Bad Bunny Is Competing Against Himself at the 2020 Grammys

From Oprah Magazine

• Bad Bunny is one of Latin music's current hottest stars, and two of his albums are nominated for Best Latin Rock, Urban, or Alternative Album at the 2020 Grammys.

• The rapper also recently took a stand with other celebrities to call for the resignation of Puerto Rican governor Ricardo Rosselló.

• But who is Bad Bunny? Here, everything we know about the rising Latin music star.

If you're not a diehard Bad Bunny fan but it seems like you're hearing his name everywhere, you might be wondering: Who is Bad Bunny? The Puerto Rico native has been rising in fame since 2017, but really hit it big in 2018 with a few key collaborations, including his hit single "Mia" with Drake, which hit number one on the Billboard charts last October. His debut album was also a success at the start of 2019—and, currently, he's got a collaboration album with J Balvin which is also topping the charts.

If you're still unfamiliar, it's likely you've at the very least heard the rapper's signature flow on last year's Cardi B and J Balvin song, "I Like It." Or perhaps you saw that oh-so-sexy music video of him dancing with Jennifer Lopez in "Te Guste" or are hearing his latest single "Callaita" blast out of car windows everywhere.

Recently, Bad Bunny has been garnering buzz as one of the few Grammy nominees competing against himself. Two of the five nominees in the Best Latin Rock, Urban, or Alternative Album are Bad Bunny's. His debut album, X100PRE, and Oasis, his collaboration with Colombian superstar J Balvin, are nominated. X100PRE previously won a Latin Grammy for Best Urban Music Album.

Back in 2019, Bad Bunny and J Balvin stole the show at the MTV Video Music Awards, a.k.a. the VMAs, where they were nominated in the category of Best Latin Video for "Mia." They performed "Qué Pretendes," the lead song off of their joint LP Oasis, which hit number one on the Latin Billboard charts earlier this summer. The pair's headlining performance was part of an even bigger movement of Latino and Spanish language artists making their mark at the VMAs; the lineup also included Spanish flamenco singer Rosalía and Puerto Rican singer Ozuna.

But there's more to the young Puerto Rican artist than his mile-a-minute lyrics. He's also not afraid to speak out when it comes to politics, particular for his home island of Puerto Rico. Here's everything we know about Bad Bunny, from his music to his political activism and some truly impressive nails.

What is Bad Bunny's real name and background?

Like many artists, Bad Bunny is just the singer's stage name. (Though we would commend his parents if they had given him that moniker at birth.) His full name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, and he was born on March 10, 1994, in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico—a municipality located on the coast of north central Puerto Rico. It's also part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo metropolitan area.

The 25-year-old Puerto Rican artist is very proud of his island roots. "I've always been proud of where I come from," he said in Spanish in a Billboard video. "I love my island. It means pride, it means love, it means a lot of things to me. Being Puerto Rican, it means everything. It's what I am."

What kind of music does Bad Bunny sing?

Bad Bunny is known for being a Latin trap and reggaeton singer. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico in the 1990s and is a style of music heavily influenced by American hip-hop, as well as Latin American and Caribbean music. Meanwhile, Latin trap is a kind of Latin hip-hop that also originated in Puerto Rico, this time in the early 2010s. Both genres typically include rapping and singing in Spanish, which is the native language of Bad Bunny.

Bad Bunny first started creating music while working as a supermarket bagger and studying at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, where he graduated with a college degree in Audiovisual Communications after studying music and technology. He gained popularity as an artist on SoundCloud before being signed to a record label.

What are some Bad Bunny songs?

Bad Bunny's first breakthrough single was "Soy Peor" in 2017. It reached number 22 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, and was followed by a number of hits and notable appearances.

In July 2017, he was featured on pop singer Becky G's single "Mayores." In November of that year, his song "Tu No Metes Cabra" peaked at number 38 on the Hot Latin Songs chart—and around the same time, the song "Sensualidad" was released as a collaboration between Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Prince Royce. It peaked at number eight on the Hot Latin Songs chart.

Then, in 2018, Bad Bunny collaborated with J Balvin once more—along with Cardi B—on the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "I Like It." In October of the same year, Bad Bunny collaborated with Drake on "Mia," which reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. A month later, Bad Bunny released "Te Guste" with Jennifer Lopez, which also featured an impossibly sexy video with the fellow Puerto Rican singer.

Does Bad Bunny have an album?

Yes, Bad Bunny released his debut album on December 24, 2018, titled X100PRE. In the first week of 2019, his debut album hit the number one spot on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart—the "highest ranking debut," according to Billboard.

And he's not slowing down. After several successful collaborations, Bad Bunny released a surprise album earlier this summer with J Balvin. The new album, Oasis, is currently number one on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart.

What is Bad Bunny's style?

The Puerto Rican rapper is not a fan of either gender norms or the machismo that is often prevalent in Latinx people. Last year, the singer got vocal on social media after a nail salon in Oviedo, Spain, denied him service when he wanted to freshen his lacquered, colorful nails.

"I just wanted to tell you all that I went to this sh**ty place to get my nails done (manicure + color) and they told me NO because I’m a MAN hahaha," he wrote on Twitter. "I don’t know what to think, but it seems very very very unfortunate haha. What year is it? F**king 1960? What do you call this?"

Of course, the entire episode escalated and eventually caused Bad Bunny to delete his Twitter account for a time. He's still pretty active on Instagram, though, where he often shows off his style—and continues to rock some pretty amazing nails.

Who is Bad Bunny's girlfriend?

As far as we know, Bad Bunny isn't dating anyone officially—at least not publicly. Regardless, the rapper hasn't shied away from feeding into the aforementioned speculation about his sexuality—particularly in his music videos, which some fans believe include nods to LGBTQ culture. In the video for his song "Caro," for instance, he surprised fans by letting a woman take the lead as his body double. Another scene finds him being kissed—on the cheek, that is—by both men and women. Regardless of who he's dating, one thing is clear: Bad Bunny is confident being exactly who he is.

Why was Bad Bunny protesting and calling for #RickyRenuncia?

In case you weren't following earlier this summer, Ricardo Rosselló, the governor of Puerto Rico, was forced out of office after private text messages leaked in which he criticized Puerto Rican people. The leak led to a massive protest of over 500,000 people in a "March of the People" calling for the resignation of the governor. The chant "Ricky Renuncia" (and the subsequent hashtag #RickyRenuncia) became the battle cry for these protests, and Bad Bunny was just one of the celebrities (along with Ricky Martin and others) who was on the ground in Puerto Rico calling for the governor's resignation—which he eventually (and reluctantly) gave.

"Yesterday marked me forever," he wrote in Spanish on Instagram. "I had never felt so much pride in my life! However, the fight continues PUERTO RICO!"

Thanks to celebrities like Bad Bunny who took a stand—and took to the streets—change now seems to, slowly but surely, be happening on the island of Puerto Rico. And there's no doubt Bad Bunny will continue to be one of the most vocal changemakers.

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