Bad Bunny

Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (Spanish: [beˈnito anˈtonjo maɾˈtines oˈkasjo]; born March 10, 1994), better known by his stage name Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and record producer. Known as the "King of Latin Trap", Bad Bunny is credited with helping Spanish-language rap music achieve mainstream popularity in the worldwide market. He became the first non-English language American artist to be Spotify's most streamed artist of the year, doing so three consecutive times in 2020–2022. He also holds the record for the most-streamed album on Spotify, with Un Verano Sin Ti (2022).

Born and raised in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny rose to prominence in 2016 with his song "Diles", which led to a recording contract with Hear This Music. He continued gaining traction with songs such as his feature on Cardi B's Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "I Like It" alongside J Balvin and his top-ten single "Mía" (featuring Drake). Bad Bunny's debut studio album, X 100pre (2018), peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard 200, while his collaborative album with J Balvin, Oasis (2019), reached the top ten. His second solo album, YHLQMDLG (2020), became the highest-charting all-Spanish album to appear on the Billboard 200 at the time at number two, and was followed by the compilation album Las que no iban a salir (2020).

El Último Tour Del Mundo (2020), Bad Bunny's third solo album, became the first all-Spanish language album to top the Billboard 200, while its lead single, "Dákiti", reached the top ten of the Hot 100. His fourth solo album, Un Verano Sin Ti, spent 13 weeks atop the Billboard 200 and was named the best-performing album of the year in the US and globally. It spawned various commercially successful singles and became the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. He followed it with the Billboard 200 number-one albums Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana (2023) and Debí Tirar Más Fotos (2025). Throughout his career, Bad Bunny has earned three Grammy Awards, eleven Latin Grammy Awards, eight Billboard Music Awards, and thirteen Lo Nuestro Awards. He was crowned Artist of the Year by Billboard in 2022. As of April 2024, Bad Bunny has sold over seven million records worldwide.

Outside of music, he performs in professional wrestling. Bad Bunny began making appearances on WWE programming in 2021 and made his in-ring debut at WrestleMania 37. He is a one-time WWE 24/7 Champion and has wrestled at the 2022 Royal Rumble and the 2023 Backlash pay-per-view events.

Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio was born on March 10, 1994, in the Almirante Sur barrio of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, and raised there. His father, Tito Martínez, was a truck driver, and his mother, Lysaurie Ocasio, is a retired schoolteacher. His parents had often listened to genres such as salsa, merengue, and pop ballads. He has two younger brothers, Bernie and Bysael. He has said, "I wasn't the kid who got involved in the streets. I liked to be at home with my family."

As a child, he attended church weekly with his devoutly Catholic mother and sang in the church choir until age 13. After leaving the choir, he developed an interest in the artists he heard on the radio, particularly Daddy Yankee and Héctor Lavoe. His stage name originated from a time when he was forced to wear a bunny costume and was angry about it.

Speaking about the Puerto Rican music industry, he stated, "I'm from Vega Baja, a small area that's not a metropolis like San Juan where the majority of the genre's artists have come from."

He started to write and create his own interpretations at the age of 14, until, in 2013, he began to publish his songs through SoundCloud, including "Get" in 2013, "Tentación" in 2014, "Just let me know" in 2015, among others. In 2016, his song "Diles" caught the attention of DJ Luian from SoundCloud who signed him to his record label, Hear this Music. His single "Soy Peor" reached number 19 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. Bad Bunny's May 2017 collaboration with Karol G, "Ahora Me Llama", reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. It was listed on "Alt.Latino's Favorites: The Songs Of 2017" as one of the best Latin songs of 2017.

In the summer of 2017, Bad Bunny signed a booking deal with Cardenas Marketing Network (CMN) for several Latin American countries. Starting in November 2017, Bad Bunny hosted Beats 1's first Spanish-language show, Trap Kingz. The remix of "Te Boté" with Ozuna and Nicky Jam reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart.

In May 2018, American rapper Cardi B released a collaboration with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, "I Like It", which topped the Billboard Hot 100. On October 11, 2018, Bad Bunny released "Mia" with Drake, which reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

Bad Bunny released his debut album X 100pre on December 24, 2018, on Christmas Eve 2018 on Rimas Entertainment. The album peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard 200. On Metacritic, X 100pre received an average score of 84 based on five reviews. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised Bad Bunny's "off-kilter creativity". In 2020, X 100pre was voted 447th in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

On June 28, 2019, Bad Bunny released Oasis, an eight-song collaborative album with J Balvin. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and topped the Billboard US Latin Albums chart. In July 2019, he joined protests against governor Ricardo Rosselló. Bad Bunny and Residente released "Afilando Los Cuchillos" ("Sharpening the knives") during the demonstrations.

In February 2020, Bad Bunny was a guest performer at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show, headlined by Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. Bad Bunny announced the album YHLQMDLG on February 27, 2020, during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and stated that it would be released on Leap Day 2020, namely February 29. The album's title stands for "Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana" (Spanish for "I Do What I Want") and features collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Yaviah, Jowell & Randy, Ñengo Flow, among other artists.

YHLQMDLG debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, becoming the highest-charting all-Spanish album ever on the chart at the time. The album was met with critical acclaim, with the album's musical diversity being praised. "Vete" was released as the lead single of the album on November 22, 2019. The second single, "Ignorantes", with Panamanian singer Sech came out on February 14, 2020. In March 2020, Bad Bunny released the music video for "Yo Perreo Sola", in which the artist performs in drag. "Yo Perreo Sola" landed number one on the Billboard Latin Airplay chart, earning Bad Bunny his ninth No.1 on the chart in just over two years.

On April 4, 2020, he released the song "En Casita" on SoundCloud, which expressed solidarity towards others in quarantine due to COVID-19 and featured vocals from his girlfriend, Gabriela Berlingeri. On May 10, 2020, Bad Bunny released his first compilation Las que no iban a salir, without previous announcements. The compilation's title translates to "The Ones that Were Not Going to Come Out" and it contains previously unreleased or unfinished songs. The album features collaborations with Don Omar, Yandel, Zion & Lennox, Nicky Jam, and Jhay Cortez. Discussing the album's surprise release, Bad Bunny explained, "There was no real meaning behind it. I just thought, 'Damn. What people need is entertainment'". Bad Bunny had been filming his supporting role in Narcos: Mexico before filming was postponed due to the pandemic. It premiered in November 2021.

In July 2020, he appeared on the first digital cover of Playboy magazine as the first man to appear on the cover other than the magazine's founder, Hugh Hefner. The cover was shot by photographer Stillz in Miami, Florida, and the magazine includes a feature article entitled "Bad Bunny is Not Playing God." He also received the ASCAP Latin award for Songwriter of the Year. The following month, his song "Pero Ya No" appeared in an advertisement for politician Joe Biden's 2020 United States presidential election campaign. On September 20, 2020, Bad Bunny performed a surprise, live (via his YouTube channel and Uforia), free concert from atop a flatbed truck that looked like a subway car going through the streets of New York and ended at Harlem Hospital. In October 2020, Bad Bunny released the single "Dakiti", with Jhay Cortez, which topped the Billboard Global 200 and reached number five on the US Hot 100. The song is included on his third studio album, El Último Tour Del Mundo, which was released on November 27, 2020, and was described as a personal and ambitious record. It became the first all-Spanish language album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.

Bad Bunny and YHLQMDLG respectively became Spotify's most-streamed artist and album globally in 2020. It marked the first time a non-English language music artist topped the year-end list, with a The Guardian article considering him "the world's biggest pop star" for his streaming numbers. The album received the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop or Urban Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. On February 20, 2021, Bad Bunny performed "La Noche de Anoche" with Rosalía and "Te Deseo Lo Mejor" on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Regé-Jean Page, as well as appearing in the pre-recorded musical sketches "Loco" and "Sea Shanty". On the US Billboard Hot 100, Bad Bunny's next single "Yonaguni" became his fourth top 10 entry and first with no accompanying acts. Bad Bunny was cast in an upcoming David Leitch-directed film starring Brad Pitt.

In July 2021, it was announced that Bad Bunny co-wrote and co-produced the fifth album of Puerto Rican Latin pop artist Tommy Torres titled El Playlist de Anoche. Bad Bunny won the most awards at the 2021 Billboard Latin Music Awards with ten, including the category Artist of the Year. In the following months, he was featured on Aventura's single "Volví", and released "Lo Siento BB:/" with Tainy and Julieta Venegas. In September 2021, he appeared on the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Bad Bunny's 2022 concert tour, El Último Tour del Mundo, has visited the US and Canada indoor arenas. He won Best Urban Music Album and Best Rap/Hip Hop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. El Último Tour Del Mundo won Best Música Urbana Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. In December 2021, it was announced that Bad Bunny became Spotify's most-streamed artist of the year globally, for a second year in a row.