says instead “Shorty has a really big ass, eh To-too big”; and when the ‘Bunny’ gave us a bath of melancholy in If I see your mom break the moment with an uncensored line: “And the thing is that I’m snatched ‘Thinking of all’ the times I put it in you”.
“Sex plays the same role here as in any other genre. The bolero was always dedicated to a woman and she said, in a cute way, that she wanted to put it in her”, the interpreter expressed last year in his defense in an interview with amanda marsfrom The country.
The lyrics are not the most important thing nowadays, he says Juan Mejia, classical musician. “Let’s remember that Latin dance music does not have great messages (…). In some of Bad Bunny’s songs we don’t even hear rhyme, however, all these things are solved from the production process (…). We are in a time when language is different; what was taboo a few years ago is not so much now”he maintains.
The music researcher agrees with this Samaela Campos, who points out that one of the great successes of Bad Bunny is his lyrical proposal. “The connector lies in the experiential facts, narrated with uncensored colloquial language, which is the wake-up call in the adolescent and young generations, who are not shocked by these lyrics, but rather identify themselves”exposes.
In addition, specialists mention that the non-Spanish-speaking public that follows this artist also connects with the sound of his voice, deep and raspy. “Those throat sounds that he has when he sings are what he draws attention to. (…) The world wants to consume something Latin and, above all, they want to consume a different tone of voice, just as in its time the voice of Gente de Zona was highly valued”says Mejía.
Humility + social context
The teacher and artist Jenny Villafuerte He maintains that the Puerto Rican seeks to convey the sociocultural context to strengthen his identity as an artist, and this is complemented by his musical base, which he describes as slow and catchy. “Let’s remember that he started recording videos on Instagram, until it went viral and quickly gained popularity”mentions.
“The visual semiotics that he uses connects with a large part of the youth, who identify with their humble origins. His lack of diction, the vulgarisms adapted to the lyrics of his songs…”, Add.
Reggaeton is a genre that comes from the street, from the underground, from poor people who had no options. Sometimes even criminals, but I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. People who got out of jail, or sold drugs, and in the end saw a light in that genre of reggaeton
Bad Bunny (For The Country)
Added to this is his closeness to political issues, such as his position against corruption in Puerto Rico; or his empathy with women’s rights (albeit contradictory) and LGBT rights.
in his video clip Just of me presents a young woman who, while performing her song on stage, suffers bruises on her face, until suddenly they disappear and she smiles. In her lyrics she says: “I am not yours or anyone else’s, I am only my own.”
While on his popular topic I twerk alone, Bad Bunny combines his extravagant glasses, wide shirts with false eyelashes, wig, long nails, heels and some feminine outfits; all this to personify an “empowered woman”. In one of her lines she exclaims: “Let no slimy stick to him”and at the end of the clip it shows the following message: “If he doesn’t want to dance with you, respect him.”
Meticulous production and marketing
Investigator Campos maintains that Bad Bunny handles meticulous production and marketing work. “Something that must be recognized is that Bad Bunny is not an improvised artist and his success speaks for itself, showing that he has a work team that adapts to the process chain (promoter, manager, writers, musicians, producers, production engineers). sound, PR, creatives, musical directors, etc.), which supports its popularity”details.
Bad Bunny does what he wants… and succeeds!
Campos explains that his team of producers knows how to use sound resources to attract the attention of the larger public, since BB is also interested in making himself known in that population, without this necessarily meaning a massive consumption of his music. While in the young public he looks for a hitch. “The topic if i see your mom uses the musical motif of the song The girl from Ipanemawhich became popular in the decade of the sixties, approximately”exemplified.
Regarding this, Mejía explains that, as it is music for commercial consumption, producers will always opt for a formula that works in the market: simple and enduring harmony in the memory. “They combine simple sounds, make a beat be quite sticky. This formula not only works with Bad Bunny, but also with other artists”, describes.
“If the music is very complicated, people will only remember a few things, and they won’t get along with it. We are talking about what is commercial music, and its objective is that it stays in your mind when you listen to it”, he adds.
This is how his songs have not only been pigeonholed in the Latin trap; has also been incorporating other genres into his music, such as rockkizomba and Bolero and soul; creating a cocktail of rhythms in several of his songs.
audiovisual satire
Campos reviews the graphic reference that the artist uses in his videos. “It uses satire, sarcasm, which is combined with warm to cold colorization, and in turn playing with different types of shot, going from sequence to close-up”it says.
The researcher says that comparisons between artists of different generations do not fit, since each era had its own musical reference. “Their productions respond to current trends”, judgment. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
