Bad Bunny was born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, on March 10th, 1994 in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, where he grew up with his mother, father and two younger brothers. He started out singing at the age of thirteen, when he was inspired by artists he would hear on the radio, like Daddy Yankee, Hector Lavoe and Vivo C.
On January 5, 2025, which is the eve of Dia de Los Reyes, a holiday widely celebrated in Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny released his sixth studio album named DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, which translates into English as “I should have taken more pictures.” In an interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, Bad Bunny said that the name really means, “I should have embraced and appreciated more the present.”
This album consists of seventeen tracks, all of them charting on the US Billboard Hot 100, with the highest ranked song being “DtMF” at number 42. Additionally, “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” became the first salsa song to ever have the top spot on Apple Music’s global playlist.
This album blends genres of salsa, reggaeton, and a lesser known Puerto Rican genre called plena. The best songs on the album are “BAILE INoVIDABLE”, “TURista” and “DtMF”.
Many people think of Bad Bunny as just another rap artist who makes meaningless music, but that is simply not the case. Over the years, he has shown us just how much he has matured, now working on even bigger projects than ever before.
This new album shows a new side of Bad Bunny and his music. While his hit album Un Verano Sin Ti had more of a relaxed, summery vibe to it, this album seems more of a mix between different sounds and deeper lyrics. Some tracks are emotional and some tracks are more exciting and energetic.
Bad Bunny seems to be evolving and trying to show his range as an artist. Un Verano Sin Ti is one of his best albums, but this new side of him is pretty thrilling to hear.
On this new album, which is a devotion to Puerto Rico, Bunny is bringing awareness to the gentrification and the housing crisis that are happening right now in his island home. These issues are referenced in many lyrics, including on the fourteenth track of the album, “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii”. The title asks, “What Happened to Hawaii?”, another U.S. territory that became a state.
On this track, Bunny references the gentrification of Hawaii and the loss of their culture. He sings, “Quieren quitarme el río y también la playa”, meaning, “They want to take my river and my beach.” He is referring to the fact that all the beaches are public in Puerto Rico by law, but resort owners and millionaires make it incredibly difficult to enter the beaches near their land.
On “TURiSTA”, Bunny talks about how the tourism industry has affected the island. He laments, “Tú solo viste lo mejor de mí y no lo que yo sufría,” or “You only saw the best of me and not how I suffered.” He mentions how, when people visit his native land, they only see the resorts and tourist locations, or the “good side”. But what they don’t see is how the people of the island are negatively affected by these tourists.
Bunny also directed a short film for the album, which follows Jacobo Morales, who plays an elderly man. In the film, we follow the man as he goes through his old neighborhood and realizes how much it has changed.
Bad Bunny’s new album is great, because it shows his growth as an artist, while staying true to his unique style. The mix of different genres, like reggaeton, trap and pop, keep the music entertaining and exciting. His lyrics are relatable, touching on social issues and personal struggles, which makes the album connect with many people. Bad Bunny’s creativity and willingness to experiment with different sounds and styles prove why he’s one of the top artists today.
