WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.359 Okay, I want everyone to just take a second, 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:07.320 look at the calendar. It's Monday, February 16th, 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:12.119 2026. And I feel like the entire world needs 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:15.419 to take a collective deep breath. A very, very 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:18.300 deep breath. It has been an absolute whirlwind. 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:21.559 Whirlwind is, I think, putting it mildly. Yeah, 00:00:21.620 --> 00:00:24.100 that might be an understatement. We are sitting... 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:27.160 Right now in the immediate aftermath of what 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:30.100 I honestly believe will go down as the most culturally 00:00:30.100 --> 00:00:33.500 significant two weeks in. Yeah. In the history 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:35.880 of Latin music. I don't think that's hyperbole. 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:38.159 I really don't. Maybe even pop music history, 00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:40.539 period. I was just about to say that. Yeah. Because 00:00:40.539 --> 00:00:42.640 when you look at the sequence of events. It's 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:44.539 just unprecedented. They're barely a week out 00:00:44.539 --> 00:00:47.310 from Super Bowl LX. That was February 8th. Right. 00:00:47.390 --> 00:00:49.130 It feels like a lifetime ago already. It does. 00:00:49.329 --> 00:00:51.609 And we're just days removed from the 68th annual 00:00:51.609 --> 00:00:53.590 Grammy Awards. And at the absolute, you know, 00:00:53.590 --> 00:00:56.409 the epicenter of this perfect storm is one man. 00:00:56.670 --> 00:00:59.289 Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio. Better known 00:00:59.289 --> 00:01:02.009 to the entire planet as Bad Bunny. The biggest 00:01:02.009 --> 00:01:03.750 pop star in the world. And that's not just a 00:01:03.750 --> 00:01:05.750 talking point anymore. It's a statistical fact. 00:01:06.090 --> 00:01:08.069 Right. I know people throw that title around 00:01:08.069 --> 00:01:10.109 all the time. You hear it for Taylor. You hear 00:01:10.109 --> 00:01:12.469 it for Beyonce. And they're giants, obviously. 00:01:12.769 --> 00:01:14.829 And of course. But when you look at the raw data. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:17.120 The streaming numbers. And more importantly, 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.840 when you look at the cultural saturation we have 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:22.280 just witnessed. It's just undeniable at this 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:25.079 point. It is. And what makes this whole story 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:27.939 so compelling, so fascinating, is the journey 00:01:27.939 --> 00:01:30.420 to get here. Because we aren't talking about 00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:32.920 someone who was, you know, groomed in a Disney 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:36.579 lab or a boy band. No. This isn't a dynasty hire. 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:38.680 He wasn't born into the industry. Not at all. 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:42.250 We are talking about a guy who... not that long 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:45.609 ago, was bagging groceries at an Econo supermarket 00:01:45.609 --> 00:01:48.950 in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. And just last week, 00:01:48.950 --> 00:01:53.209 he became the first solo Latino to headline a 00:01:53.209 --> 00:01:55.890 Super Bowl halftime show. The biggest stage on 00:01:55.890 --> 00:01:57.989 Earth. And if that wasn't enough to completely 00:01:57.989 --> 00:01:59.909 break the Internet. As if that wasn't enough. 00:02:00.090 --> 00:02:01.870 He walks away from the Grammys with Album of 00:02:01.870 --> 00:02:04.989 the Year. For a Spanish language record, which 00:02:04.989 --> 00:02:07.959 has never, ever happened before. Never. It's 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:10.300 the holy grail. It is the glass ceiling that 00:02:10.300 --> 00:02:12.759 so many people in the industry for decades said 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:16.020 could never be broken. Decades. You had artists 00:02:16.020 --> 00:02:20.199 like Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Shakira. All 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:22.180 of them came close. They all tried. They all 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:24.780 pushed the envelope. But no one could get over 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:26.860 that final hurdle. And he just walked in and 00:02:26.860 --> 00:02:30.539 did it. He did it. So today's deep dive is, well, 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:34.960 it feels momentous. It feels necessary. Our mission 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:38.259 today is to move past the headlines. Right. Beyond 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:40.020 the Spectacle. Exactly. We all saw the Super 00:02:40.020 --> 00:02:42.219 Bowl performance. We've all seen the wild outsets. 00:02:42.219 --> 00:02:46.120 We know the songs are insanely catchy. But we 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:48.199 need to understand the phenomenon. We need to 00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:51.219 unpack the how and the why. How did this happen? 00:02:51.259 --> 00:02:53.860 How did all these pieces fall into place so perfectly? 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:57.009 How did a kid from rural Puerto Rico... completely 00:02:57.009 --> 00:02:59.770 reshape the global music industry without ever 00:02:59.770 --> 00:03:01.909 compromising his language or his culture. That's 00:03:01.909 --> 00:03:04.129 the key, without compromising. How did he manage 00:03:04.129 --> 00:03:06.789 to change the entire conversation around masculinity 00:03:06.789 --> 00:03:11.180 in a culture that is... historically very traditional 00:03:11.180 --> 00:03:14.240 machismo culture and frankly the biggest question 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.080 on my mind the one i can't wrap my head around 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:19.240 go on how did he become the undisputed face of 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:23.500 american pop culture in 2026 while refusing to 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:25.520 tour the united states for the entire year of 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:28.280 2025 That is the paradox, isn't it? That's the 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:30.520 part we really need to dig into. It is. And when 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:33.139 you look at the stack of sources we have here, 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:35.939 I mean, we've got biographical data, we have 00:03:35.939 --> 00:03:38.620 discography reviews, political activism reports 00:03:38.620 --> 00:03:41.240 from San Juan, all the coverage of his recent 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:44.460 achievements. You realize this isn't just a story 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:46.960 about a singer. It never is, is it? It's always 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:49.419 bigger. Never. This is a story about identity. 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:52.000 It's a story about politics. It's about the shifting 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:54.639 center of gravity in global culture. What do 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:56.599 you mean by that shifting center of gravity? 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:59.879 I mean that the concept of the mainstream is 00:03:59.879 --> 00:04:02.860 no longer exclusively English speaking or American 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:05.580 centric. He proved that. So let's go back. Let's 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:08.949 rewind the tape. Before the Super Bowl. Before 00:04:08.949 --> 00:04:10.990 the Grammys, before the billions and billions 00:04:10.990 --> 00:04:13.789 of streams. Let's go to Vega Baja. To the Almirante 00:04:13.789 --> 00:04:16.990 Subario, to be specific. Right. And this context 00:04:16.990 --> 00:04:19.410 is so important because usually when we talk 00:04:19.410 --> 00:04:21.509 about the history of reggaeton, the old school 00:04:21.509 --> 00:04:24.310 legends, we're talking about San Juan. We're 00:04:24.310 --> 00:04:27.589 talking about the metropolis. The city. The concrete 00:04:27.589 --> 00:04:30.089 jungle. Exactly. We're talking about Carolina. 00:04:30.209 --> 00:04:33.350 We're talking about the housing projects, the 00:04:33.350 --> 00:04:35.949 Casarillos. That's the birthplace. That's where 00:04:35.949 --> 00:04:38.949 the genre was born. It's gritty. It's urban. 00:04:39.089 --> 00:04:42.209 It's deeply connected to the street life. That's 00:04:42.209 --> 00:04:44.709 the Daddy Yankee origin story. That's the Tego 00:04:44.709 --> 00:04:47.930 Calderon origin story. But Benito, that's not 00:04:47.930 --> 00:04:50.610 his story at all. No. He's a country boy. Vega 00:04:50.610 --> 00:04:52.670 Baja's on the north coast. It's not the city. 00:04:52.810 --> 00:04:54.930 So he wasn't running the streets. Not even close. 00:04:55.110 --> 00:04:57.509 His father was a truck driver. His mother was 00:04:57.509 --> 00:05:00.569 a retired school teacher. His was a very stable 00:05:00.569 --> 00:05:02.649 working class family. He wasn't involved in the 00:05:02.649 --> 00:05:05.290 drug trade. He was at home with his mom and dad 00:05:05.290 --> 00:05:07.670 and two younger brothers. And this is the detail 00:05:07.670 --> 00:05:09.829 that always gets me. The detail that breaks the 00:05:09.829 --> 00:05:12.050 stereotype so hard. I think I know what you're 00:05:12.050 --> 00:05:14.269 going to say. He wasn't a street kid at all. 00:05:14.449 --> 00:05:18.750 He was a choir boy until he was 13. A choir boy? 00:05:19.290 --> 00:05:21.990 I love that detail. It's amazing. It is. And 00:05:21.990 --> 00:05:24.990 I think that's the first real key insight into 00:05:24.990 --> 00:05:27.829 his musicality. Because if you really listen 00:05:27.829 --> 00:05:30.709 to his music, I mean, really listen to the melodies 00:05:30.709 --> 00:05:32.910 underneath the trap beats. You hear it. You hear 00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:34.670 that church influence. You can hear the structure 00:05:34.670 --> 00:05:37.790 of hymns and ballads in his chord progressions. 00:05:37.889 --> 00:05:40.189 That explains why he's so melodic. Even when 00:05:40.189 --> 00:05:42.050 he's rapping in that low drone, there's always 00:05:42.050 --> 00:05:44.649 a song under it. Precisely. And he grew up in 00:05:44.649 --> 00:05:47.250 this incredibly rich musical environment at home. 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:50.250 His parents weren't just blasting the hot reggaeton 00:05:50.250 --> 00:05:52.189 of the moment. Right. They were playing salsa. 00:05:52.629 --> 00:05:55.209 They were playing meringue. They were playing 00:05:55.209 --> 00:05:58.949 romantic pop ballads from the 80s and 90s. He 00:05:58.949 --> 00:06:01.750 talks about listening to Vico C. The godfather. 00:06:01.889 --> 00:06:04.389 The philosopher king of Spanish hip hop. The 00:06:04.389 --> 00:06:07.050 absolute godfather. But in the same breath, he 00:06:07.050 --> 00:06:09.170 talks about listening to Hector Laveau and Marc 00:06:09.170 --> 00:06:12.120 Anthony. So he's just a sponge. He's absorbing 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:14.620 everything from the hardest street rap to the 00:06:14.620 --> 00:06:18.139 most lush, romantic salsa. He's a total sponge, 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:21.240 but he's also shy. He was a shy kid. There's 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:23.240 this great detail in one of the biographies where 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:25.019 he talks about being really socially awkward. 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.220 He wasn't the class clown. He wasn't the life 00:06:28.220 --> 00:06:31.199 of the party. He was the observer. The quiet 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:34.279 kid in the corner watching everyone else soaking 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:38.139 it all in. Which brings us to the name, Bad Bunny. 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:42.149 Yeah. I feel like everyone knows the name, but 00:06:42.149 --> 00:06:44.810 nobody really stops to think about how weird 00:06:44.810 --> 00:06:47.490 it is. It is weird. It's not Killer Bee or Don 00:06:47.490 --> 00:06:50.350 Benito or Lil' Ben. It's a bunny. And it comes 00:06:50.350 --> 00:06:52.850 from a childhood photo. There was a school event, 00:06:53.009 --> 00:06:55.649 maybe for Easter, and he was forced to wear this 00:06:55.649 --> 00:06:58.709 plush bunny costume. And he was not happy about 00:06:58.709 --> 00:07:01.589 it. He was furious. In the picture, he just has 00:07:01.589 --> 00:07:04.410 this look on his face of pure annoyance. He's 00:07:04.410 --> 00:07:06.410 plotting revenge on the world. I think I've seen 00:07:06.410 --> 00:07:09.370 that picture. He looks so mad. He's so mad. But 00:07:09.370 --> 00:07:11.430 here's the kicker. And this is where you start 00:07:11.430 --> 00:07:14.089 to see the early signs of his genius. He didn't 00:07:14.089 --> 00:07:15.949 choose the name just because it was a funny memory. 00:07:16.149 --> 00:07:18.449 He told an interviewer that he chose it because 00:07:18.449 --> 00:07:21.209 even back then as a teenager, he thought it would. 00:07:21.290 --> 00:07:23.290 market well. Get out of here really. That's a 00:07:23.290 --> 00:07:25.569 direct quote. He understood branding before he 00:07:25.569 --> 00:07:27.990 even had a career. That's the part that gets 00:07:27.990 --> 00:07:32.230 me. He understood differentiation. He knew that 00:07:32.230 --> 00:07:35.949 in a sea of guys trying to project this hyper 00:07:35.949 --> 00:07:38.769 masculine dangerous image. Right. Calling yourself 00:07:38.769 --> 00:07:41.649 a bunny completely disarms people. It makes you 00:07:41.649 --> 00:07:43.970 look twice. It's ironic. It's memorable. It was 00:07:43.970 --> 00:07:46.089 a brilliant move. So let's fast forward a bit. 00:07:46.370 --> 00:07:49.670 He's in college. He's studying audiovisual communications 00:07:49.670 --> 00:07:52.009 at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. 00:07:52.170 --> 00:07:54.529 He's trying to be a radio host, producer. And 00:07:54.529 --> 00:07:56.509 to make ends meet, he's working at the Econo 00:07:56.509 --> 00:07:59.230 supermarket. The famous bagging job. It's part 00:07:59.230 --> 00:08:01.189 of the legend now. It's the ultimate started 00:08:01.189 --> 00:08:03.769 from the bottom story. But I want to talk about 00:08:03.769 --> 00:08:07.389 the timeline here. This is around 2016. What 00:08:07.389 --> 00:08:09.329 does the musical landscape look like at that 00:08:09.329 --> 00:08:11.860 moment? This is the SoundCloud era, and this 00:08:11.860 --> 00:08:14.120 is really, really important to understand. Before 00:08:14.120 --> 00:08:16.240 this moment, if you wanted to be a Latin music 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:19.360 star, you needed a record label. You needed a 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:22.019 huge marketing budget. You needed radio play. 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:24.240 You needed a gatekeeper to say yes. Yes, you 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:27.620 needed a gatekeeper. But SoundCloud just blew 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:30.339 the doors off the whole system. It changed the 00:08:30.339 --> 00:08:33.029 plumbing of the industry. Completely. It democratized 00:08:33.029 --> 00:08:35.230 distribution. All you needed was a laptop and 00:08:35.230 --> 00:08:37.250 a Wi -Fi connection. So Benito was working a 00:08:37.250 --> 00:08:40.250 shift, bagging groceries, dealing with customers. 00:08:40.610 --> 00:08:42.669 And then he goes home and he makes beats on his 00:08:42.669 --> 00:08:44.570 computer and starts uploading these tracks himself. 00:08:45.009 --> 00:08:48.789 Exactly. And in 2016, he releases a track called 00:08:48.789 --> 00:08:52.190 Dials. And Dials isn't just a song. It's like 00:08:52.190 --> 00:08:55.029 a match in a powder keg. It just catches fire 00:08:55.029 --> 00:08:57.809 online. It spreads like crazy through the underground. 00:08:58.049 --> 00:09:00.950 And it's technically Latin trap, which is a bit 00:09:00.950 --> 00:09:02.889 different from reggaeton. Could you explain that 00:09:02.889 --> 00:09:05.929 difference? Sure. Reggaeton has that very specific, 00:09:06.110 --> 00:09:09.289 iconic dembow beat, that boom -boom -chick rhythm. 00:09:09.570 --> 00:09:11.350 Right. You know it when you hear it. Trap is 00:09:11.350 --> 00:09:14.450 different. It's slower, deeper, with these heavy, 00:09:14.450 --> 00:09:17.830 booming 808 bass sounds and skittering, rolling 00:09:17.830 --> 00:09:21.370 hi -hats. It's sonically darker, more atmospheric. 00:09:21.750 --> 00:09:24.559 And dials caught the ear. ear of DJ Lou Ian. 00:09:24.700 --> 00:09:28.100 Who is a massive deal in the scene. A kingmaker. 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:31.000 Right. He runs Hear This Music. He hears the 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:34.059 track, sees the insane buzz it's getting online, 00:09:34.340 --> 00:09:36.480 and he basically signs Bad Bunny immediately. 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:39.700 No long A &R process. Just, you're with us now. 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:42.159 And then they re -release Dials with a bunch 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:44.679 of huge features. Right. With Ozuna, Farruko, 00:09:44.940 --> 00:09:47.539 Archangel. It becomes an official anthem. But 00:09:47.539 --> 00:09:49.759 the next song is the one that really defines 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:54.100 him. Soy Peor. Soy Peor. I am worse. And this 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:57.220 song, you have to understand the context. This 00:09:57.220 --> 00:09:59.419 isn't a party song. It's not for the club. No, 00:09:59.500 --> 00:10:01.980 it's a heartbreak anthem. It's a sad boy anthem 00:10:01.980 --> 00:10:04.279 before that was really a thing in the Latin space. 00:10:04.539 --> 00:10:06.980 It's about being bitter after a breakup and just 00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:08.539 deciding, you know what? I'm going to be the 00:10:08.539 --> 00:10:10.679 bad guy now. Because love failed me. Which is 00:10:10.679 --> 00:10:12.940 such a universal feeling. We've all been there. 00:10:13.059 --> 00:10:15.120 Fine, if you think I'm bad, I'll be the worst. 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:18.100 Exactly. And it just explodes. Suddenly this 00:10:18.100 --> 00:10:21.659 grocery bagger from Vegabaha is the undisputed 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:24.600 face of the Latin trap movement. He creates this 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:28.259 entire persona of this sad, hedonistic bad boy. 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:30.500 It was a movement. But here's where my brain 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:34.059 gets stuck. Because we've seen huge Latin stars 00:10:34.059 --> 00:10:37.019 before. We've seen Ricky Martin. We've seen Shakira. 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:40.779 We've seen Enrique Iglesias. But the playbook 00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:43.259 for them was always the same. You get huge in 00:10:43.259 --> 00:10:45.379 Latin America. You dominate the Spanish -speaking 00:10:45.379 --> 00:10:47.679 market. Then you do the crossover. The English 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:49.580 album. The live and love you to loca strategy. 00:10:49.899 --> 00:10:52.620 Right. You sing in English. You work with... 00:10:52.830 --> 00:10:55.450 Big name American producers. You essentially 00:10:55.450 --> 00:10:59.470 dilute the sound to make it palatable for a radio 00:10:59.470 --> 00:11:02.590 station in like Ohio. You assimilate. That's 00:11:02.590 --> 00:11:04.549 the word. You assimilate into the American market. 00:11:04.730 --> 00:11:07.649 The bad bunny. Yeah. He just never did that. 00:11:07.750 --> 00:11:10.070 He completely rejected it. And this is the second 00:11:10.070 --> 00:11:12.950 key insight into his career and probably the 00:11:12.950 --> 00:11:15.250 most important one for his global dominance. 00:11:15.529 --> 00:11:18.149 He looked at that crossover model and said, no, 00:11:18.210 --> 00:11:20.330 thank you. He said, I'm not going to change my 00:11:20.330 --> 00:11:22.659 language. I'm going to make you learn mine. That 00:11:22.659 --> 00:11:25.179 takes an incredible amount of confidence or arrogance 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:27.960 or a healthy mix of both. I think it's both. 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:31.059 Probably. But look at how he executed it. It 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:33.039 was brilliant. He did collaborate with English 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:34.779 -speaking artists, but he completely flipped 00:11:34.779 --> 00:11:37.240 the power dynamic. Talk about I like it. Okay, 00:11:37.259 --> 00:11:41.460 I like it. 2018. Cardi B is the biggest new star 00:11:41.460 --> 00:11:44.360 in rap. J Balvin is already a global superstar. 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:47.519 And the song goes to number one on the Billboard 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:52.090 Hot 100. A massive, massive hit. But he's rapping 00:11:52.090 --> 00:11:54.970 his entire verse in Spanish on it. He makes no 00:11:54.970 --> 00:11:57.289 concessions. And then there's the Drake situation. 00:11:57.809 --> 00:12:02.590 Oh, Mia. Mia. This is late 2018. Drake is, without 00:12:02.590 --> 00:12:05.049 question, the biggest pop star on the planet. 00:12:05.350 --> 00:12:07.610 Any other Latin artist would have killed to be 00:12:07.610 --> 00:12:09.690 on a Drake song. And they would have bent over 00:12:09.690 --> 00:12:11.629 backwards to accommodate him. They would have 00:12:11.629 --> 00:12:14.309 sung the hook in English. Of course. That would 00:12:14.309 --> 00:12:16.649 be the standard play. So what did Bad Bunny do? 00:12:16.850 --> 00:12:19.730 He made Drake sing in Spanish. Yeah, as the ultimate 00:12:19.730 --> 00:12:22.549 power move. It's legendary. It's a declaration 00:12:22.549 --> 00:12:25.370 of independence. It's him saying, I am the center 00:12:25.370 --> 00:12:27.950 of gravity now. I am global, but I am Puerto 00:12:27.950 --> 00:12:30.389 Rican first. You want to work with me, you come 00:12:30.389 --> 00:12:33.049 to my world. And the song was a huge hit. It 00:12:33.049 --> 00:12:36.000 proved his thesis. It completely proved it. The 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.440 American audience didn't need the lyrics translated. 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:40.919 They just needed the vibe, the melody, the beat. 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:43.480 It's almost like he realized that in the streaming 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:47.019 era, those old language barriers just don't exist 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:50.259 in the same way. That's it exactly. Streaming 00:12:50.259 --> 00:12:54.039 democratized consumption. A kid in Nebraska can 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:56.860 vibe to a Spanish trap beat just as easily as 00:12:56.860 --> 00:12:59.639 a kid in San Juan. the gatekeepers at the radio 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:02.179 stations who used to demand english lyrics they 00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:04.559 lost all their power so he's riding this incredible 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:06.580 wave he's got the singles he's the undisputed 00:13:06.580 --> 00:13:10.379 king of trap but then he decides to drop a full 00:13:10.379 --> 00:13:14.379 album and usually trap artists they aren't really 00:13:14.379 --> 00:13:16.860 known for cohesive artistic albums it's a single 00:13:16.860 --> 00:13:19.059 genre it's the playlist mentality just give me 00:13:19.059 --> 00:13:22.860 a string of hits but in late 2018 He drops X100 00:13:22.860 --> 00:13:25.080 Pre. And that title is stylized, right? It's 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:27.419 X100 Pre, which is tech speak for poor simpre. 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:30.960 Forever. Right. And the critics and even some 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:33.600 fans were confused at first. Why? Because it 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:35.580 wasn't just hard trap. It was weird. It was all 00:13:35.580 --> 00:13:38.120 over the place. One review called it off kilter 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:40.179 creativity. In what way? What were the sounds? 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:43.980 It had pop punk influences like real Blink -182 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:46.340 vibes on some tracks. It had dreamy synth pop. 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:48.539 It had heartbreaking acoustic ballads. It was 00:13:48.539 --> 00:13:51.169 deeply experimental. So he was immediately. signaling, 00:13:51.350 --> 00:13:53.970 don't put me in a box. Exactly. It established 00:13:53.970 --> 00:13:56.110 him as an album artist, not just a hit maker. 00:13:56.269 --> 00:13:58.450 He was building a whole sonic world for you to 00:13:58.450 --> 00:14:01.730 live in. And then 2020 happens. The year the 00:14:01.730 --> 00:14:04.629 world stopped. But Bad Bunny somehow sped up. 00:14:05.579 --> 00:14:07.860 It's honestly exhausting just looking at his 00:14:07.860 --> 00:14:10.860 output for 2020. He was unbelievably prolific. 00:14:10.899 --> 00:14:15.320 He starts the year February 2020 with YHLQMDLG. 00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:20.539 I do what I want. The title says it all, really. 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:22.960 It really does. And this was the party record. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.580 It was pure, unfiltered nostalgia. It was a love 00:14:26.580 --> 00:14:28.820 letter to the old school reggaeton he grew up 00:14:28.820 --> 00:14:30.740 on. He was meant for the clubs, for cars with 00:14:30.740 --> 00:14:33.379 the windows down, for backyard barbecues. It 00:14:33.379 --> 00:14:36.879 was the ultimate summer album. It came out right 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:39.139 before Summer was canceled. I know. The timing 00:14:39.139 --> 00:14:42.179 seemed disastrous. He releases this massive party 00:14:42.179 --> 00:14:44.500 record, and two weeks later, the entire world 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:46.259 goes into lockdown. You'd think it would have 00:14:46.259 --> 00:14:48.720 killed the album's momentum, but weirdly, the 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:51.279 opposite happened. It became the soundtrack to 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:54.000 the lockdown. It did. People were having parties 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:56.299 in their living rooms to Sephira. It was this 00:14:56.299 --> 00:14:59.200 shared cultural experience of clinging to joy 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:01.940 in a scary time. We have to talk about Sephira. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:06.620 That song. is a masterpiece of chaos. It's insane. 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:09.700 It changes beats like five or six times. It samples 00:15:09.700 --> 00:15:12.879 everything from Missy Elliott to classic reggaeton 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:15.879 rhythms. It's like a full DJ set crammed into 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:18.879 one five -minute song. It's brilliant. But he 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:21.470 didn't stop there. Because we were all stuck 00:15:21.470 --> 00:15:24.169 at home, bored out of our minds. He drops Las 00:15:24.169 --> 00:15:26.309 Cano y Banasalir. The ones that weren't going 00:15:26.309 --> 00:15:28.549 to come out. It was a total surprise drop. A 00:15:28.549 --> 00:15:30.950 complete surprise. And it was just a compilation 00:15:30.950 --> 00:15:33.970 of B -sides, rough drafts, unpolished tracks 00:15:33.970 --> 00:15:38.669 from the YHLQMDLG sessions. It felt so raw and 00:15:38.669 --> 00:15:40.309 intimate. It felt like he was just giving us 00:15:40.309 --> 00:15:42.629 a gift. Yeah. Like, hey, I know you're bored. 00:15:42.690 --> 00:15:44.679 Here's some more music to get you through. It 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:47.080 deepened that connection with his fans. It wasn't 00:15:47.080 --> 00:15:49.320 a polished corporate product. It was personal. 00:15:49.539 --> 00:15:52.159 And he's still not done with 2020. It's Thanksgiving. 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:54.659 We're all in the thick of it. And he drops El 00:15:54.659 --> 00:15:57.379 Ultimo Tour del Mundo, the last tour in the world. 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:01.360 And this, this album is the real pivot. This 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:03.480 is a game changer. This is the one that rewrites 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:05.639 the history books. How so? Because it becomes 00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:08.639 the first all -Spanish language album to ever 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.759 top the U .S. Billboard 200 chart. Again, not 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:14.379 the Latin chart. The main chart. He beat Taylor 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:16.179 Swift. He beat everybody. He beat everybody. 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:20.539 And musically, it was a total left turn. It wasn't 00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:23.789 reggaeton at all. It was rock. It was what he 00:16:23.789 --> 00:16:26.070 called truck driver music. It was post -punk. 00:16:26.289 --> 00:16:28.769 It was indie rock. It was melancholic and had 00:16:28.769 --> 00:16:31.289 these fuzzy electric guitars. He was doing this 00:16:31.289 --> 00:16:34.690 low, slurry, almost goth rock vocal delivery. 00:16:34.870 --> 00:16:38.070 He was completely unafraid to alienate the fans 00:16:38.070 --> 00:16:40.450 who just wanted to party and dance. He was basically 00:16:40.450 --> 00:16:42.629 saying, I'm an artist and this is where I'm at 00:16:42.629 --> 00:16:44.850 right now. Come along if you want. And that willingness 00:16:44.850 --> 00:16:48.669 to experiment, to take huge risks, sets the stage 00:16:48.669 --> 00:16:51.779 for the big one. The global juggernaut. 2022, 00:16:52.419 --> 00:16:56.059 un verano sin ti. A summer without you. I don't 00:16:56.059 --> 00:16:58.259 think we can possibly overstate how massive this 00:16:58.259 --> 00:17:00.059 album was. The stats and the source material 00:17:00.059 --> 00:17:02.259 are just ridiculous. It became the most streamed 00:17:02.259 --> 00:17:04.579 album in the history of Spotify. Yeah. Not for 00:17:04.579 --> 00:17:07.680 the year. Ever. It spent 13 non -consecutive 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:10.900 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200. That 00:17:10.900 --> 00:17:13.180 puts him in the same league as, like, the Frozen 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:16.299 soundtrack or Drake at his peak. It was true 00:17:16.299 --> 00:17:19.579 cultural ubiquity. You couldn't leave your house 00:17:19.579 --> 00:17:22.480 without hearing Titi Me Pregunto from a passing 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:24.880 car. You couldn't scroll on TikTok without hearing 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:28.339 Mi Porto Bonito. It was a global cultural moment. 00:17:28.579 --> 00:17:31.259 It solidified the idea that Spanish language 00:17:31.259 --> 00:17:34.500 music wasn't a niche or a genre. It was just 00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:37.279 pop music, period. The biggest pop music in the 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:39.059 world. And it was the first Spanish language 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:41.559 album to be nominated for the big prize, Album 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:43.619 of the Year at the Grammys. It didn't win that 00:17:43.619 --> 00:17:45.640 year, but it broke down the door. It broke down 00:17:45.640 --> 00:17:47.700 the door. And that brings us to the... recent 00:17:47.700 --> 00:17:50.339 history, the buildup to this incredible moment 00:17:50.339 --> 00:17:59.650 we're in now in February 2026. January 5, 2025. 00:18:00.230 --> 00:18:02.829 And this album was interesting because he explicitly 00:18:02.829 --> 00:18:05.410 described it as recommitting to Puerto Rico. 00:18:05.430 --> 00:18:07.670 What does that mean? After the massive globe 00:18:07.670 --> 00:18:10.329 -trotting sound of Unverano, which was influenced 00:18:10.329 --> 00:18:12.430 by music from all over the Caribbean and beyond, 00:18:12.730 --> 00:18:16.009 this album was a return to his roots. More personal 00:18:16.009 --> 00:18:19.299 stories about the island. He turned his gaze 00:18:19.299 --> 00:18:21.880 back home. And the marketing was so cool. The 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:25.200 character of Concho. Yes. Yeah. The Puerto Rican 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:28.920 crested toad. The Sapo Concho. It's an endangered 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:31.259 species native to the island. And he used this 00:18:31.259 --> 00:18:33.799 cartoon toad character to promote the album. 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:37.039 He used the entire album rollout to raise awareness 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:39.579 for conservation efforts for the toad. It's that 00:18:39.579 --> 00:18:42.380 perfect blend of massive commercial reach and 00:18:42.380 --> 00:18:45.519 a hyper -local, specific concern that makes him 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:48.740 so unique. And that album, Debbie Tirar Mas Fotos, 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:51.099 is what just won him the Grammy for Album of 00:18:51.099 --> 00:18:53.819 the Year last week. Finally, the first Spanish 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:56.339 -language album to ever win the big one. It felt 00:18:56.339 --> 00:18:58.680 like the industry finally caught up to the reality 00:18:58.680 --> 00:19:00.980 that the fans have known for years. It really 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:02.640 does. But, you know, we're talking a lot about 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:03.849 the music, but we have to... to talk about the 00:19:03.849 --> 00:19:06.930 style, the aesthetic, the visuals. Because Bad 00:19:06.930 --> 00:19:09.289 Bunny isn't just reshaping what pop music sounds 00:19:09.289 --> 00:19:12.009 like. He's reshaping what it looks like to be 00:19:12.009 --> 00:19:14.609 a male superstar. especially in latin america 00:19:14.609 --> 00:19:17.049 we're talking about the new masculinity exactly 00:19:17.049 --> 00:19:19.529 i mean just look at him he wears pink he wears 00:19:19.529 --> 00:19:21.450 florals and skirts he's got the short shorts 00:19:21.450 --> 00:19:25.329 he paints his nails these long manicured fingernails 00:19:25.329 --> 00:19:27.769 and this is so significant because he's coming 00:19:27.769 --> 00:19:31.049 from the world of reggaeton and latin trap these 00:19:31.049 --> 00:19:34.069 are genres that have historically been absolutely 00:19:34.069 --> 00:19:37.150 steeped in machismo right traditional gender 00:19:37.150 --> 00:19:40.569 roles are very very strong in that culture you're 00:19:40.569 --> 00:19:44.720 supposed to be tough stoic The alpha male. And 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.039 here comes the biggest star in the entire genre, 00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:49.660 performing in full drag for the music video for 00:19:49.660 --> 00:19:52.380 Yoperio Sola. That video was a cultural earthquake 00:19:52.380 --> 00:19:54.759 when it dropped. It was. And he wasn't just, 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:56.759 you know, wearing a wig for a laugh. He was in 00:19:56.759 --> 00:19:59.519 full prosthetics, makeup, heels, everything. 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:02.819 He was embodying the woman in the song who is 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:05.299 declaring that she wants to dance alone, free 00:20:05.299 --> 00:20:07.819 from harassment. It was such an incredibly bold 00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:10.599 move. It was. And he wasn't doing it as a joke 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:13.539 or for shock value. He was challenging the very 00:20:13.539 --> 00:20:16.380 foundation of those norms. He was saying, I can 00:20:16.380 --> 00:20:18.480 be the most successful artist in the world and 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:20.819 I can do it in a skirt. He was the first man 00:20:20.819 --> 00:20:23.759 to appear solo on the cover of Playboy magazine 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:26.599 other than Hugh Hefner himself. Think about that. 00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:30.519 He is actively and deliberately dismantling the 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:32.819 archetype of what a reggaetonero is supposed 00:20:32.819 --> 00:20:35.319 to look and act like. And it goes beyond just 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:38.119 fashion choices. It's about genuine allyship. 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:40.380 I remember the incident with Alexa Negron Luciano. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:43.670 Yes. A transgender woman who was brutally murdered 00:20:43.670 --> 00:20:46.390 in Puerto Rico in early 2020. It was a horrific 00:20:46.390 --> 00:20:49.029 hate crime. She was homeless. She was mocked 00:20:49.029 --> 00:20:51.609 on social media, hunted down and killed. It was 00:20:51.609 --> 00:20:54.329 a moment of deep national shame and soul searching 00:20:54.329 --> 00:20:56.910 on the island. It was awful. And Bad Bunny goes 00:20:56.910 --> 00:20:58.970 on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, one of 00:20:58.970 --> 00:21:01.910 the biggest platforms in America. And he performs, 00:21:01.930 --> 00:21:03.970 but he's wearing a T -shirt that says in Spanish, 00:21:04.210 --> 00:21:10.769 They killed Alexa, not a man in a skirt. That 00:21:10.769 --> 00:21:13.730 is such a powerful, unambiguous statement to 00:21:13.730 --> 00:21:16.990 make on national television. He used his platform 00:21:16.990 --> 00:21:20.470 to correct the disrespectful narrative, to honor 00:21:20.470 --> 00:21:23.210 her identity, and to call out the transphobia 00:21:23.210 --> 00:21:25.250 that led to her death. It was a huge moment. 00:21:25.430 --> 00:21:27.730 And it's why Ricky Martin, who is an icon in 00:21:27.730 --> 00:21:30.970 his own right, has called Bad Bunny an icon for 00:21:30.970 --> 00:21:32.950 the Latin queer community. That's high praise 00:21:32.950 --> 00:21:35.009 coming from Ricky. It is. And he's been open 00:21:35.009 --> 00:21:37.589 about his own identity, too. He famously kissed 00:21:37.589 --> 00:21:39.930 a male backup dancer during his performance. 00:21:45.459 --> 00:21:48.839 Exactly. He's creating a space for his fans, 00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:51.619 especially young men, to be themselves. He's 00:21:51.619 --> 00:21:54.660 signaling that the old rigid rules just don't 00:21:54.660 --> 00:21:57.140 apply anymore. Speaking of rules and breaking 00:21:57.140 --> 00:22:00.740 them. We absolutely have to talk about his politics 00:22:00.740 --> 00:22:03.759 because usually when an artist reaches this level 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:05.700 of fame, when you're a corporate friendly Super 00:22:05.700 --> 00:22:08.700 Bowl headlining superstar, you tamp down the 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:10.700 political stuff. You play it safe. You don't 00:22:10.700 --> 00:22:12.559 want to alienate half of your potential audience. 00:22:12.579 --> 00:22:15.079 Right. You become Switzerland. Bad Bunny does 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:17.619 not subscribe to that theory. In fact, he seems 00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:19.640 to get louder and more politically engaged the 00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:21.500 bigger he gets. His relationship with Puerto 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:24.299 Rico. the island, the politics, the struggles. 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:27.640 It's absolutely central to who he is as an artist. 00:22:27.859 --> 00:22:29.960 It goes all the way back to Hurricane Maria in 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:33.279 2017. He was one of the most vocal critics of 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:35.640 the government's failed relief efforts. But the 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:38.640 real turning point was the summer of 2019. The 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:42.059 Telegramgate protests. Yes, when nearly 900 pages 00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:45.359 of private Telegram chats between Governor Ricardo 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:48.180 Rossello and his inner circle were leaked to 00:22:48.180 --> 00:22:51.029 the public. And the contents were just... Vile. 00:22:51.089 --> 00:22:53.569 Beyond vile. They were making homophobic jokes, 00:22:53.829 --> 00:22:55.829 misogynistic comments about female politicians 00:22:55.829 --> 00:22:58.670 and worst of all, making light of the dead bodies 00:22:58.670 --> 00:23:00.549 that were piling up in the morgues after Hurricane 00:23:00.549 --> 00:23:03.549 Maria. And the island just erupted. Spontaneously. 00:23:03.609 --> 00:23:06.359 It was a peaceful revolution. Hundreds of thousands 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:09.539 of people in the streets and Bad Bunny. He literally 00:23:09.539 --> 00:23:12.440 put his massive European tour on pause. He was 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:15.019 in Spain, I think. He was. He canceled shows, 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:18.240 flew back to Puerto Rico, and he joined Residente 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:20.980 and Ricky Martin in the streets. They led a protest 00:23:20.980 --> 00:23:24.220 that shut down the Expresso Las Americas, a major 00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:26.980 highway in San Juan. Can you just imagine that 00:23:26.980 --> 00:23:29.920 scene? The biggest pop star in the world standing 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:32.299 on a highway, shouting through a bullhorn, demanding 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:35.180 that the governor resign. And it worked. Locello 00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:37.259 resigned. It was the first time in the history 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:39.299 of Puerto Rico that a governor was forced out 00:23:39.299 --> 00:23:41.460 of office by popular protests. And during the 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:43.880 protests, they released that anthem, Afalanda 00:23:43.880 --> 00:23:46.599 Los Cuchillos. Sharpening the Knives. Okay. Which 00:23:46.599 --> 00:23:49.599 was not a pop song. It was raw, unfiltered political 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:52.720 rage set to a beat. And he hasn't stopped since 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:56.440 then. The music video for El Apagón from Un Verano 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:59.559 Senti. It wasn't just a music video. No, it was 00:23:59.559 --> 00:24:01.660 a 22 -minute documentary. It was straight -up 00:24:01.660 --> 00:24:03.740 investigative journalism. It was. He turned his 00:24:03.740 --> 00:24:05.900 platform over to the independent journalist Bianca 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:08.779 Graulao to report on the real -world issues behind 00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:11.680 the song's title, The Blackout. They reported 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:14.799 on Omame Energy, the private company that took 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:17.220 over the island's power grid, and the constant 00:24:17.220 --> 00:24:19.660 blackouts that were plaguing the people. And 00:24:19.660 --> 00:24:22.720 they went deeper. They reported on Act 22, these 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:25.859 controversial tax breaks that encourage wealthy 00:24:25.859 --> 00:24:28.140 foreigners like crypto investors and YouTubers 00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:31.460 to move to the island. And in the process, they 00:24:31.460 --> 00:24:33.900 drive up real estate prices and displace local 00:24:33.900 --> 00:24:37.039 Puerto Ricans. It's classic gentrification. He's 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:39.579 using his biggest music videos to educate the 00:24:39.579 --> 00:24:41.839 world about the modern day effects of colonialism 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:45.240 on his home. Which leads us to the 2024 election 00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:49.329 and the drama that spilled over into 2025. This 00:24:49.329 --> 00:24:51.410 is where the story gets really intense and where 00:24:51.410 --> 00:24:53.950 we see the setup for this current historic moment. 00:24:54.250 --> 00:24:57.109 It does. During the 2024 election cycle, there 00:24:57.109 --> 00:24:59.549 was that infamous Trump rally at Madison Square 00:24:59.549 --> 00:25:01.910 Garden. Oh, I remember this. A comedian opened 00:25:01.910 --> 00:25:04.730 for the rally and called Puerto Rico a floating 00:25:04.730 --> 00:25:07.349 island of garbage. The backlash was immediate 00:25:07.349 --> 00:25:09.890 and fierce. And Bad Bunny didn't stay silent. 00:25:10.049 --> 00:25:12.430 He went on social media and endorsed Juan Dalmau 00:25:12.430 --> 00:25:14.609 of the Puerto Rican Independence Party. Which 00:25:14.609 --> 00:25:16.410 is a huge deal. That's a shift away from the 00:25:16.410 --> 00:25:18.289 two traditional establishment parties on the 00:25:18.289 --> 00:25:20.609 island. It's a radical statement. And he directly 00:25:20.609 --> 00:25:23.049 criticized Trump for allowing that kind of rhetoric 00:25:23.049 --> 00:25:25.369 at his. event. But it didn't just end with a 00:25:25.369 --> 00:25:28.369 tweet. This controversy spilled over into his 00:25:28.369 --> 00:25:30.890 touring decisions for the entire next year. And 00:25:30.890 --> 00:25:33.630 this is the part that still blows my mind. In 00:25:33.630 --> 00:25:37.369 2025, Bad Bunny did not tour the United States. 00:25:37.710 --> 00:25:39.650 Stop and think about the economics of that for 00:25:39.650 --> 00:25:42.589 a second. His last major tour, the world's hottest 00:25:42.589 --> 00:25:45.450 tour in 2022, was the highest grossing tour of 00:25:45.450 --> 00:25:47.789 the year. He grossed hundreds of millions of 00:25:47.789 --> 00:25:50.309 dollars. So he looked at a guaranteed nine figure 00:25:50.309 --> 00:25:53.329 payday and just left it all on the table. Why? 00:25:53.450 --> 00:25:56.349 What was his reasoning? He publicly cited concerns 00:25:56.349 --> 00:25:59.269 that U .S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 00:25:59.269 --> 00:26:03.549 would target his undocumented fans at his concerts. 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:06.019 Can you unpack that? What does that mean? Well, 00:26:06.099 --> 00:26:08.460 his concerts are massive gatherings of Latinos 00:26:08.460 --> 00:26:11.079 from all backgrounds and with all kinds of immigration 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:14.460 statuses. He was worried, based on the political 00:26:14.460 --> 00:26:16.940 rhetoric at the time, that these concerts could 00:26:16.940 --> 00:26:19.680 be used as traps. That ICE could show up and 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:21.880 use the events to profile and detain people? 00:26:22.039 --> 00:26:24.880 Exactly. So he looked at the potential risk to 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:27.180 the most vulnerable members of his fan base, 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:29.940 and he said, I'm not doing it. I won't put them 00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:32.500 in that position. That is truly putting your 00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:34.359 money where your mouth is. That is a level of 00:26:34.359 --> 00:26:36.940 integrity you almost never see in the entertainment 00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:39.500 industry. It's a monumental sacrifice for his 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:41.519 principles. So instead of a huge U .S. stadium 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:45.180 tour, what did he do in 2025? He went home. He 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:47.559 did a 30 -date residency called No Me Quiero 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:50.319 Arde Aki, I Don't Want to Leave Here, at the 00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:52.619 Chiliceo Arena in Puerto Rico. So he played for 00:26:52.619 --> 00:26:54.359 his people. He played for his people, and he 00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:56.700 did a stadium tour of Europe and Latin America, 00:26:56.980 --> 00:27:00.059 but he completely bypassed the U .S. mainland. 00:27:00.460 --> 00:27:03.180 It sends such a loud message. I will perform 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:06.160 for my community, but I refuse to let my art 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:09.140 be a tool for their persecution. It was a very 00:27:09.140 --> 00:27:12.119 powerful, very expensive and very visible form 00:27:12.119 --> 00:27:14.160 of protest. And while all this is happening, 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:16.319 he's still doing the philanthropic work on the 00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:18.880 island. The Good Bunny Foundation? Yeah. The 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:21.759 Bonita tradition holiday gift drives every Christmas. 00:27:21.819 --> 00:27:24.480 He's there in person handing out toys, musical 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:26.880 instruments, art supplies to thousands of kids. 00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:28.980 And he partnered with Mark Anthony to rebuild 00:27:28.980 --> 00:27:31.480 baseball fields for youth leagues. Right. A $1 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:35.720 .6 million project. He's deeply personally invested 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:38.380 in the infrastructure and the future of Puerto 00:27:38.380 --> 00:27:41.759 Rican youth. Okay. So we have the artist. We 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:43.539 have the fashion icon. We have the activist. 00:27:43.900 --> 00:27:47.299 But we also have to talk about... The Wrestler. 00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:50.839 The Wrestler. This is my favorite subplot in 00:27:50.839 --> 00:27:54.579 the entire Bad Bunny saga. It's just wild, because 00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:57.420 usually when a celebrity does a guest spot on 00:27:57.420 --> 00:28:00.099 WWE, it's, well, it's a little embarrassing. 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:02.759 It's cringeworthy. They stand there, they wave, 00:28:02.779 --> 00:28:05.079 maybe they throw a soft punch that looks terrible. 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:07.799 Right. But Bad Bunny is legitimately good, like 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:10.420 technically proficient in the ring. He's amazing. 00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:12.440 He's doing Canadian Destroyers off the top row. 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:14.240 He's flying through the air. He's a lifelong 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:15.980 fan of professional wrestling. You can tell he 00:28:15.980 --> 00:28:18.539 respects the business. And he trained incredibly 00:28:18.539 --> 00:28:21.019 hard. Oh, absolutely. He debuted at WrestleMania 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:23.460 37 in a tag team match, which was already impressive 00:28:23.460 --> 00:28:25.579 enough. But then he came back for the Royal Rumble. 00:28:25.619 --> 00:28:28.599 And he eliminated Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler. 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:31.799 Two former world champions. He eliminated Sheamus. 00:28:31.819 --> 00:28:34.859 It's incredible. But the absolute peak was Backlash 00:28:34.859 --> 00:28:39.740 2023. In Puerto Rico. The first WWE premium live 00:28:39.740 --> 00:28:42.839 event on the island in almost 20 years. And he's 00:28:42.839 --> 00:28:45.420 in the main event, a San Juan street fight against 00:28:45.420 --> 00:28:48.339 his friend turned rival Damian Priest. I watched 00:28:48.339 --> 00:28:51.059 that match. The crowd noise was. deafening it 00:28:51.059 --> 00:28:53.480 sounded like a jet engine for 25 straight minutes 00:28:53.480 --> 00:28:56.519 the passion was unbelievable and he took real 00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:59.200 bumps he got chokeslammed through a table he 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:01.420 was hit with kendo sticks and he used trash cans 00:29:01.420 --> 00:29:04.619 and chairs it was a brutal incredible match and 00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:07.200 he won It cemented his status, not just as a 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:09.720 fan, but as a legitimate performer who is willing 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:12.299 to put his body on the line for the sake of entertainment. 00:29:12.660 --> 00:29:14.920 It earned him so much respect from the wrestling 00:29:14.920 --> 00:29:17.039 community, which is notoriously hard to please. 00:29:17.259 --> 00:29:19.859 It just adds to this mythology around him, this 00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:22.119 idea that he does everything at 110 percent. 00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:24.640 If he's going to design sneakers with Adidas. 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:26.579 They're going to be the most sought after, instantly 00:29:26.579 --> 00:29:29.680 sold out shoe of the year every single time. 00:29:29.799 --> 00:29:32.000 If he's going to model for Calvin Klein. The 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:35.420 2025 campaign is going to generate $8 .4 million 00:29:35.420 --> 00:29:38.359 in media impact value in the first 48 hours. 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:41.039 He's a brand powerhouse. Which brings us to today. 00:29:41.180 --> 00:29:44.180 To? Right now. Yeah. The summit. Yeah. 2026. 00:29:44.339 --> 00:29:47.539 The convergence. Where all these different threads, 00:29:47.819 --> 00:29:50.680 the music, the politics, the brand power all 00:29:50.680 --> 00:29:55.250 come together. So he spends all of 2025. refusing 00:29:55.250 --> 00:29:58.210 to tour the U .S. and protest. He's effectively 00:29:58.210 --> 00:30:01.309 boycotting the American concert circuit. But 00:30:01.309 --> 00:30:03.930 then it's announced that he is the headliner 00:30:03.930 --> 00:30:07.650 for the Super Bowl LX halftime show. And immediately 00:30:07.650 --> 00:30:10.910 there's a political firestorm. Donald Trump calls 00:30:10.910 --> 00:30:13.769 the choice ridiculous. He's tweeting about it 00:30:13.769 --> 00:30:16.089 constantly. But on the other side, you have Jay 00:30:16.089 --> 00:30:18.789 -Z's Roc Nation, who produces the show, and the 00:30:18.789 --> 00:30:21.420 NFL itself. And they stand by the choice. They 00:30:21.420 --> 00:30:24.240 stand by it firmly. And Bad Bunny accepts the 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:26.700 gig. Now, some people on the outside might say, 00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:28.339 wait a minute, you won't tour the U .S. because 00:30:28.339 --> 00:30:30.500 of ICE, but you'll play the Super Bowl. Isn't 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:32.480 that hypocritical? That's the obvious question. 00:30:32.819 --> 00:30:34.970 But you have to look at how he framed it. He 00:30:34.970 --> 00:30:37.789 explicitly viewed accepting the gig as a form 00:30:37.789 --> 00:30:41.109 of protest in itself. A protest? How so? He saw 00:30:41.109 --> 00:30:43.150 it as infiltrating the system. It was a Trojan 00:30:43.150 --> 00:30:45.589 horse strategy. His goal was to stand on that 00:30:45.589 --> 00:30:48.630 stage, the biggest, most watched stage in America, 00:30:48.869 --> 00:30:51.930 the ultimate symbol of American capitalism and 00:30:51.930 --> 00:30:55.410 culture, and perform a show that was unapologetically, 00:30:55.410 --> 00:30:58.609 overwhelmingly in Spanish. He wanted to force 00:30:58.609 --> 00:31:02.160 128 million people. To listen to his language, 00:31:02.180 --> 00:31:05.559 to see his culture on his terms. Precisely. And 00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:07.519 that is exactly what he did on February 8th. 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:09.740 He didn't water it down. He didn't bring out 00:31:09.740 --> 00:31:11.579 a bunch of English speaking guest stars to make 00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:13.859 it safe for the audience. No, he brought Puerto 00:31:13.859 --> 00:31:16.700 Rico to the Super Bowl. He had the planeros with 00:31:16.700 --> 00:31:18.859 the drums, the dancers, the aesthetics of San 00:31:18.859 --> 00:31:21.000 Juan. It was a cultural statement. And the impact 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:24.259 was instantaneous. His entire back catalog surged 00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:26.859 on the charts. His songs reentered the Hot 100. 00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:29.619 And the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, 00:31:29.720 --> 00:31:33.079 officially declared February 8th, 2026 as Bad 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:35.599 Bunny Day in the state. It was the ultimate flex. 00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:38.170 It was him saying, I can. boycott your entire 00:31:38.170 --> 00:31:40.690 tour circuit i can stand against your government's 00:31:40.690 --> 00:31:43.049 policies and i can still come here and dominate 00:31:43.049 --> 00:31:45.630 your single biggest cultural event on my own 00:31:45.630 --> 00:31:49.250 terms and then just one week later just a few 00:31:49.250 --> 00:31:53.089 days ago he walks into the grammys and wins album 00:31:53.089 --> 00:31:56.650 of the year for debbie tirar mas photos the trifecta 00:31:56.859 --> 00:31:59.440 He's finally done it. He has the critical acclaim 00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:01.619 with the Grammys. He has the commercial dominance 00:32:01.619 --> 00:32:04.579 with Spotify's most streamed artist globally 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:08.160 for four separate years, which is a record. And 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:10.799 he has the cultural credibility with the activism, 00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:13.609 the fashion, even the wrestling. it's just incredible 00:32:13.609 --> 00:32:15.950 he's achieved what everyone thought was impossible 00:32:15.950 --> 00:32:18.309 he's the biggest star in america and he barely 00:32:18.309 --> 00:32:20.890 has to speak english to us and that's the paradigm 00:32:20.890 --> 00:32:23.049 shift that's the core takeaway from this whole 00:32:23.049 --> 00:32:26.890 deep dive he proved that global success is no 00:32:26.890 --> 00:32:29.109 longer dependent on assimilation into the american 00:32:29.109 --> 00:32:31.789 market you don't have to change who you are you 00:32:31.789 --> 00:32:34.559 don't have to become american to conquer America. 00:32:34.779 --> 00:32:37.380 You can be unapologetically yourself, unapologetically 00:32:37.380 --> 00:32:39.480 Puerto Rican, and the world will come to you. 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:42.079 So what does this all mean for the future? I 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:44.700 mean, where can he possibly go from here? He's 00:32:44.700 --> 00:32:46.859 reached the summit of the mountain. That is the 00:32:46.859 --> 00:32:48.740 million dollar question, isn't it? He's won the 00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:50.759 awards. He's played the Super Bowl. He's fought 00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:52.700 the political battles. And he's still so young. 00:32:52.759 --> 00:32:56.059 He's barely in his early 30s. He is. But I think 00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:58.720 the central tension of his career remains. And 00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:01.200 that's what will define his next chapter. And 00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:03.339 what's that tension? It's the friction between 00:33:03.339 --> 00:33:06.140 being completely integrated into the machinery 00:33:06.140 --> 00:33:09.480 of US pop culture, while at the same time remaining 00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:12.900 one of the most steadfast and vocal critics of 00:33:12.900 --> 00:33:16.779 US politics and policy, especially as it relates 00:33:16.779 --> 00:33:19.519 to Puerto Rico. The paradox of being an icon 00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:22.019 in the empire while constantly critiquing the 00:33:22.019 --> 00:33:24.220 empire. Exactly. How does he navigate that? How 00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:27.579 does that relationship evolve now that he is, 00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:30.299 for all intents and purposes, a pillar of that 00:33:30.299 --> 00:33:32.630 very pop culture? critiques. It is going to be 00:33:32.630 --> 00:33:34.609 absolutely fascinating to watch. Will he finally 00:33:34.609 --> 00:33:37.950 tour the U .S. in 2027? Does he get even more 00:33:37.950 --> 00:33:40.269 political? Could he one day run for office in 00:33:40.269 --> 00:33:42.329 Puerto Rico? At this point, I would not rule 00:33:42.329 --> 00:33:43.990 anything out. Well, if you haven't listened to 00:33:43.990 --> 00:33:46.170 Debita Armas' photos yet, you need to go do it. 00:33:46.430 --> 00:33:48.470 But listen to it with all this context, with 00:33:48.470 --> 00:33:51.789 fresh ears. Know the history, know the struggle, 00:33:51.950 --> 00:33:54.789 know the protest, and know the ultimate triumph 00:33:54.789 --> 00:33:57.740 that exists. behind every single beat. It completely 00:33:57.740 --> 00:34:00.380 changes the way you hear the music. It really, 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:02.720 really does. Thanks for diving in with us today. 00:34:02.779 --> 00:34:05.200 This was a big one. It was. Take care. We'll 00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:06.279 catch you on the next deep dive.