Where did Bad Bunny come from?
The Puerto Rican artist seems to be everywhere—but how did he get his start?
If you pay any attention to pop culture news you’ve probably heard the name Bad Bunny (aka: Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio). The Puerto Rico native has cemented himself as an all around “It-boy”, dating super models like Kendall Jenner, hosting shows like SNL, and even starring in movies. But before he was everywhere in the States, he was everywhere In Latin America.
[credits: @debitirarmasfotos IG]
Even though his last few records seem to fit into a salsa/reggaeton/urban fusion genre, what catapulted Bad Bunny's rise to fame was the Latin Trap scene. In the early 2010’s Bad Bunny was one of the first to hop onto this new musical phenomenon, gaining fans via his SoundCloud page. His deep voice that mainly delivered euphemisms and slang, backed by heavily produced beats that emulated the sound of Atlanta trap artists, caught the attention of young listeners. Eventually someone at the record label Hear This Music heard his singles, and they signed him in 2016. His songs were vulgar and catchy, but above all relied on their dynamic beats.
[credits: @_badbunnyar IG]
Bad Bunny might not have been the first Latin trap artist (the jury’s still out on who deserves that title), but he’s certainly the biggest of all time. He started earning this title with songs like “Diles” featuring Arcangel, Farruko, Ozuna and Ñengo Flow, and “Soy Peor”.
Both of these songs dropped in 2016, and currently have more than 1 billion streams on Spotify each. He continued drawing these types of numbers throughout the second half of the decade, mainly thanks to collaborations with artists from all over South America. In 2017, Bad Bunny had 15 songs chart on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs.
He dropped his first album, “X 100PRE”, in December of 2018, and as most can imagine, it was a hit. Despite it presenting hints of a genre change, he remained the undisputed king of Latin Trap, headlining the Buenos Aires Trap music festival, and dipping his toes into the American rap scene in collaborations with Cardi B and Drake.
The next few years seem to be a never ending upward climb. He released five albums in three years, each breaking more barriers than the last. In 2020, “El Último Tour Del Mundo” became the first album performed fully in Spanish to reach #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and that same year “YHLQMDLG” was the most streamed album of the year, and Bad Bunny the most streamed artist. It’s clear that all international barriers were broken.
[credits: @cheeryviruet IG]
With every new project, Bad Bunny’s trap foundation seems to peek through the sound he’s merged into, keeping a constant connection with the movement that he started in. From the outside it looks like he’s on a journey of reconciliation with classic Latin music, finding a way to unite his original sound with the native music of his culture. This has been especially noticeable during his last album run. “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” is an ode to the Puerto Rican culture that he grew up in, a window into his past.
We get to listen to 2025’s Bad Bunny unite with different past versions of Bad Bunny. He’s become the biggest Latin artist of all time not because he sold out, but actually quite the opposite, because he’s gotten closer to his own roots. This is what’s kept him on an upward journey.
Old fans can still find what they first liked about him in his music, and new fans can fall in love with his ever-expanding catalog.
If you’re looking for more artists that follow this pattern of letting music be an anchor to their cultures, we recommend checking out C.Tangana, Omar Apollo, Feid, Cazzu, Lali, and Nsqk.
In a world where authenticity and experimentation can be a double edge sword, Bad Bunny has made this his superpower, and became the GOAT of Latin Trap in the process.
