Bad Bunny says new album is a return to his Puerto Rican roots
Puerto Rican rapper and singer-songwriter Bad Bunny’s newest LP ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’, which dropped 5 January, is a return to home.
Bad Bunny wanted his new album to feel like going home to Puerto Rico.
The 30-year-old rapper and singer-songwriter — whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — has long said he makes music for his fellow Puerto Ricans, but his goal for his newest record, ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’, was delve deeper into his nation's history and his own heritage.
In an interview with New York Magazine’s The Cut, he said: “It feels like I’m protecting my music, the essence of what everything is. It’s something that’s part of me—not because I’m Bad Bunny but because I’m Benito.”
Bad Bunny makes it a point to sing only in Spanish to show that he makes music for Puerto Ricans, but he told The Cut that ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’ “especially is the most” relevant.
‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’, which dropped 5 January, translates to ‘I Should Have Taken More Photos’.
Bad Bunny grew up just outside San Juan, Puerto Rico, and he is working now on learning more about the country’s history he never learned as a child. He drew inspiration from centuries of Puerto Rico’s history, including themes of political strife, colonisation, and gentrification.
Tracks include ‘Nuevayol’, ‘Voy a Llevarte Pa PR’, and ‘Baile Inolvidable’.
Over the years, Bad Bunny — who has dated Kendall Jenner — faced some criticism from fans who thought his music had diverged from his Puerto Rican roots after he temporarily relocated to Los Angeles in 2023.
On the back cover of ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’, the musiciamm dedicates the album to all Puerto Ricans.
He said of the dedication: “I think that, at the end of the day, that’s what connects us: the culture, our history, our roots.”
Bad Bunny was nervous about unveiling the new album to the world.
He said: “The night before the album dropped, I woke up in the middle of the night anxious.”
The album reached No. 13 in UK Charts and spent six weeks in the Top 100.
He has not yet announced a tour for the new album, but he will hold a 30-show residency — ‘No Me Quiero Ir de Aqui’, which translates to ‘I Don’t Want to Leave Here’ — at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan.
