“Safaera” is the golden child of Bad Bunny’s influence-fusing genius.
“P FKN R,” “Est á C-brón Ser Yo,” and “Puesto Pa’ Guerrial” are daunting, gritty and taunting. The bawdier part of reggaeton’s history is portrayed in grungier beats and more sinister, X-rated lyrics. While “Si Veo a Tu Mamá” plays to Bad Bunny’s sweeter, more dolent side, the bad of Bad Bunny is much more pronounced in other tracks. Only Bad Bunny could pair these sentimental words amidst the playful world of video game sounds and an electrified Brazilian bossa nova flair. “Si Veo a Tu Mamá” chronicles running into a lost love’s mom, where Bad Bunny, slurring, asks if her daughter is happy with someone else. It is no secret that Bad Bunny admiringly pours his Puerto Rican pride into his music, and his features include fellow Puerto Ricans Daddy Yankee, Ñengo Flow and Yaviah.īad Bunny is never reluctant to croon about his feelings and “YHLQMDLG” opens with a song that leaves even the most apathetic listener with a heavy heart. In the midst of pulsing rhythms and explosions of clever, raunchy lines, Bad Bunny plunges into the history of reggaeton both in samples, characteristic beats and tastefully intentional collaborations. This throwback reggaeton album is half party anthems and half cry-over-your-ex tracks and ultimately meant to get you out of bed and into a club. Titled “YHLQMDLG”, an acronym for “Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana” (I Do What I Want), there is no controlling Bad Bunny’s ambitious and erratic antics, but again, who would want to? The musician weaves through continents and genres in the same dembow-driven manner that won him a Latin Grammy only a year prior. Bad Bunny’s surprise 20-track album affirms one thing - he does what he wants and he wants to make that known.