Bad Bunny, an artist sparking controversy for his Super Bowl Halftime show for unjustified reasons, has seen his name in the spotlight recently. Not only did he headline the Halftime show, but he won Album of the Year at the Grammys this year for his album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” translating to “I Should Have Taken More Photos,” making it the first Spanish-language album to ever win this title. Did it deserve it?
Before I get into the grit and details of this album, I’m going to disclose that before Bunny’s halftime show, I had only seen him in “Happy Gilmore 2.” I had never heard his music, and I might know ten Spanish words. No hate on Latin music, it’s just not the style I typically listen to. Will that change after listening to this album?
The first song “NUEVEYoL” started the album off with a very salsa-esc sound, eventually leading into a more modern, bass-boosted beat that Bunny is known for and it was a vibe to listen to. It was the first Bad Bunny song I have ever listened to, and that certainly wasn’t a bad thing. I think his voice is unique – not the most impressive voice ever, but still a very good sound for his music in both rap and the little singing he does throughout this album.
“VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR” immediately goes into a techno vibe with some keys in the back as Bunny starts singing, but the song really starts when they bring in the bass. The chorus is much better than “NUEVEYoL” and also contains a lot more singing than rapping, which I appreciated. Definitely a dance song and a step up from the previous.
Then there’s “BAILE INoLVIDABLE,” once again starting with singing and electronic keys in the back. Eventually, some trumpets come in, and after a minute or so, is when the bongos and real Latin sound come into play. It’s a slower, salsa-able song in comparison to the rest, with more emphasis on vocals and instruments rather than rapping. I do like the sound of the music, but I think this is the weakest song so far, mostly because of its six-minute length.
After that, there’s “PERFuMITO NUEVO,” the first song of the album to feature another artist, RaiNao. She starts off the song and creates a good sense of variety in comparison to the songs before. The beat is heavy in the trap area, but still Latin in its essence. Still, when I listen to songs with featured artists, I hope for more of a collaboration. The two kind of took turns in singing, and I wish at some point they came together and harmonized in some way. Nevertheless, it was a good breakaway from the beginning of this album.
Up next is “ELTiTA,” which I consider to be the grooviest song yet, mainly because of the percussion and guitar in the back that remains un-bass boosted for a good portion of the song. Even when the bass eventually comes in it isn’t as overwhelming. It features Chuwi, who comes in a lot later in the song. She has really good vocals, especially in pair with the vibe this beat provides. Once again, I still hoped for some moments where they sung together, but that was not the case.
So far, not much has stuck out to me. All of the songs kind of sound the same in a sense, and after listening to them, they kind of flew to the back of my mind.
And then comes “VeLDA,” the real beat picker-upper. It’s a lot heavier on the hi-hat trap beat and electronic keys, but it’s my favorite song on this album, even though it’s a little milder. It has two featured artists – Omar Courtz and Dei V – who are both good additions to the sound and sing together during various parts throughout the song. It’s something I could see myself jamming out to on “Just Dance” sooner or later.
“EL CLuB” is next up with a bassless start, with the track focusing a lot more on keys and piano, which reminds me of “See You Again” by Tyler, The Creator, but then it picks up into the typical Bad Bunny I’ve grown to know. Still slow, but definitely something you can bounce your head to.
After that is “KETU TeCRE.” It starts off a lot like the other songs with a keyed backing track and no bass, but this is where Bunny’s vocals pick up. No hate, but it sounds very similar to other songs at the beginning of this album. I like it, but it’s not memorable.
Then we get really slow with “BOKeTE.” This song is probably the most that Bunny was singing in this entire album, which I liked because it provided some variety. The bass and keys still came in, but it was a lot more casual to listen to, even when he started rapping at a slower pace.
The next song, “KLOuFRENS,” is a quick change-up in sound, but still pretty slow. This goes back to the key and bass sound, which doesn’t sound much different than songs before it. The switch-up of “TURiSTA” pulled me out of the slump this album started to fall into. It started with acoustic guitar, the first in the album to do so, and was still slow, but in a way that was a lot more intimate and ballad-like, with some of his best vocals in the album.
After that change in pace was “CAFe CON RON,” a hard tug back into what we know of Bunny, but in the best way possible. This is the most danceable song so far, with the backup vocals and heavy percussion beat getting rid of the bass boosting for a bit. The beat switches into a more intimate one when featured artist Los Pleneros first comes in, but it still keeps a good sound even after it switches back into the beat provided at the beginning with both artists. It’s one of the stronger songs on this album and one I could find myself listening to more than a lot of the others.
Next was “PIToRRO DE COCO,” keeping it slow but bringing in a little bit of a difference from other songs. The beat was held back with more stretching singing from Bunny until it started to pick up a little before the halfway point in the song, but it’s not in your face. There was a sick acoustic guitar solo at the end that kind of broke me out of the spacing-out period this song sent me in.
A quick change in vibe came with “LO QUE LE PASO A HAWAII.” It was deeper, mellower; pretty casual but still a good sound. It was another one of the slower songs, which made me forget about it quickly, even though it had some good guitar sounds in the middle, plus a beat that slowly got built upon and got louder and louder.
“EoO” was the song to follow, starting off sounding like a Nightcore song. Quickly, it moved into the electronic Latin sound, but I don’t think it really stood out to me more than some of the other songs. Then the sound switched before it was even halfway over – that woke me up. It was more epic-sounding and intense in a way. The bass got heavier and the beat groovier, enough for me to think it’s in the top five of the album.
Then the mellower sound of “DtMF” came in, which I could picture as an ending credit song. I’m assuming the initials stand for the album name “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” and it kind of encapsulates the album as a whole. It has more Latin-sounding parts, more trap-sounding parts and a beat that made this a top song for me.
This was not the song to end the album, though. “LA MuDANZA” was the song to finish them all. It started with vocals only, then slapped you in the face with trumpets, bass, bongos and a Latin piano beat. I think this was the way to go out. The perfect balance of vocals and song made it exciting and good to listen to, and that bongo solo near the end? Beautiful.
When it comes to the Grammys, did Bunny deserve the win against top artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, The Creator? Who knows. I think in the world we are in right now, yes, one hundred percent, but I hope the award wasn’t chosen purely because of the fact that the album is completely in Spanish (I’m assuming it wasn’t). It was chosen based on what the people wanted, and guess what? I’m not all the people.
It depends on what you listen to whether you like listening to it or not, and Latin and rap are not some of my go-tos. Did this album make me want to listen to more Latin? A little bit. If it comes up on the radio, I won’t skip it, but it won’t be a genre that I will seek out.
With a lot of albums I listen to, if not all of them, it’s very easy to pick up on what an artist likes and tends to do, which is why I don’t listen to them very often. Singers become so familiar with their sound that a lot of their songs just blend into one another because that’s what they’re used to sounding like. I still find gems on every album, just like I found “VeLDA” and “EL CLuB,” but this isn’t something I’m going to find myself listening to often.
Is this a bad album? Not in any way possible. I think, for its genre it’s very good and he did a great job at the Halftime Show with the creepily human pieces of sugarcane and messages about love and going against hate (I agree with both of these things), but I am also one person in a sea of many others with a lot of opinions and lots of different tastes in music. My pop and rock listening habits are much different than this style of music. This album may not be one of my favorites, but I respect it and respect Bunny as an artist.
Hayley Doda can be contacted at
