WATCH: Bad Bunny Brings Puerto Rican Culture to NPR Tiny Desk
Photo by Eric Rojas.
After weeks of speculation, Bad Bunny’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert is finally out! On Apr. 7, the Puerto Rican icon was featured on NPR Music, singing stripped-down versions of songs from his latest album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.
Benito is known for having very particular vocals and celebrating his island wherever he goes — and it’s no different during his Tiny Desk. He started off his set strong with a live rendition of “PIToRRO DE COCO,” shouting out his live band member Fabiola Méndez, who accompanied the singer with string instruments. He continued the session with a new version of “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR,” switching out the song’s original reggaeton beat for traditional instruments like cuatro puertorriqueños, bass, and percussion. He carried on the acoustic vibe by reimagining his hit single “KLOuFRENS” by featuring a slower BPM spearheaded by cuatro puertorriqueños and soft percussion.
Before continuing with the setlist, he shared that he dreamt about the next full song before he wrote it. Showcasing his deeper octave vocal range, Benito went into “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii,” a melancholic song about his island’s gentrification fueled by an emotional cuatro puertorriqueño. After the song, the superstar talked about his experience of rehearsing for the session outside the White House. He said that one of the workers came up to him to praise the song and to congratulate him and his band. The worker told him, “It’s crazy. It’s been over 100 years of colonization, and you still keep your culture, and your language, your tongue, your slang.” Though Benito thanked him, he pointed out that he wasn’t sure how to take the worker’s observation.
The session proceeded with “LA MuDANZA” with the help of the audience. It was performed with a vibrant piano, percussion, and bass that had Benito dancing on his school chair. After introducing his band members, he wraped up the live show by singing a snippet of his album’s viral hit “DtMF.”
The new Tiny Desk performance comes ahead of Benito’s summer residency in Puerto Rico. He will kick off his “NO ME QUIERO IR DE AQUÍ” residency on July 11.
Check out Bad Bunny’s NPR Tiny Desk performance below.