How Cardi B's Comments on Bad Bunny's Influence Addresses Important Issues in the Latinx Community

In just a few years, Bad Bunny has become an icon in the music and fashion industries. The Puerto Rican artist has found success by being original. Someone else who can relate to that is Cardi B, who recently praised Bad Bunny.

Both Bad Bunny and Cardi are paving the way by being unapologetically themselves regardless of the backlash they've received. The Latinx musicians, who collaborated on the 2018 hit track "I Like It" with J Balvin, have both faced criticism for standing out, speaking their minds, using their art and respective style to make a statement. This is major considering both of them belong to the Hispanic community, which traditionally, can be conservative and oftentimes close-minded. Cardi, who was born in New York to Dominican and Trinidadian parents, commented on how he's changing the game.

"The way that he has transitioned into fashion, the way that he dressed in drag in his music video [for "Yo Perreo Sola"] even though Hispanic culture can be a little homophobic -- he took that chance, and instead of hurting his career, it made him bigger," Cardi told Harper's Bazaar, which Bad Bunny recently graced the cover of.

Additionally, Cardi elaborated on how that cultural and fashion influence has translated over to his success in music. In May 2022, Bad Bunny dropped his sixth studio album, Un Verano Sin Ti, which features a variety of genres. In 2020, he became the first-ever artist to have an all-Spanish album (El Último Tour del Mundo) debut No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Cardi added, "The fact that such a big artist like him can transition into trap, to salsa, to merengue, to any beat and genre that he wants to do ... There [are] so many different genres of music out there, and yet the number one artist on Spotify is motherf--king Bad Bunny."

Fortunately, Bad Bunny is well aware of his impact, crediting his success in the U.S. to his Latinx fans who share the same vision as him. "I'm taking advantage of this moment in my life where I can do whatever I want and wear what I want, so I get to live life more authentically," he said. "At the end of the day, my success in the United States I owe to the hardworking Latinos who have helped make the country what it is today."

Check out Bad Bunny on the cover of Harper's Bazaar below.