How many artists has Bad Bunny collaborated with over the course of his career? It’s got to be at least 50, right? After all, he’s hit 10-plus years of song-making, and he loves a collaboration. On his past three albums alone, we’ve heard 23 guest artists: five on Debí Tirar Más Fotos; 10 on nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mañana; and eight on un verano sin tí. While not all of his former collaborative partners are Puerto Rican, many are. And so, in our lead-up coverage of Benito’s “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí” residency in San Juan, we got to dreaming about future pair-ups with hometown talent.
Are we reaching with some of these selections? Maybe, but probably not. Bad Bunny is a frequent genre-hopper. Historically, he has drawn from a vast range of genres, including rock, salsa, R&B, pop, trap, merengue, and more. As for the emerging status of some of the artists on our list, we’ve seen him uplift less widely recognized acts like Chuwi and RaiNao on his socials, send them soaring into the spotlight, then later invite them to guest on a track. Plus, he’s surprised us with his choices before. (After all, way back when, he guested on Enrique Iglesias’ “El Baño”).
Benito has rarely been predictable, so it’s fair to say almost anything is possible when it comes to musical directions. Dream along with us as we present our fantasy league of future Bad Bunny collaborators — all of them Puerto Rican.
There’s a transportational quality to AV María’s music, as if each song is an experiential and immersive event. The Puerto Rican multidisciplinary artist formally debuted music five years ago with an anti-colonialism track — “Casablanca,” produced by Eduardo Cabra (aka Visitante of Calle 13) — that is simultaneously elegant and angry, profound and simple. In 2022, AV María released another Cabra-produced track, “TOTONKA!” Sonically minimalist, lyrically sex-positive and sharp-witted, the reggaeton track features ballroom emcee and DJ Mussa Medusa, and its video centers the playfulness, sexuality, style, and magnetism of a group of local queer artists, many of whom are also background vocalists on the track. Follow-ups have been increasingly innovative: “La Rapsodia del WauWau” with Baby Pau and Gabrielle Timofeeva makes an opera of queer perreo, and “KÉ CALOR,” produced by Gyanma, blends ballroom-leaning beats and chants with a quiet, wavy guitar riff, and it feels like heat shimmer at sunset.
A collaboration between AV María and Benito would be an artistic challenge for both of them, and the results could be experimental gold.
Tapaboka
Bad Bunny’s fondness for emo is well known, and we know he likes pop-punk, too — remember “Tenemos Que Hablar”? But there’s a more aggressive, angrier relative of these genres that he’s yet to explore: hardcore punk. Could Tapaboka be the band that takes him there? Tapaboka blasts patriarchal bullshit — gender stereotypes, threats to personal freedom, abusers — in both Spanish and English with a captivating fury. Over the past few years, the band’s strenuous, borderline rabid live shows have garnered an ardent following in San Juan’s independent music scene. Just last week, the self-dubbed “femme punk rage” act debuted its long-awaited, self-titled EP of four tracks that locals can now thrash along to at their leisure.
Bad Bunny consistently has his ear to local ground, so it’s not a stretch to think he’ll hear the rumbles of Tapaboka’s sonic rampage soon. Let’s just hope he gets inspired, rather than intimidated.
Matt Louis
Ponce native Matt Louis released his debut album, Gamma, only months ago, and he’s already wrapped up his first-ever U.S. tour opening for Buscabulla at six late-June concerts. He’s also topping 60,000 listeners on Spotify, and several of his music videos on YouTube are hitting close to 100,000 views, with a few closer to 200,000. Matt Louis’ fandom is undeniably growing fast. His rise is a multifaceted one, though, representative of a prismatic talent. Knowingly or not, Matt Louis was laying the groundwork for this moment for much of his life. Well before his 2022 singles, he was sorting out his emotions through photography. Matt is also a scholar of the self, a person who contemplates thoroughly how art speaks to feelings and identity. He mixes plena, reggaetón, dembow, and R&B while embracing his femininity, vulnerability, and sexuality. Everything he presents, from sultry tracks to dreamy videos to his artful Instagram feed, is thoughtfully considered yet palpably genuine. It’s raw but refined, and curated but true.
Considering how beautiful and sensual “ABA,” his track with RainNao, turned out, we’ve got justifiably high hopes for future collabs — and honestly, Bad Bunny would be so lucky.
Baby Pau
“Cafrecita Intelectual” is Baby Pau’s latest single, and maybe her best so far? Or is it the remix of “Filis en Mis Nalgas” that tops her discography? “Nunka Huelebicha” is another contender, though. The difficulty in choosing comes from the irresistible cheekiness of Baby Pau’s bars, which she delivers with consistent cleverness on so many of her tracks. Like a reggaetón riot grrrl, Baby Pau hits back at fatphobia, classism, and machismo. However, supplementing the smart sociopolitical sass are love songs — for both the self (“¿Por Qué?”) and about others (“Ven Aquí”). She also collaborated with AV María on “La Rapsodia del WauWau,” the aforementioned perreo opera. There, Baby Pau talks consent with a witty warning: “Las nalguitas para el aire pero no pongas la mano/ Las perras mías son bravas, te lo advierto de antemano.”
Fun fact: Baby Pau actually appears in Bad Bunny’s video for “PIToRRO DE COCO” from DTMF. As Benito mopes in a dimly lit bar, seated beside a handful of men, only a few femmes come into frame throughout the clip. Two flip off the camera — of course, Baby Pao is one of them.
Dúo Deleite
A project of two on-the-rise artists, Gyanma and Enyel C, Duo Deleite hits on a lot of genres throughout its self-titled 2023 debut LP. There are breezy cuts like “Café,” soft synth in “Millonari,” electronic pop on “De Vogue,” and slow-burn trap on “MTV” — to name a few. “Bimbo,” a reference to the iconic Puerto Rican cookie, is Duo Deleite’s latest single, and it feels like a ‘90s hip-hop throwback. Here, the two artists shine specifically for the kind of lyrical flow and beat that warrants a song-long head-bop.
The union feels like it’s an outlet for the two rappers to experiment with no bounds, and that feels right in line with Bad Bunny’s free-range repertoire, no? Both Gyanma and Enyel C bring a lot to the table as rappers, songwriters, and producers, meaning they’d make versatile collaborators for Bad Bunny, able to offer not only sweeping sonic styles but a variety of skills, too.
Rafa Pabön
Does anyone remember “La Pistola?” Released in 2017, the Jantony track featured Bad Bunny, Brytiago, Catalyna, Oniix, Myke Towers, La Poe, and Rafa Pabön. To be honest, I didn’t remember it. At all. But there we have what is apparently the only time Bad Bunny and Rafa Pabön, a major Puerto Rican rapper, have been featured alongside each other. Why is that? Stylistically, the two have plenty in common — both often lean into the softer side of reggaeton and have experimented with filtering in folkloric sounds. And they share even more musical partners now, like Sech and Rauw Alejandro.
So what’s the holdup on uniting for another song? That they’re both with Rimas only makes the lack of partnership more confounding. Both artists have evolved immensely since that last collab — a new one, we imagine, could be a lot more memorable.
Tanicha López
For the uninitiated, Tanicha López is an incredibly talented multi-genre singer, songwriter, and producer of Puerto Rican and Dominican parents who excels especially when creating through the lens of jazz, merengue, and salsa. However, if you live in Puerto Rico, you likely know who she is already. López is a veteran of the live music circuit, seemingly perpetually captivating crowds from every available stage. That includes the famed Coliseo de Puerto Rico, aka el Choli — most recently with Álvaro Díaz and, before that, Shawn Mendes brought her in to perform at his first-ever concert in Puerto Rico. Unquestionably, López is working. In addition to releasing heaps of solo music, she also regularly performs with other acts, including Negro y Los Colores and beatboxer Black Rhythm. She recently guested alongside Luis Enrique for David Rivera’s “Dime,” too.
It would seem only natural that Bad Bunny reach out to López, whether to join him as a special guest onstage or to collaborate on a new song. We suggest he plans well in advance, though, as the gifted, sought-after López is very much booked and busy.
