Bad Bunny’s Journey To Becoming The Face Of Latin Music

Suddenly, ‘Bad Bunny’ is the name on the lips of everyone who enjoys Latin trap and reggaeton, all around the world. A mixture of music I call ‘Engluertorican’. Engluertorican is Just a silly word I came up with from combining English and Puerto Rico. As funny as this name sounds, it depicts the perfect definition of the kind of music Bad Bunny puts out there. And the fact that you are here trying to read about how he became the face of Latin Music means you also enjoy the vocal magic he is performing.

This article will give you a detailed story of how Bad Bunny rose to fame and became the face of Latin music. Personally, I feel this is the kind of story you should tell your grandkids when you come of age. It’s truly inspirational and motivational!!

Church Boy

What’s that verse in the Bible that talks about making believers great people among others? Well, that verse seems to have manifested in the life of Bad Bunny. Because before Bad Bunny became a person of attention, he was a very good boy who always went to church. And like some of the great celebrities we have today, Bad Bunny was also part of the church choir he attended.

But wait a minute, is it me or does it seem like the best place to start the journey of becoming famous is from the church choir? This seems to be a trend that is dating far back, a long time ago. It is the same as the case of Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, J.K. Simmons and John Legend, to name a few. Even though they all come from different backgrounds, and are scattered all over the world of fame, they all have one thing in common which is the fact that they all came from the church choir.

It is safe to say that Bad Bunny also tapped the anointing, Praise the lord somebody!!

Anyways, let’s get back to the gist, I know y’all are eager to hear how Bad Bunny became the face of Latin music, we are getting there!!

Now you know he was a church boy who attended church every week with his mom who was a devoted catholic.

Bad Bunny’s mom who was also a school teacher always made him listen to merengue, ballads and salsa. He said, “Anytime I hear her playing any of those songs, I knew it was time to clean”. Bad Bunny wasn’t a bad boy after all. In fact, he had two younger brothers whom he looked out for all the time, even though he wasn’t the gang-gang type. Surprised at how he got the name Bad Bunny? Don’t stress about it. We are getting there!!

Bad Bunny Rises to Fame

Every Saturday after helping his mom with the house chores, even when she was still blasting her salsa music, he would lock himself in his bedroom just so he could listen to his favourite musicians at that time who were Daddy Yankee and Héctor Lavoe. He was constantly inspired by his favourites and he soon started writing his songs at the age of 14, after he left his church choir.

Even though he had written a couple of interpretations, he didn’t make any uploads until 2013 after he had gotten a stage name that came as a result of him being bullied emotionally. What happened was, he was forced to wear a Bunny costume against his wish. The expression on his face coupled with what he wore all summed up to the name ‘Bad Bunny’. And just like every nickname out there, it also stuck!!

Even though Bad Bunny came from a small area in Puerto Rico named Vega Baja, he managed to fight against all odds and attained a name for himself that will go down in history.

The rise to fame was a quick one for Bad Bunny. In 2013, he began uploading some of his interpretations on SoundCloud, and soon got the attention of the right connection that changed his life.

Bad Bunny was signed by DJ Luian into his record label ‘Hear This Music’ after he released his third song in 2016 titled ‘Diles’. Diles caught the attention of DJ Luan and he couldn’t resist. This marked a significant event in the life of Bad Bunny, and his first step in climbing the ladder of fame.

Making History

Like someone who is determined on getting a girl, Bad Bunny was determined on making history so he never settled for less. He had a small beginning but never used that to limit his reach. In October 2018, Bad Bunny and Drake released "Mia" which took and held the number 5 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 before he released his debut album X 100pre on 2018, December 24.

His debut album went on to be voted as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

After that achievement, Bad Bunny went on to release a couple of Albums that all contributed to making him one of the greatest of all time!!

Latin Music to The World

If you think Bad Bunny became the face of Latin music from a single act, then you are wrong. Bad Bunny became the face of Latin music because of how he presented reggaeton to the world. It is so good that he broke a record by becoming the first non-English artist to have topped the year end list, among other records. According to the Guardian, Bad Bunny is considered “the world’s biggest pop star” due to the number of streams he has on Spotify, another record he seems to have broken unintentionally!!

By the middle of 2022, Bad Bunny had had not less than 60 songs enter into the list of Billboard Hot 100 including "I Like It" which he sang with Cardi B and J Balvin, which turned out to be the number one hit song in his track.

His face was literally everywhere and his name was also being mentioned by celebrities and stars altogether. If you are still asking yourself how he became the face of Latin, then this is it!!

You can follow this link to view the full list of Bad Bunny’s discography.

Prologue

What’s that saying about being able to hold hot water in the cheeks for a limited time only? I’m asking because it seems to have manifested in the life of Bad Bunny. His journey to fame was a short one, yet inspirational. He didn’t have to go through hard times as much as some artists did. He has nonetheless broken a world record for his uniqueness and today he is considered one of the greatest of all time in the music industry.

In an article, Rolling Stone described that Bad Bunny raps and sings with "a low, slurry tone”, and employs a "conversational tone, rapper's cadence and a viscous melody".

Whatever may come, later on, Bad Bunny will go down in history as the face of Latin music because he singlehandedly achieved what other artists from that same genre couldn’t, even with years of experience.