These days you can hear Bad Bunny sing, watch him in the WWE ring and catch him at fashion shows. Some would say he is the best thing since sliced pan dulce.
Benito Antonio Martínez-Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny, was born in Puerto Rico and while his early beginnings may have been small, his present moment is huge in every sense of the word. There does not appear to be much that he can’t do. Everything this bunny touches turns to stacks and stacks of dollar bills. Case and point? Tickets for his new El Último Tour Del Mundo shows sold out in seconds. Later, we reported that some tickets for his tour sold for as much as $2,400. Similarly, a shoe collection he did in collaboration with Adidas also sold out in minutes. Plus, when the Latin superstar entered the WWE ring, he didn’t just win a match, he won the belt! All of that, an add-on to being the most streamed artist last year.
Die hard fans know all that and more. However, the Puerto Rican rapper divulged a bit more in a recent interview with W Magazine for their Music Issue’s cover story. In it, Bad Bunny talks about his budding acting career, his duet with Rosalía, the process for writing his music, and what it was like to win a “Grino Grammy.” Here are 5 key takeaways:
He’s taking his talents to Hollywood.
The artist is hitting the gas on more music. Among them is a song he wrote for the Fast and Furious franchise. But that’s not all—the Latin superstar is adding acting to his resume, too. The singer will join Brad Pitt’s latest project, Bullet Train. The movie also stars Sandra Bullock and is about 5 assassins with a common goal. As far as his character, Bad Bunny said, “It’s about a boy who lost his family at a very young age. He dedicated his life to the streets, to be a murderer. So, an aggressive guy who has suffered a lot.” As far as working with Pitt, he said “I was back there on the set, and [said], ‘This can’t be true.’” That role comes in addition to his upcoming role in the Kevin Hart-produced American Sole with Offset, and his guest-starring role in Narcos: Mexico.
He loved working with Rosalía.
El Último Tour del Mundo’s “La Noche de Anoche” is the super sexy and sultry duet with Rosalía. He called the experience of working with her on the song and video a “beautiful” one. Speaking of the collaboration, he said “We felt it. I loved the experience of working on a video with her…. for real, it was very nice.” In other words, there was fire on and off the screen.
Even more new music is being written.
As if three album releases during a pandemic isn’t enough, Bad Bunny has more up his ever-so stylish sleeve (more on that later). “I write sad songs at night,” he explained. “Happy songs I write during the day, after working out, after a fun day. And so I can adapt a lot when it’s time to write, but that’s the process I like the most.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, his least favorite process is one that is mechanical—he prefers one that “that comes on suddenly, when you weren’t expecting it. Your subconscious is talking to you about what you are feeling without you knowing, and it comes out, a lot of times.”
Winning a “gringo Grammy” was special.
Bad Bunny has two Latin Grammys in his growing list of accomplishments. This year, he was also up for two US/American Grammys, which he calls the “gringo Grammys.” “Un Dia” with Dua Lipa got a nod for Best Pop Performance but did not win. Meanwhile, his album YHLQMDLG, won in the Best Latin Pop or Urban Album category. It was that album that cemented one of many firsts for the rapper, as it was also the first all-Spanish language album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. “It’s very special to be able to achieve my dreams simply by doing what I love,” he told W. “That they give me an award for doing what I love—it’s like, ‘okay, give it to me.’”
Bad Bunny continues to be big on style.
Whether he is donning pink-colored glasses, or an orange Pokeman onesie, Bad Bunny has a style all his own. The gender-bending looks he sports started off as non-traditional, but now they’re a style all their own. For the article, Bad Bunny slipped on stylish threads that were worthy of the fashion publication. Bright greens (think Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz) adorned his body; then, plaid jackets and a skirt were held together with a wide bolero hat. Part school-girl, part cowboy, but all Bunny!