In the ever-evolving world of Latin music, few artists have made as big of an impact as Bad Bunny. His latest album NSLQVPM(nadie sabe lo que va pasar mañana), or “No One Knows What Will Happen Tomorrow,” is yet another testament to his artistry and the evolution of Latin music. On the same day of its release, Spotify posted to Instagram that it had broken the record for the album with the most streams in a single day for 2023. Currently, it has over 240 million on-demand official streams.
After the album was released, a lot of his fans, including me, were raging on social media about how “Trap Bunny” is back, and they still are. (Trap Bunny is a nickname Bad Bunny was given for being the “Latino Trap King.”)
I have been a Bad Bunny fan since 2016 which was the start of his Latino Trap era, so listening to this album made me euphoric. He has announced that on his tour all the songs played will be Latino Trap only, like his most famous Latino trap songs, “Me Mata” “Chambea” “Si Tu Lo Dejas” “Soy peor” etc. Latino trap is a Latin subgenre, that mostly gets its influence from Puerto Rican genres like Dembow and Reggaeton. For example, Bad Bunny’s classic “La Romana” is Dembow, which is faster than Reggaeton.
I enjoyed the beats of every song in the album. Each contains a similar rhythm, and he still raps about his favorite things: sex, money, and his home country, Puerto Rico. But this album contains deeper topics.
In the first song in the album, “Nadie sabe,” Bad Bunny raps about how some fans believe they know the life of famous people when in reality, they don’t know a single thing. This really stood out to me because Bad Bunny is now spreading awareness in his songs. He hasn’t rapped about serious topics in a while. In 2020, Bad Bunny spread awareness about the coronavirus with his song, “En Casita”. I love that Bad Bunny is going back to his old type of rapping style.
A lot of his most recent albums, like Un Verano Sin Ti, were far from Trap. It was still a good album because the songs carried the entire summer, but it just wasn’t Trap.
As soon as Bad Bunny posted a music video clip of the song, “Monaco” from his new album, He showed himself with a buzz cut. Instantly, I knew 2016 Trap Bunny was back.
Not only had Bad Bunny buzzed his hair, but he also made songs with trap artists such as Young Miko, Bryant Myers, Mora, Luar La L, YOVNGCHIMI, Eladio Carrion, Feid, Arcángel, De La Ghetto, and Ñengo Flow in this album.
“Mr. October” is the strongest song. Bad Bunny whistles between lyrics in the verses and it gives it such a good flow. Bad Bunny raps about how he wishes he could go broke so he could start hustling again and become a millionaire again.
Another favorite is “Fina” which features Young Miko. It’s a tribute to the song “Pa Que Retozen” by Tego Calderon, another reggaeton artist from the early 2000s. The beats of the song make me want to dance alone in the rain. All of the songs do.
There are also sad songs in the album, which takes me back to when he released “Soy Peor.” The best sad song he has in this album is “Baby Nueva,” in which he raps about how he doesn’t care about his ex anymore. He raps, “Que si a ti te va bien, a mi me va mejor” which translates to, “If you’re doing well, I’m doing better.”
The song “Where She Goes” was released on May 18th as a single. He put it in this album and it’s a huge hit. When it was first released, I thought it was not as strong as all his other songs; however, I did grow to love it because I heard it on repeat during the summer, getting used to the beat and understanding the lyrics better. The song is not Latino Trap but Latin Urbano, another subgenre that evolved from Dembow, Reggaeton, and Dancehall.
“Acho PR” is a song about Puerto Rico. It features Arcángel, De La Ghetto, and Ñengo Flow. All of the artists rap about how far they have come, how rich they are, and how grateful they are for those richest. One of Bad Bunny’s verses says, “Cabron, y yo sali del barrio, por eso mi música siempre es pa’l barrio.” or “Dude, I came from the hood, that’s why my music is always for the hood,” showing he is proud of his country and where he came from.
The whole album is filled with quality Latino Trap, and I encourage everyone to listen to it. It brought me back to 2016, almost like an escape from the present-day stresses. I have been listening to the album since it came out. I love Bad Bunny, and I would recommend him and his songs to everyone in the world.