Hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny has emerged as a leading force in Latin trap while shaping broader trends within música urbana as a singer, rapper, and producer. His output has placed dozens of tracks across multiple Billboard charts spanning Latin pop, reggaeton, dance, and hip-hop, and he has delivered a run of number-one albums that began with the 2018 debut x100pre and continued through the two 2020 releases YHLQMDLG and El Último Tour Del Mundo. That broad commercial reach stems from his fluid style, which blends Latin soul, pop, and R&B with hard-hitting trap production and reggaeton rhythms, all delivered in a voice that shifts easily between humor, pathos, heartbreak, and fury. He ranks among the scene’s most active collaborators, frequently joining J Balvin, Daddy Yankee, Rosalía, and Jhay Cortez. Following the 2022 Grammy-winning Un Verano Sin Ti, he secured his fifth straight chart-topping album with 2023’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana.
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio was born in 1994 and began singing at age five, treating the pursuit with lifelong seriousness. His primary inspirations were Héctor Lavoe, Vico C, Daddy Yankee, and Marc Anthony. While studying audiovisual communication at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, he spent days bagging groceries and nights recording songs that he uploaded to SoundCloud. The track “Diles” drew the attention of DJ Luian, who signed him to Hear This Music in 2016. His breakout single “Soy Peor,” released in December 2016, reached number 22 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and helped introduce his trap-oriented sound to a wider audience; its video has since accumulated more than 650 million views. Subsequent features with Ñengo Flow, Arcangel, and Ozuna paved the way for an intense early-2017 release schedule that included the solo singles “Pa Ti,” “Loco Pero Millonario,” and “Dime Si Vas a Volver,” plus numerous joint tracks with Poeta Callejero, Farruko, Brytiago, Almighty, and others. Late that year he joined J Balvin and Prince Royce on the hit “Sensualidad.” In 2018 he scored another Latin-chart success with the solo “Amorfoda” and reunited with J Balvin and Cardi B on her summer number-one Hot 100 single “I Like It.”
On Noche Buena 2018, Bad Bunny issued his debut album x100pre to widespread praise. Aside from the Diplo-produced club track “200 MPH,” the project was co-produced by Tainy and La Paciencia (Roberto Rosado). Its range extended from the pop-punk energy of “Tenemos Que Hablar” through reggaeton ballads such as “Solo de Mí” and “Si Estuviésemos Juntos” to the harder-edged hip-hop of “Caro.” The set debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums in early 2019 and reached number 12 on the Billboard 200 that January. In June the long-anticipated collaborative album Oasis with J Balvin appeared, featuring production from Sky, Tainy, Legendury Beatz, Marciano Cantero, and Nicael Arroyo; it peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200. At the Latin Grammys that year x100pre earned the award for Best Urban Album. Without warning he dropped his sophomore effort YHLQMDLG (“Yo hago lo que me da la gana”) at the end of February 2020. Produced largely by Subelo NEO and Tainy, the album included guest spots from Daddy Yankee, Yaviah, Ñengo Flow, Anuel AA, and Jowell y Randy. It entered the Billboard 200 at number two—the highest debut for a Latin artist at the time—and topped Top Latin Albums. The initial cassette pressing sold out within two days. Later in 2020 he released the compilation Las Que No Iban a Salir, gathering unreleased material from the x100pre and YHLQMDLG sessions alongside new songs such as “En Casita” and appearances by Zion & Lennox, Yandel, Don Omar, Nicky Jam, and Jhay Cortez.
Continuing his pattern of unannounced drops, Bad Bunny issued El Último Tour del Mundo on Black Friday. Its semi-truck cover art framed a sound that incorporated indie-rock influences alongside trap and reggaeton, nodding to the Cure, Radiohead, and the Police. The Tainy-produced “La Noche de Anoche” with Rosalía was one of only three collaborations; the others were “Sorry Papi” featuring Abra (also Tainy-produced) and “Dákiti” with Jhay Cortez. Two weeks after release the Grammy-nominated album reached number one on the Billboard 200. Throughout 2021 he issued singles that included high-charting remixes of Mora’s “Volando” and Nio Garcia’s “AM,” a reunion with Aventura on “Volví,” and the heartbreak track “Yonaguni,” which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. His 2022 release Un Verano Sin Ti arrived as a 23-track project centered on summer themes and Caribbean and South American rhythms, mixing reggaeton, pop, and trap while featuring the Marías, Bomba Estéreo, and Tony Dize. Led by the single “Moscow Mule,” it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy for Best Música Urbana Album. In May 2023 “Where She Goes” reached the top 10 of both the Hot 100 and Hot Latin Songs, and he appeared on Travis Scott and the Weeknd’s “K-Pop” before previewing the next album cycle with “Un Preview.” The ensuing 22-track Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana explored Latin trap, Jersey club, drill, and related styles, yielding the charting single “Monaco” and topping both pop and Latin charts. In April 2024 he and Myke Towers released “Adivino,” followed later that year by the solo singles “Una Velita,” “El Clúb,” and “Pitorro de Coco.” Returning to Puerto Rico in January 2025 with the sixth studio album Debí Tirar Más Fotos, he delivered a wide-ranging set that honored local culture while cautioning against its exploitation.
