Bad Bunny (real name — Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) is a Puerto Rican artist, rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer who became one of the defining figures of global pop music in the 2020s. He didn’t just achieve worldwide success while remaining a Spanish-language artist — he rewrote the rules of the industry, proving that Latin American culture can set trends rather than adapt to them.
Childhood and identity formation
Benito was born on March 10, 1994, in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. His father worked as a truck driver, while his mother was an English teacher. Music entered his life early: as a child, he sang in a church choir, where he developed his ear, sense of melody, and emotional delivery.
As a teenager, Bad Bunny gravitated toward reggaeton, Latin trap, and hip-hop, while also exploring rock and alternative music. Even then, he rejected the traditional “macho artist” image, leaning instead toward a more introverted, vulnerable, and honest form of expression.
SoundCloud, a supermarket job, and early hits
In the mid-2010s, Benito began uploading tracks to SoundCloud while working as a supermarket cashier. This period became part of his mythology — an artist “from real life,” without artificial producer-built narratives.
Tracks like Diles, Soy Peor, and Chambea made him a noticeable figure in the Latin online scene. His lazy, deliberately loose flow, muted vocal tone, and emotional directness stood out sharply against standard reggaeton formulas.
Latin Trap and the debut album
By 2017–2018, Bad Bunny had become one of the key faces of Latin Trap — a genre that transformed reggaeton from a purely dance-driven format into a space for personal expression.
In 2018, he released his debut album X 100PRE, which critics received as a new point of reference for Latin pop music. The album freely blended reggaeton, trap, pop, rock, and alternative, establishing Bad Bunny as a true artist-author, not just a hitmaker.
Civic stance and Puerto Rico
Bad Bunny has never separated music from social reality. In 2019, he became one of the most visible public voices during protests in Puerto Rico, speaking out against corruption and ineffective governance on the island.
This period solidified his image as an artist with a position — someone who sees popularity not as an escape from reality, but as a tool for influence.
Albums of 2020–2022: the global breakthrough
The years 2020–2022 turned Bad Bunny into a global superstar:
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YHLQMDLG (2020) — a bold manifesto of freedom rooted in classic reggaeton.
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El Último Tour Del Mundo (2020) — the first fully Spanish-language album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
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Un Verano Sin Ti (2022) — a cultural phenomenon and one of the most successful albums of the decade, becoming the soundtrack of the post-pandemic world.
Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana and the return to a harder sound
In late 2023, Bad Bunny released the album
Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, marking a sharp turn away from the “sun-drenched” Un Verano Sin Ti.
This release:
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brought him back to hard-edged Latin trap,
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embraced a colder, more minimalist and aggressive sound,
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served as a response to critics and the industry.
In 2024–2025, Bad Bunny continued this direction through new singles and live sets dominated by trap beats, darker delivery, and street aesthetics, reminding listeners of his roots.
Touring and status in 2025
Throughout 2024–2025, Benito embarked on massive global tours, selling out stadiums across Latin America, the United States, and Europe. At the same time, he maintained a unique position:
even without annual album releases, Bad Bunny remained in the top-5 most-streamed artists worldwide on Spotify by the end of 2025 — a rare example of sustained popularity beyond the standard release cycle.
WWE: from guest appearance to cultural symbol
While Bad Bunny’s involvement with WWE initially felt like a novelty in the early 2020s, by 2025 he is considered a near-ambassador of WWE’s celebrity matches.
His performance at Backlash in Puerto Rico became an iconic moment: national identity, show business, and wrestling as mass theater merged into a single pop-cultural statement. Bad Bunny proved he sees WWE not as a cameo, but as a fully realized form of self-expression.
Fashion and the breaking of norms
Bad Bunny remains one of the most influential figures in global fashion. He consistently challenges traditional notions of masculinity within Latin American culture:
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skirts, nail polish, unconventional silhouettes,
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a rejection of toxic machismo,
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open conversations about emotions and vulnerability.
Industry impact in 2025
By 2025, Bad Bunny’s influence extends far beyond his own discography. He opened the door for a new generation of Latin artists for whom global success no longer feels like an exception.
Without Bad Bunny, the following would be hard to imagine:
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the global rise of Peso Pluma and the regional Mexican scene,
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the international breakthrough of Young Miko and the new Puerto Rican wave,
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the normalization of Spanish as a fully legitimate language of the global pop market.
He didn’t just change a style — he changed the direction of the industry.
Musical style
Bad Bunny blends reggaeton, Latin trap, alternative pop, elements of rock, and electronic music.
His lyrics explore loneliness and depression, love and breakups, social injustice, identity, and self-acceptance.
Key Bad Bunny releases — overview table
Studio and collaborative albums
| Release date | Title | Type | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24.12.2018 | X 100PRE | Studio album | Rimas Entertainment |
| 28.06.2019 | Oasis (with J Balvin) | Collaborative album | Universal Latin / Rimas |
| 29.02.2020 | YHLQMDLG | Studio album | Rimas Entertainment |
| 27.11.2020 | El Último Tour Del Mundo | Studio album | Rimas Entertainment |
| 06.05.2022 | Un Verano Sin Ti | Studio album | Rimas Entertainment |
| 13.10.2023 | Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana | Studio album | Rimas Entertainment |
| 05.01.2025 | Debí Tirar Más Fotos | Studio album | Rimas Entertainment |
Compilations
| Release date | Title | Type | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.05.2020 | Las Que No Iban a Salir | Compilation | Rimas Entertainment |
Key singles (selected, chronological)
| Release date | Title | Type | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Diles | Single | Hear This Music |
| 2017 | Soy Peor | Single | Hear This Music |
| 2018 | Mía (feat. Drake) | Single | Rimas Entertainment |
| 2019 | La Canción (with J Balvin) | Single | Universal Latin |
| 2020 | Yo Perreo Sola | Single | Rimas Entertainment |
| 2020 | Dakiti (with Jhay Cortez) | Single | Rimas Entertainment |
| 2022 | Tití Me Preguntó | Single | Rimas Entertainment |
| 2022 | Me Porto Bonito | Single | Rimas Entertainment |
| 2023 | MONACO | Single | Rimas Entertainment |
| 2024 | El Club | Single | Rimas Entertainment |
| 2024 | Voy a Llevarte Pa’ PR | Single | Rimas Entertainment |
| 2025 | EoO | Single | Rimas Entertainment |
Editorial notes
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Rimas Entertainment is the core label behind Bad Bunny’s entire career and the foundation of his creative independence.
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Bad Bunny is a rare example of an artist whose inter-album gaps do not result in streaming decline: active singles and touring keep him at the top of global platforms.
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The transition from Un Verano Sin Ti to Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana and subsequent 2024–2025 releases reflects a return to a harder trap core while maintaining mass appeal.
Editorial conclusion
Bad Bunny is an artist of his era — one who proved that global pop culture no longer has a single center. In 2025, he remains one of the most influential figures in world music, holding his position not through algorithms, but through personality, conviction, and cultural boldness.
