Bad Bunny: From Sound Cloud, to 'Diles' and Grammys, the sprightly rise of a Latin trap music star
After appearing beside Shakira in the 2020 Super Bowl, a certain buzz has surrounded Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known by his stage name 'Bad Bunny'. Meanwhile, Shakira surprised the crowd by bringing him out during the Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show at Hard Rock Stadium on February 2, 2020, in Miami.
Bad Bunny is considered among the pioneers of Latin trap music. Although he is often regarded as an artist of both Latin trap and reggaeton (which originated in Puerto Rico during the late 1990s), Bad Bunny presents his music through a variety of styles including rock, bachata, and soul. With deep vocals, Bad Bunny has also been noted to have a unique fashion sense.
Apart from his recent performance with Shakira, the 25-year-old artiste has been a part of a substantial amount of collaborations with big names in the Latin music scene, such as Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Ozuna, Farruko, Residente, and Arcángel.
The beginnings and his rise to fame:
It is often a hard thing to fathom how some celebrities managed to achieve their fame after living a life that is regarded as average joe or "normal". Nine Inch Nails singer, Trent Reznor was a janitor before his debut album, Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry was a waitress and ex-Playboy bunny, country singer Jewel was broke and destitute while living out of her car, playing small coffee shop gigs for meager pay. Similarly, Bad Bunny used to work in a supermarket as a bagger while studying at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. He first gained popularity on SoundCloud which eventually led him to get signed to a record label. 'Diles', which released in 2016, became his breakthrough single which was followed by a list of hits and notable appearances.
In 2018, the Latin trap artist collaborated with Cardi B and J Balvin on the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single 'I Like It'. He has also collaborated with world-renowned rapper Drake on 'Mia' which released in 2017. It should be noted that his 2018 debut album 'X 100pre' was awarded a Latin Grammy for Best Urban Music Album. Bad Bunny's latest LP 'Oasis' was released last year on June 28, which is an album in collaboration with J Balvin and contains singles 'Qué Pretendes' and 'La Canción'.
Bad Bunny recently released a posthumous tribute, titled '6 Rings', to basketball player Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. Bryant was Bunny's childhood idol as well as his favorite basketball player and '6 Rings' was dedicated to Bryant's marriage and their four daughters.
You can watch the Shakira/ Bad Bunny performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show here.