Speaker 1: This is becoming an icon. Last episode, we told you
Speaker 1: all about Bad Bunny and his journey to superstardom, how
Speaker 1: he made his way from a small town in Puerto
Speaker 1: Rico to SoundCloud to one of the hottest collaborators in
Speaker 1: the music industry. Homeboy spread his wings and were featured
Speaker 1: on one of the best summer songs of all time.
Speaker 1: According to me, I was gonna say, where did you
Speaker 1: fact check that? Joseph think just me? I like it
Speaker 1: with Cardi b and Jay Balvin had taken Bad Bunny's
Speaker 1: career to new heights and beneath them, well, he was
Speaker 1: determined to stay there. He rushed to release his debut
Speaker 1: album Porcimp before the year was out, and jumped on
Speaker 1: collabs with some of the hottest stars in the world.
Speaker 1: I'm talking Jlo Maluma. Bad Bunny was not throwing away
Speaker 1: his Joseph. Yeah, we don't have Clarence for him on songs.
Speaker 1: Oh okay, Well then he wasn't going to lose himself
Speaker 1: in the moment. Oh yeah, you know what, we can't
Speaker 1: afford eminem either, Like can I just okay, just sin
Speaker 1: because we're gonna tell you all about Bad Bunny's career
Speaker 1: it was on the rise, and he was on the
Speaker 1: verge of kicking off a cultural renaissance. But before the
Speaker 1: world heard him Ryme with Cardi b his beloved island
Speaker 1: faced a challenge it hadn't seen in generations, and Bad
Speaker 1: Bunny put everything in Boosa. I'm your host, Liliana Vaskaz
Speaker 1: and I'm Joseph Carrillo and this is Becoming an Icon
Speaker 1: a weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on
Speaker 1: how today's most famous Latin X stars have shaped pop
Speaker 1: culture and given the world some expressable Sit back and
Speaker 1: get comfortable because we are going in the only way
Speaker 1: we know how. With Buena has resays, sound cheese and
Speaker 1: a lot of opinions as we relive their greatest achievements
Speaker 1: on our journey to find out what makes them so icon.
Speaker 1: It quick trigger warning. We can't talk about bad money
Speaker 1: and not mention how a hurricane Madia halted his world domination.
Speaker 1: So it's going to get a little emo up in here.
Speaker 1: But just for a minute, Hey, not to worry. I
Speaker 1: brought the tissues. As you're trusted host, we do have
Speaker 1: a responsibility to tell you everything that makes these artists icons,
Speaker 1: and this is important. But afterwards, Can we take a
Speaker 1: betil break and shake that ass. There's always time for that.
Speaker 1: The bond between Beneathal and Puerto Rico runs deep. In
Speaker 1: an interview with Apple Music, he said this, I keep
Speaker 1: making music from here to the walls. I just want
Speaker 1: people to feel like they're really here on the island
Speaker 1: in the Caribbean. The best part of all my accomplishments
Speaker 1: is when people say, yo, but he's from Puerto Rico.
Speaker 1: I just want people to understand that you can be
Speaker 1: from Puerto Rico and be a star. This bond was
Speaker 1: on display like never before when Hurricane Maria made landfall
Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen. Well, the rest of the world kept going.
Speaker 1: Life on the island stopped for everyone, three point four
Speaker 1: million people with no electricity. Now I still get goosebumps
Speaker 1: thinking about Hurricane Maria. Joseph, where were you when you
Speaker 1: heard the news? Well, actually I was back in New York,
Speaker 1: but I had just been to Puerto Rico, like the
Speaker 1: last week of August, and I was seeing all of
Speaker 1: this stuff on the news. It was just sad because
Speaker 1: I was there, seeing how beautiful it was and seeing
Speaker 1: what happened is nuts. Think about how many people on
Speaker 1: the island aren't going to have electricity and don't have generators.
Speaker 1: This wasn't something that affected a small population. The entire
Speaker 1: island was impacted by what happened. And the second I
Speaker 1: found out, I just went into action. I'm lucky enough
Speaker 1: to work with an incredible board in New York City.
Speaker 1: I'm on the board of Montfeur Hospital, and the second
Speaker 1: they heard of what happened, of course, the doctors in
Speaker 1: Puerto Rico that they're connected to because they have a
Speaker 1: huge presence in the Bronx, reached out and they actually
Speaker 1: had access to about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
Speaker 1: in a cash grant, and that grant had not been
Speaker 1: distributed yet, and so we created an emergency fund and
Speaker 1: basically petitioned the Greater Hospital Network of New York City
Speaker 1: to redistribute that grant money to Puerto Rico. I still
Speaker 1: feel the impact today, Like when I talked to my
Speaker 1: uncle's they still talk about it hasn't gone away. It
Speaker 1: just brought to light the disparity that exists for these
Speaker 1: Americans because we are Americans living on this island. So
Speaker 1: it was big, it was scary, it was heavy, and
Speaker 1: it was just so sad. You know, when you think
Speaker 1: about the impact of the storm, it's a Category story four.
Speaker 1: Winds were sustained at one hundred and fifty five miles
Speaker 1: per hour. This entire storm washes over Puerto Rico on
Speaker 1: September twentieth, twenty seventeen, and bam, the entire electrical grid
Speaker 1: completely collapsed. That means that one hundred percent of the
Speaker 1: island was without electricity. We go without power in New
Speaker 1: York for three minutes and people lose their fucking minds gone,
Speaker 1: it's like my fridge, my air conditioning. Well, it's not
Speaker 1: three minutes. The island was without electricity or months. There
Speaker 1: was no access to clean water, Food was scarce and limited.
Speaker 1: People had to cross rivers just to buy water and gas.
Speaker 1: People were spending five to six hours of their day
Speaker 1: in lining gas stations just to fill up their cars
Speaker 1: or get gasoline for all of the generators. A study
Speaker 1: by Harvard would later determine that the total number of
Speaker 1: Puerto Rican's lost during Hurricane Marie was over four thousand,
Speaker 1: six hundred and forty five people. It was the worst
Speaker 1: storm to hit Puerto Rico in over eighty years. The
Speaker 1: people of Puerto Rico would never forget, and neither has
Speaker 1: been Nito. On the one year anniversary of Maria, he
Speaker 1: went on to Jimmy Fallon to perform his song Estellas
Speaker 1: fian But more than that, he told a story, which
Speaker 1: isn't that kind of what artists are supposed to do.
Speaker 1: They tell their stories through their music, and that night,
Speaker 1: I feel like he chose to tell his a different way,
Speaker 1: through his language and his imagery. And for me it
Speaker 1: was even more powerful because he opened that performance with
Speaker 1: that monologue in English. If you remember, Bad Bunny doesn't
Speaker 1: often speak in English. He usually prefers to speak in Spanish.
Speaker 1: But that night his message was so important that he
Speaker 1: wanted everyone watching across the United States to hear exactly
Speaker 1: what his message was. We're looking at you, Nebraska or
Speaker 1: my homestate, Texas, pick your poison. He also continued the
Speaker 1: strength of his message with that video because a lot
Speaker 1: of the images that most people had seen from Maria
Speaker 1: were devastating, but on Jimmy Fallon, he was showing us
Speaker 1: the real Puerto Rico, the joy that lives on that island.
Speaker 1: Look at the people, Look how beautiful and how strong
Speaker 1: and resilient. We are, and that's exactly what those images proved.
Speaker 1: He was just showing proof of you know what, we
Speaker 1: are doing good. But months later, Benito was still pissed,
Speaker 1: so pissed that Benito came out wearing a shirt that said,
Speaker 1: I mean a literal virtual slable And it was all
Speaker 1: because Trump was in a Twitter feud with the mayor
Speaker 1: of San Juan. That's giving petty. Trump is giving petty.
Speaker 1: But like I would wear that shirt. I wear label
Speaker 1: stuff all the time. I have a shirt that says,
Speaker 1: f I think I love you. You're making a statement
Speaker 1: here and I'm here for it. Benito often crosses that
Speaker 1: line between artists and activists, and it's what we love
Speaker 1: about him, because when you care so deeply about an issue,
Speaker 1: how do you pretend it just doesn't exist. He had
Speaker 1: taken a break from performing and social media to focus
Speaker 1: on his mental health, but now that he was in
Speaker 1: a good place, it was time for some hits. So
Speaker 1: let's reset. It's late summer twenty eighteen and Bad Bunny
Speaker 1: just stepped off the stage at the tonight show. I
Speaker 1: like it is dominating. The chart is almost bien is
Speaker 1: an anthem in Puerto Rico. The next obvious step was
Speaker 1: that album. I mean, he was collaborating with major players
Speaker 1: like Drake and j lo um Babes. Where is the
Speaker 1: freaking album? Well, clearly hiding out with rerease album Don't
Speaker 1: Get Me started. On December twenty third, Eljolo tweeted that
Speaker 1: he would be dropping an album that night. Yes, the
Speaker 1: Bad Bunny who stole Christmas. Think like buy Mariah. All
Speaker 1: I want for Christmas is Benito exactly. Santa had to
Speaker 1: take a backseat to Benito because the entire holiday season
Speaker 1: suddenly became all about him. Florimbut was everywhere and it's
Speaker 1: now become somewhat of a Christmas tradition on the island,
Speaker 1: you know, jingle bells and when Bad Bunny drops a
Speaker 1: new album, you can't go anywhere without three or four
Speaker 1: cars in the same vicinity, the last in that shit
Speaker 1: and on repeat. But here's the craziest part about this
Speaker 1: entire album. It had absolutely zero advanced marketing. One day
Speaker 1: out of nowhere, all of these eye catching billboards just
Speaker 1: went up around Puerto Rico. All they said was Bad
Speaker 1: Bunny Orde and of course the iconic eye from the
Speaker 1: cover art of the album, which would later become a
Speaker 1: fashion signature for the singer. Honestly, I don't think anybody
Speaker 1: knew what it was. There was no context, there was
Speaker 1: no advance warning. When you saw the Bad Bunny, which
Speaker 1: was meant to look like fire burning, right, then you
Speaker 1: see the eye and then you have your X one
Speaker 1: zero zero pr That shit could be anything. But also
Speaker 1: another thing about the billboards that they were only going
Speaker 1: around in Puerto Rico. Yeah, it gives you a window
Speaker 1: into how beneath the prioritizes his success right exactly, He's
Speaker 1: not interested in global superstardom. What he wanted and what
Speaker 1: he's always wanted was to make music that represented his island.
Speaker 1: And that music is made for Puerto Ricans, right, And
Speaker 1: that's just what made it so like organic. Yes, because
Speaker 1: while the whole world loves that sound and loves that music,
Speaker 1: he did it for his island. He did it for
Speaker 1: his Buddhai. So the fact that he focused on very
Speaker 1: little promotion just on puer Rico, it really gives you
Speaker 1: insight into who he is. All of this was really
Speaker 1: kind of an experiment. Bad Bunny said that he wanted
Speaker 1: to create something that played with different genres and sounds.
Speaker 1: He mixed grunge punk rock with Dembo to create a
Speaker 1: totally unique sound. He says that people had tried to
Speaker 1: change his concept of what music is, that music is work,
Speaker 1: but it's not like that, and he says that in
Speaker 1: this album, I said no, I need to do something
Speaker 1: that fulfills me and makes me happy. Benico was finally
Speaker 1: making the music he wanted to make, but he wasn't
Speaker 1: done experimenting, and for his next project, he needed his
Speaker 1: partner in crime, his Colombian counterpart, his minister in this
Speaker 1: new religion, Bang Bang. On June twenty eight, twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: Bad Bunny released Oasses, an eight track collaborative album with
Speaker 1: Jose Alvaro Osorio Baldwin, also known as Jay Balvin. The
Speaker 1: two artists met during Bad Bunny's SoundCloud era back in
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen. So Jay Balvin was visiting Puerto Rico for
Speaker 1: a show at Choli when DJ Luian, already confident in
Speaker 1: Bad Bunny as an artist, introduced the two. So on
Speaker 1: March third, twenty seventeen, they released Citola Mister and Mister
Speaker 1: Stelio Girl Up in Here. The song entered the Hot
Speaker 1: Latin Songs Start at number fourteen. It also went on
Speaker 1: to earn the two artists a Latin Grammy nomination for
Speaker 1: Best Urban Fusion Performance. This video is also such a
Speaker 1: great starting point for the evolution of Bad Bunny and
Speaker 1: Jay Balvin's personal style. When I've watched the video, I
Speaker 1: feel like we were getting like a baby bad Bunny,
Speaker 1: like a baby Bunny. There was no denying the chemistry
Speaker 1: between Bad Bunny and Jay Balvin, and this was just
Speaker 1: the beginning of a beautiful friendship and a string of hits.
Speaker 1: Like big hits. The two of them went on to
Speaker 1: collab on more tracks like since Bali that with Prince Royce,
Speaker 1: I have to say it Royce, and of course I
Speaker 1: like it with Cardi B. By the way, I'm still
Speaker 1: so fucking angry that Bad Bunny did not hop on
Speaker 1: stage at MSG went outside Joy Balvin, that's not cool.
Speaker 1: Jay Balvin hinted at a possible album with the Puerto
Speaker 1: Rican rapper. Balvin shared, he likes what I like, and
Speaker 1: he's all about the culture and he's super humble. I
Speaker 1: just love him and I love what he does, and
Speaker 1: of course I would love to have him an album
Speaker 1: like that. Bad Bunny shared about the album we've been
Speaker 1: working on it for a long time and finally we
Speaker 1: found its moment. Working with Jay Balvin has undoubtedly been
Speaker 1: an unparalleled experience. I've always admired and respected him a lot,
Speaker 1: and we have an excellent vibe throughout this whole process.
Speaker 1: And by the way, when you hear him say this
Speaker 1: in Spanish, it's way better me translating this English like
Speaker 1: no is't not good. He says vivid as like ten times,
Speaker 1: it's so bad. Bunny in the Puerto Rican accent is
Speaker 1: just so good. And then of course Balvin jumps in
Speaker 1: and then here's what he said. I am proud to
Speaker 1: say I love that Bunny. We always seem to be
Speaker 1: on the same wave limb as he likes what I like.
Speaker 1: He's also all about celebrating our culture while remaining super humble.
Speaker 1: Working with Beneatho again has been a musical joy. I
Speaker 1: am blessed to not only call him my brother, but
Speaker 1: now a partner on an album that has even become
Speaker 1: a personal oasis. I just love how they really enjoy
Speaker 1: each other's company, like you can just tell by what
Speaker 1: they're saying like, and this is you know, when people
Speaker 1: collaborate in different albums, they don't necessarily speak so highly
Speaker 1: about one another, and here that's all they've been doing
Speaker 1: the whole time. They have so much fun. When Oasses
Speaker 1: came out, I liked it a lot. I thought the
Speaker 1: songs were like fire. Now, looking back, I realize how
Speaker 1: pivotal and impactful that album actually was. The fact that
Speaker 1: we got that album from Jay Balvin and Bad Bunny.
Speaker 1: It's like if Taylor Swift and Beyonce did an album
Speaker 1: where they were co build together, it's absurd, like it
Speaker 1: doesn't happen. So the fact that we had two huge
Speaker 1: stars coming together and working together, that is why this
Speaker 1: album is just fucking insanity. It is so good. I
Speaker 1: listened to this all the time. La Cancion is so
Speaker 1: relatable to me. It has that like slow jam vibes
Speaker 1: to it. Mmmmmm and how many times have you been there?
Speaker 1: Like in your car when like our song with your
Speaker 1: Ex comes on and like transports to Joseph is going
Speaker 1: through a breakup currently whatever. I'm not even going to
Speaker 1: address it, but without a doubt, this collab upped Bad
Speaker 1: Bunny's visibility and it also kept Jay Balvin at the
Speaker 1: top of the charts. I said this earlier, but the
Speaker 1: impact of this album is not something that we understood
Speaker 1: in the moment. It's something that we can look back
Speaker 1: on now and understand how pivotal it was. And there's
Speaker 1: no way that I could sum up how important it is.
Speaker 1: So I'm going to defer to Vulture, which wrote this
Speaker 1: about Oasis. Oasis marks the first time that a pair
Speaker 1: of Latin urbunal stars at the height of their careers
Speaker 1: have teamed up for an album designed to shift the
Speaker 1: tectonic plates of the global music industry. Beyond that, it's
Speaker 1: the official long form union of two titans who have
Speaker 1: defied the expectations and confines of Latin artistry by giving
Speaker 1: an effective middle finger to the so called Anglo crossover model.
Speaker 1: Dam I'm not even done. Yeah, yeah, I'm not even
Speaker 1: done done. Let's go back. While some Latin artists have
Speaker 1: had to mold their look in music to meet standards
Speaker 1: formulated for the Anglo mainstream, I'm getting goosebumps. Bad Bunny
Speaker 1: and Baldvin have shown that radically unique esthetics, highlighter colored hair,
Speaker 1: painted nails, and eclectic wardrobe choices and sonic innovations sung
Speaker 1: entirely in Spanish attract international audiences with magnetic intensity that
Speaker 1: they represent different parts of Latin America and the Caribbean
Speaker 1: makes Oassi's a broader symbol of Latin unity and evidence
Speaker 1: of the role that Latin genres have had in mowing
Speaker 1: down music's language and cultural lines. Okay, literally, damn, that's
Speaker 1: all we needed to say. That's all. Moving on. Thank
Speaker 1: you Vulture, thank you Jay and Bad Bunny. His commitment
Speaker 1: to Puerto Rico didn't stop with Hurricane Maria. In twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: Benito dropped everything and went home to march in the
Speaker 1: streets with his people. During the Rique Renuncia movement, thousands
Speaker 1: and thousands of Puerto Ricans flooded the streets of San
Speaker 1: Juan from July eighth to August twelve to Auspricardo Rosseo.
Speaker 1: It all started after a series of messages from a
Speaker 1: telegram chat between Rosseo and his clique were exposed. In
Speaker 1: more than nine hundred pages of messages, the governor and
Speaker 1: his inner circle insulted women, members of the LGBTQIA plus community,
Speaker 1: including Ricky Martin, and even mocked victims of Hurricane Maria.
Speaker 1: People were even calling this Ricky Leaks. It was an
Speaker 1: escandalon artists like Bad Bunny Residente and Ricky Martin all
Speaker 1: joined the protests in support of their fellow Hinte and
Speaker 1: you know, my boy is all about the successes and
Speaker 1: Ricky renuncion so Benito could get back to making those beats. Well,
Speaker 1: right after a quick stop in Miami for the super Bowl,
Speaker 1: like a no big deal. That year's Super Bowl was
Speaker 1: in Miami, so you know they had to represent lack Wulguda, Jlo, Shakida,
Speaker 1: Jay Balvin, and Bad Bunny. It's going to be insanity, Kane.
Speaker 1: When they announced that Shakida and Jaylo were doing the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, I was like, no, what not because they
Speaker 1: didn't deserve it, but just because I can't imagine a
Speaker 1: bunch of white men at the NFL saying this is
Speaker 1: a great idea. But then it was true. It was
Speaker 1: Jlo and Chekida and all these other people, so I
Speaker 1: couldn't really imagine how they were going to do it. Well,
Speaker 1: here's the thing. We've got all the insight on the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl when it comes to Shaki and Jlo, but
Speaker 1: you're going to have to stay tuned for later episodes.
Speaker 1: Let's go back to Bad Bunny because if I remember correctly,
Speaker 1: Jay Balvin and Bad Bunny were surprise guests. Usually at
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl there's always a surprise in the halftime show. Personally,
Speaker 1: I thought it was going to be Pitbull. He's like
Speaker 1: the mayor of Miami. He sings the hooks on all
Speaker 1: the song and nothing against Pitbull, no shade Pitbull. I
Speaker 1: love you, My mom loves you. I thought. At that moment,
Speaker 1: I was like, you know what would be so good
Speaker 1: is if they brought this current generation's music front and center.
Speaker 1: And not that Jlo and Shikida aren't this generation's music,
Speaker 1: but they were playing like their old bangers. I wanted
Speaker 1: to hear the current bangers. I wanted to hear reggae Thorne.
Speaker 1: I wanted to hear Bad Bunny and Jay Balvin. So
Speaker 1: can you imagine my delight and surprise when out come
Speaker 1: Jay and Bad Bunny. Can we just talk about what
Speaker 1: Bad Bunny was wearing, Like, how many hundreds and thousands
Speaker 1: of crystals really were on there? The fact that you're
Speaker 1: asking me that, thinking that I don't actually know the
Speaker 1: exact number as a style expert is pretty amazing. It
Speaker 1: had thirteen thousand soroskik He was giving Shakida a run
Speaker 1: for her money. He looked a little bit like the
Speaker 1: tin Man, not gonna lie stop it. It was a
Speaker 1: lot of silver. But the first thing I thought when
Speaker 1: I saw his outfit was he's got to be so hot.
Speaker 1: I was actually in Miami at the Super Bowl. Now
Speaker 1: I didn't actually get to go to the game because
Speaker 1: I had to fly home because I had to host
Speaker 1: E News at seven am the next day, but I
Speaker 1: remember how freaking hot it was in Miami that weekend.
Speaker 1: And then there's Bad Bunny in a silver dow rag,
Speaker 1: a silver, chunky knit turtleneck with a coat that probably
Speaker 1: weighed ten thousand pounds. What a way to go out
Speaker 1: with a bang, because that was the last time that
Speaker 1: Bad Bunny performed on stage before the pandemic. That's right,
Speaker 1: that was pretty much everyone's big last raw before COVID
Speaker 1: came to take everything away. So post Super Bowl, Bad
Speaker 1: Bunny was writing a big way that crashed right into
Speaker 1: the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. On the show, he
Speaker 1: hyped up the crowd by revealing the cover art for
Speaker 1: y hlq MDLG and announcing it would be released just
Speaker 1: two days later. When I said that title, Joseph, did
Speaker 1: you catch it? No, I thought there was a glitch
Speaker 1: in the matrix because you were just saying all these letters. Well,
Speaker 1: apparently it wasn't just you. Jimmy Fallon was also very confused.
Speaker 1: And now, of course we all know what it stands
Speaker 1: for your Ago lagana. And what's amazing is that Bad
Speaker 1: Bunny does this thing where he releases something it's great,
Speaker 1: and then he upstages himself with a new project that
Speaker 1: makes the old project, while great, look like nad that.
Speaker 1: That was the case with your aga. The music was popping,
Speaker 1: the video was a lock in. Everything about this era
Speaker 1: was poppin and lock in. But something else happened that night.
Speaker 1: During the performance of the Noorantez, Benetho paid tribute to
Speaker 1: Alexa Negro Muciano, a transgender woman that was stocked and
Speaker 1: murdered by three men in Puerto Rico. Singing with such
Speaker 1: that night, on stage, Beneito opened his coat to reveal
Speaker 1: a message written on his shirt. Mataron Alexa no an
Speaker 1: mbre confalda translated to they killed Alexa, not a man
Speaker 1: in a skirt. Bad Money made waves again by speaking up.
Speaker 1: That's what he does. We don't know. I'm gonna correct
Speaker 1: myself it's who he is. Now. Let's get into the album.
Speaker 1: If people thought Porciempre was experimental, yhlq MDLG was out
Speaker 1: of this world. It was a throwback to parties that
Speaker 1: macasin as garage parties for those of you who aren't
Speaker 1: in the No yea to and it was filled with
Speaker 1: throwbacks to the early auts reggae thone, which of course
Speaker 1: means tracks with Daddy, Yankee Joel and Mango Flow, among others.
Speaker 1: But what critics loved most about the album was the
Speaker 1: musical diversity and its mix of trap, rap and bassa
Speaker 1: nova and it was the highest debuting all Spanish album ever.
Speaker 1: Think of the impact ever in the history of music.
Speaker 1: I don't even know how long they've been keeping musical
Speaker 1: records for, however long that is, this all Spanish album
Speaker 1: made the highest debut and when you listen to this album,
Speaker 1: it's incredible. It's a treat for your ears. The way
Speaker 1: that he did all of the videos for the album
Speaker 1: are also really part of the impact of the album.
Speaker 1: It's almost like the videos have to accompany the songs
Speaker 1: and you have to digest the music and the visuals together.
Speaker 1: It's art. That's the only way I can really explain it.
Speaker 1: It's truly just art. Do you have a favorite song
Speaker 1: off the album? I would pick because if you really
Speaker 1: dig deep and look at the words about what he's saying,
Speaker 1: he always has a message or like a mini story
Speaker 1: in each one of these really upbeat songs. So I
Speaker 1: think it really sparks an amazing conversation if you're really
Speaker 1: into music like that to address mental health or your emotions.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of times when people if you
Speaker 1: don't know Bad Bunny or you're not understanding the lyrics,
Speaker 1: you're not taking the time to look them up. I
Speaker 1: think just on the surface, it all sounds like party
Speaker 1: music and happy, but when you really get in your
Speaker 1: feelings about the songs, you realize how powerful the lyrics are,
Speaker 1: and like what a powerful lyricist he is as an artist.
Speaker 1: For me, what also struck was the little boy in
Speaker 1: all the videos. That little boy is the thread through
Speaker 1: all the videos, and I actually thought the little boy
Speaker 1: in the videos was a little Bad Bunny like represent him. Yes,
Speaker 1: but he did an interview with Pitchfork he actually says
Speaker 1: that that little boy could pretty much be any kid
Speaker 1: growing up in the United States or Latin America. In
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety nine. You know, he sees his parents fighting.
Speaker 1: He spends his days in his bedroom, playing in Dundo
Speaker 1: sixty four and listening to cassettes of his favorite artist, who,
Speaker 1: of course happens to be Bad Bunny. Hello. But the
Speaker 1: way he was able to link all of these songs
Speaker 1: through this little boy's eyes and experience, it's just a
Speaker 1: very cool way to do it. There is one video
Speaker 1: that stands out. Wait, I know what you're going to say.
Speaker 1: It's three words. Oh, I say it. I freaking love
Speaker 1: that song, that video, that hair, that makeup. Now, if
Speaker 1: you are just learning about Bad Bunny for the first
Speaker 1: time on our episode, congratulations and welcome to the Bad
Speaker 1: Bunny world. And if by chance you have not seen
Speaker 1: the video for La Joseph, you better work. It is
Speaker 1: absolutely amazing. The boots, the makeup, the hair, the breastplates.
Speaker 1: Oh yes, Bad Bunny is in full on a door
Speaker 1: rag serving looks. My favorite part of that video. We've
Speaker 1: talked about this before, is when the flowers start bumping
Speaker 1: and tworking next to the car. I literally I couldn't
Speaker 1: take it. I was shook because I don't know. When
Speaker 1: you're watching the video, you kind of just can't really
Speaker 1: make out what's happening, and then they fully stand up
Speaker 1: and they start twerking on the car next to him.
Speaker 1: I was like, this is this is everything. That video
Speaker 1: gives people life. Like you hear that about me, It's like, oh,
Speaker 1: the song gives me life. No, that video gives me life.
Speaker 1: And you know what that video gave beneath the life
Speaker 1: in a new way. I think him being able to
Speaker 1: express his feelings about gender norms and breaking through barriers
Speaker 1: when it comes to gender norms all came through in
Speaker 1: this video and video was perfect timing because it was
Speaker 1: released under the album Yo Agua and if Bad Bunny
Speaker 1: wants to be in a breastplate in drag red latex
Speaker 1: boots to his thighs twerking it out for the whole
Speaker 1: world on display, guess what, that's exactly what he did
Speaker 1: in the video. Yeah, and you know, he was kind
Speaker 1: of making it seem like he q feels like that girl,
Speaker 1: you know, like he does he does, and the visuals
Speaker 1: are so powerful, but the song and the words are
Speaker 1: really powerful. And here's what he said about it. He said,
Speaker 1: I wrote it from the perspective of a woman. I
Speaker 1: wanted a woman's voice to sing it, because it doesn't
Speaker 1: mean the same thing when a man sings it. But
Speaker 1: I do feel like that woman sometimes. And even in
Speaker 1: the final frame of the video, he denounces sexual harassment
Speaker 1: of women and reads, if she doesn't want to dance
Speaker 1: with you, respect her. She tworks alone. Y hlq md
Speaker 1: LG became Spotify's streamed album globally in twenty twenty. Not
Speaker 1: in Spain, not in Mexico or even Latin America. No
Speaker 1: Bad Bunny success had no boundaries, Sin Barrera Henny, his
Speaker 1: music is global. The world had zero chill when it
Speaker 1: came to Bad Funny. He was the world's biggest pop star,
Speaker 1: adored by fans and critics alike. But if you listen
Speaker 1: to the last song of the album, he was also
Speaker 1: ready to call it quits and go out while he
Speaker 1: was on top. In that song, he says, in nine months,
Speaker 1: I'll release another to retire calmly like Miguel Wait wait, wait, wait, wait,
Speaker 1: Little tell me the truth. Did he retire? Well, Joseph,
Speaker 1: you'll just have to listen to the next episode to
Speaker 1: find out. You the next episode of Becoming an Icon,
Speaker 1: Bad Bunny's retirement beneatho at the met Gala and when
Speaker 1: Nana se d. Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoro
Speaker 1: and Ihearts Michael Kuda podcast Network. Listen to Becoming an
Speaker 1: Icon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you
Speaker 1: get your podcast