I grew up in the heart of the Latin revolution.
Music historians and outlets like NPR and Billboard point to 1999 as the year that Latin Pop music finally broke through into the American mainstream.
And nothing has been the same since.
I was there, and I remember.
That was the year we learned to “Bailamos” with Enrique Inglesias’ self-titled album.
It was the year everything was so “Smooth” with Santana’s multi-platinum “Supernatural” album.
And, yes, we all learned to live La Vida Loca from Ricky Martin’s smash hit.
The fact that all three of those albums all came out in 1999? Talk about a perfect storm and a wonderful year in music.
Since that breakthrough year, Spanish has continued to pump through the speakers and headphones of American listeners from artists like Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, up to the dominating hits of Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” and Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” in the last decade.
The biggest difference, of course, was that the 2000s saw crossover hits mixing English and Spanish lyrics. Nowadays? It’s Todos Espanol.
But then, there’s the top dog of them all: Bad Bunny.
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, AKA Bad Bunny, was the single most-streamed artist on Spotify from 2020 through 2023, topping superstars like Drake, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd with his fourth album “Un Verano Sin Ti” the best-selling album worldwide in 2022.
If you have a Gen Z or Millennial kid in your life, there’s a pretty good chance they know who Bad Bunny is.
So how did he do it? How did they do it, all the Latin artists that came before?
Well, first I have to admit I’m a little biased since I’m half-Mexican on my father’s side, so I’ve always liked to think I’ve got a bit of the groove in my blood to begin with.
But that’s the key, isn’t it? The groove.
Whether it’s Latin Pop, Salsa or Latin Trap — the style Bad Bunny revolutionized — there’s just something about those bouncing grooves and sharp notes that gets you moving.
It’s not much of a hot take, but for my money, there’s no language in the world more danceable than Spanish.
And it was that groove that sold me listening to Bad Bunny’s latest release this month: “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos”
Just turn on the opening track and tell me you don’t bob your head. I’ll pay you 20 bucks if you can, but I’ll also feel terribly sad for ya.
All the instruments that Latin music has worked centuries to bring together are on here and working in perfect synchronicity.
But what really stands out to me about this album even more than his last is the production.
The way the album is recorded and the way it sounds through the headphones is just fantastic.
The way the album uses the stereo sound to place the vocals and instrumentals in just the right place leaves you with a feeling that Bunny and the band are right there in the room with you.
It’s just such a lovingly old-fashioned production style that makes for wonderfully smooth listening that feels refreshingly calm nowadays.
Songs like “Baile Inolvidable” and “Cafe Con Ron” in particular show that Bunny and his producers clearly have great respect for the Latin acts that set the stage well before them.
But the biggest trick is that he manages to thread the needle between generations.
Tracks like “El Club” sound like the sort of songs kids vibe to nowadays which, if you’re over the age of 40, you probably think are wild rap songs but truthfully much of the hit music of the past 15 years has been slower, more moody tracks, and Bad Bunny nails that sound exactly.
Finding that mix of then and now worked for Ricky Martin in 1999 and it’s clearly still working now. ¡Eso!
I give “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos” 5 stars out of 5.
Have you listened to “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos”? What did you think? Email Ben Rowe at browe@pressrepublican.com with your thoughts and takeaways.