Born on 10th March 1994, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who is better known by his professional stage name, Bad Bunny, is a rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and the occasional professional wrestler of Puerto Rican origin. Martinez is his paternal name, while Ocasio is the name he inherited from his mother’s side.
Latin trap and reggaeton are two major genres that define his musical style best, although it incorporates and is a harmonious blend of various elements from other music genres as well. The main characteristics of his songs that are most noteworthy are the serious intonation without any significant vocal technique.
His rise to international fame can be credited to his song “Diles,” which was released in 2016. This song became a hit, leading to him signing a record deal with the label “Hear This Music.” His songs like “Soy Peor” and collaborations with Farruko, Karol G, Ozuna, and J Balvin are what made him more popular in the coming years.
His music contains multiple elements from other genres, including pop, hip-hop, rock, electronic, reggae, dancehall, Latin, soul, and R&B, despite the fact that he is primarily recognized as a Latin trap and reggaeton musician. He is credited with popularizing the Latin trap in the English-language music industry, according to certain publications.
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Early Life
Born and raised in the Almirante Sur barrio of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio’s father, Tito Martinez, was a truck driver, and his mother, Lysaurie Ocasio, is a retired teacher. Pop ballads, salsa, and merengue were among the musical styles that his parents frequently listened to. His two younger brothers are named Bernie and Bysael. He stated in an interview that he was not the kid who would get involved in shady businesses on the streets, like other kids. He has always enjoyed being at home with his family.
His mother was a devout Catholic, as a result of which he attended the church on a weekly basis, and because he had a pleasant singing voice, he sang in the church choir until the age of 13. He left the church choir, and the artists that he used to listen to on the radio had now caught his attention. His interest was particularly peaked when he heard Daddy Yankee and Héctor Lavoe. When asked about the story behind his stage name, “Bad Bunny,” he recalls an incident when he was forced to wear a bunny costume despite being angry and resentful about it.
Discography
When he and J Balvin were requested to feature on and lend their voices to Cardi B‘s hit single “I Like It” in 2018, he achieved a major musical breakthrough. His song “Mia” featuring Drake was also much loved by fans. He went on to release his debut album titled “X 100pre,” which was released in December 2018 by Rimas Entertainment. On the US Billboard 200, the album peaked at position 11.
His collaborative album “Oasis” with J Balvin was released in June of 2019, and it quickly reached number nine on the Billboard 200. His second album was no less successful. A follow-up album called “YHLQMDLG” was released on February 29, 2020, and it instantly became the highest-charting all-Spanish album, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200. The compilation album named “Las que no iban a salir,” released in May of the same year as a follow-up, peaked at position seven on the list.
Bad Bunny released his fourth album, “El Último Tour Del Mundo,” in November of 2020. The album was an amalgamation of his reggaeton and Latin trap sound with rock music. It became the first all-Spanish-language album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 in no time, and its lead single, “Dákiti,” debuted in the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100.
His fifth album, “Un Verano Sin Ti,” came out in May 2022 and spent 13 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. Four of the album’s singles made it to the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Un Verano Sin Ti rose to the top spot in the US charts and was the best-selling album globally in 2022. Furthermore, it was the first album in Spanish to be nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys.
Thanks to Bad Bunny, the Spanish language became a major component of the global music scene and made it popular amongst the general public, which was primarily dominated by English-speaking artists till now. He broke the record for most streams on Spotify in 2020 and again in 2021, becoming the first non-English language artist and performer to do so. In 2022, he became the artist with the highest number of streams on Spotify. Three Grammy Awards, a total of four Latin Grammy Awards, eight Billboard Music Awards, and thirteen Lo Nuestro Awards later, Bad Bunny’s music is still breaking records to this day. He received the Artist of the Year honor at the 2022 Apple Music Awards.
Other professional pursuits
Besides music, he has ventured into other fields, like wrestling. In addition to wrestling matches at WrestleMania 37 in 2021 and Backlash in 2023, Bad Bunny has dabbled in other forms of entertainment, including non-wrestling performances and professional wrestling with the American promotion WWE. Additionally, he was once the WWE 24/7 Champion.
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Bad Bunny’s Public Image
When asked about his views on the Puerto Rican music industry, he said that being from Vega Baja, a small town, which is nothing like the large city of San Juan, where the majority of artists in the industry are from.
According to Vanessa Rosales of CNN, “Bad Bunny champions a new masculinity in pink, florals, and short shorts.”
He has been seen flaunting long, shiny, and well-groomed fingernails at award ceremonies, a practice that was only appropriate and acceptable if the women in the industry were doing it. In 2020, The Guardian’s Ben Beaumont-Thomas said that Bunny’s taste in fashion has had a deep impact on other Latin artists, who have now started adopting to his vibrant and colorful fashion choices.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2020, Bad Bunny openly voiced his opinions on sexuality, stating that he sees sexuality as a fluid entity. He continued to explain that one can never be sure of anything in life, and he is not sure whether he will want to identify as a man or not in the next 20 years or so, but for now he identifies as a heterosexual, and he is clearly into women.
Personal Life
Jewellery designer Gabriela Berlingeri once accompanied Bad Bunny to a family dinner in 2017, after which the duo began dating. Berlingeri also photographed the rapper as her muse for the May 2020 Rolling Stone cover. She made history as she became the first Latina woman to photograph the prestigious magazine’s cover.
Bad Bunny’s ex-girlfriend, Carliz Hernández, sued him for a staggering $40 million USD in March of 2023, claiming that he had used her voice on several songs without having the proper authority to do so.
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Activism
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, which wreaked havoc on the island of Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny came out and openly criticized the lack of humanitarian relief during the course of the tragedy. He also founded the “Good Bunny Foundation,” which gives toys to underprivileged Puerto Rican kids.
He was nominated for the “Humanitarian of the Year” award for Telemundo’s first “Premios Tu Musica Urbano” in 2019. Bad Bunny, in January 2019, openly criticized an alleged homophobic remark from reggaeton musician Don Omar.
During a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2020, he attempted to draw attention to the murder of transgender woman Alexa Negrón Luciano in Puerto Rico as she was misgendered by the media and news stories. He showed his support for the matter by wearing a skirt that read, “They Killed Alexa. Not a Man in a Skirt.” According to Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny is no less than an iconic figure for the Latino LGBT community due to his ardent love of drag culture and his outspoken and bold support for gay and transgender Latinos.
Bad Bunny Net Worth
As reported by “Celebrity Net Worth,” Bad Bunny’s net worth is $40 million and is at an all-time high. His net worth had almost doubled since November of 2022, when it was a whopping $22 million. This figure is quite reasonable if you look at the fact that he was Spotify’s most streamed artist globally, with approximately 8.3 billion streams worldwide.
According to reports, he made $88 million in 2022 alone. Forbes reported that most of this income came from his tours and his collaborations with brands like Adidas, Cheetos, and Corona, the alcohol brand, not the virus.
He has earned quite a lot from his acting roles in the film “Bullet Train” and a brief stint in “Narcos: Mexico.” He was mentioned in Time Magazine’s “The Most Influential People” list for 2020. He is one of the most well-known and acclaimed rap singers from Latin America of this century, and a particular group of the global population audience is incredibly enthralled by his music. Fans absolutely adore him, and rightfully so.
He is thought to be this generation’s top trap musician. Despite most of his songs being in Spanish or Latin, they are well-known across the world thanks to his exemplary melodies and exceptional rapping abilities.
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