How Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio’s music, roots, and activism reshaped Latin music and global culture
Bad Bunny grew up in a home where music was part of family life. Under the influence of his mother, Bad Bunny joined the local church choir where his talent was first recognized. His mother also made music part of the family’s home by playing Salsa and romantic Latin ballads. At the age of 13, he started writing his own songs inspired by Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderon, Hector Lavoe and Vico C.
In 2016, while studying audiovisual communication at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo and working in a grocery store, Bad Bunny would spend his nights posting his music to SoundCloud. A song he uploaded called “Diles” caught the attention of DJ Luian, and Bad Bunny was signed to the Hear This Music record label in 2016.
While becoming increasingly popular with DJs in Puerto Rican nightclubs, Bad Bunny’s unique sound of Latin trap and Reggaeton soon spread outside the territory. In 2017, he joined artists J Balvin and Becky G on song collaborations, and in 2018, he was featured in Cardi B’s “I Like It” song along with J Balvin, increasing his popularity internationally.
Along with a long list of collaborations including Drake, J.Lo and Diplo, Bad Bunny has also released many popular solo songs exclusively in Spanish. He has a long list of achievements since rising to fame in 2018, including being the most streamed artist on Spotify in the world for the third year in a row in 2022. His recent album, Un Verano Sin Ti was the most streamed album worldwide on Spotify, and the album was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys in 2023. The album’s most popular songs include “Me Porto Bonito”, “Titi Me Pregunto”, “Efecto” and “After the Beach.” Bad Bunny is also the only artist to have an all Spanish language album top the U.S. charts.
Through all of the fame, Bad Bunny is still deeply connected to his roots in Puerto Rico. Many of his songs celebrate Puerto Rico and its culture like “El Apagon”. His songs don’t just celebrate his home though, they bring attention to current issues impacting it. Bad Bunny addresses the injustices and problems that face Puerto Rico in his music and videos. He takes an active role in promoting change on the islands by attending protests despite his fame and giving a voice to the people through music and social media.
