It’s only been four years since we first collected our favorite Bad Bunny collabs, and it’s wild to think that the selection has only gotten harder since then. Revisiting the idea today, there’s an overwhelming number of features to choose from. Such is the ever-growing discography of Bad Bunny, which, in light of recent next-album news, we expect will soon include icons of salsa as well.
Let’s be real. April 2021, when we first rounded up features on Bad Bunny tracks, feels like a lifetime ago. That heaviness is pretty universally agreed upon, but just for effect, let’s contextualize with a real-life example: ChatGPT did not yet exist, and regardless of AI opinions, we all know how ubiquitous it is now. Things. Have. Changed.
So what was Bad Bunny doing during this momentous time? No big deal, really — he only released three epic albums. Our original collabs list cut off at El Último Tour del Mundo, which dropped in November of 2020. Almost immediately after we published our list, Benito debuted Un Verano Sin Ti. Released in May, it charted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the second-ever Spanish-language album to hit that height. For many of us, it was the soundtrack of the summer.
About a year later, he released his fifth official LP, Nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mañana. It was a departure from the pop-leaning sensibility of his last work and a return to a more YHLQMDLG mentality, in that he riffed on his own life, career, and future. By this January, Benito gifted us another album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. It was an unambiguous tribute to Puerto Rico that highlights its cultural traditions, its people’s persistent fight against colonialism, its freshest and most exciting artists, the stories of Nuyoriqueños past and present, and more like a historical record. Nothing could summarize everything, especially for a place as complex as Puerto Rico. But damn if Benito didn’t come very close, and in a way that makes us move, makes us feel in our bodies what he’s singing and rapping.
While so much has transpired, let’s take a moment to appreciate this handful of tracks: as markers in music history, personal memories, and forever favorites. On this list are stylistic firsts, like bringing plena into the reggaeton realm, as well as wholly unexpected pairings that surprised even the collaborating musicians. Also included are tracks that not only slap, but also promote hope and progress — the kind of layers that make a song especially resonant. But we’re not ranking them — don’t make us pick favorites, trimming down to 10 was difficult enough.
“CAFé CON RON” With Los Pleneros de la Cresta
The homage to Puerto Rico that is DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS wouldn’t have been complete without spotlighting plena, a percussive-centric musical tradition of African origin. It’s a time-honored — and still thriving — medium for sociopolitical resistance, storytelling, and cultural pride. Reggaeton, of course, is much newer, but shares many commonalities in purpose. The two styles are sonically very distinct, but this track makes the match feel flawless. The moment when electronic meets acoustic (around 1:45) feels particularly special, upping the intensity of the plena rhythm and calling on the body to move in tandem.
Interestingly, the specific musicians tapped for this collaboration — Los Pleneros de la Cresta, comprised of four musicians from the Central Mountain Range municipality of Ciales — speaks not only to Puerto Rico’s past, but also its future. The initial sparks of the union occurred when the group met Bad Bunny last November in the artist’s tent at the campaign closing event of la Alianza, a coalition of two progressive political parties fighting for a better quality of life for all Puerto Ricans.
“WELTiTA” With Chuwi
Chuwi is an extraordinary group of young musicians. Their sound is rooted in traditional rhythms and softly accented by electronic touches. Lorén Aldarondo Torres is an incredibly strong vocalist with precise, emotive skill, and has a poetic tendency to express plainly yet powerfully what it means to love your home, its people, and its culture while colonialism perpetually works to destroy it all. And so it absolutely tracks that “WELTiTA” turned out to be one of DTmF’s most affecting moments. It’s love for the land, it’s love for another person, it’s combining the good feelings of both things to get through the bad — like a breeze that breaks the humidity just when you need it. As Aldarondo Torres sings, “Por un segundo, nos olvidamos de to.” Thankfully, we can revisit the respite of “WELTiTA” anytime.
“PERFuMITO NUEVO” With RaiNao
While sensual and danceable, “PERFuMITO NUEVO” is notable also because it’s not totally straightforward. And from RaiNao, a leading figure in the alternative scene within el movimiento who consistently delivers unexpected yet irresistible songs, we’d expect no less. Rhythm changes, melodic undulations, quick shifts from peaks to valleys of synth — this one’s not an immediate earworm, and that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it might add to its staying power. The more you listen to the track, the more you find an odd (and ultimately unforgettable) kind of perfection to it.
“Me Porto Bonito” With Chencho Corleone
Co-founder of the pioneering act Plan B, Chencho Corleone brought la vieja escuela into this track, melting into it with a slightly languid chorus. Paired with the shout-along-ready “Tú no ere’ bebecita, tú ere’ bebesota,” delivered by Benito, “Me Porto Bonito” is a standout on 2022’s Un Verano Sin Ti, charting all over Billboard — including becoming the first-ever all-Spanish track to hit number one on its Streaming Songs list.
“FINA” With Young Miko
There’s a lot to love about “FINA.” You get an homage to Tego Calderón, Benito on that trap vibe that’s a fave of many, and a guest spot for a fresh, queer Puerto Rican talent. Truly, Young Miko’s flow often has a certain smirk, a wink, a cheekiness to it — as does Bad Bunny’s at times. The pairing is flawless.
“Un 100xto” With Grupo Frontera
Grupo Frontera reportedly didn’t know Bad Bunny would be on the track until he stepped out of a trailer at the video shoot. The expressions you see from the band in the music video, they explain, are of genuine surprise. That’s a weird way to collab, no? But the Mexican-American group remains grateful — and so are we. Grupo Frontera helped draw out Benito’s inner vaquero ahead of Nadie sabe lo qué va a pasar mañana, released about six months after “Un 100xto” in 2023. And all on their own, the band delivered an unforgettable three minutes and 15 seconds of lovelorn, sentimental tristeza that feels really, really satisfying to cry along to.
“Party” With Rauw Alejandro (& Elena Rose)
A literal party song, this team-up on Un Verano Sin Ti is kind of a no-brainer — both Rauw and Benito are pillars in today’s reggaeton scene. Rauw’s expertise in smooth and sensual pop-leaning R&B shines, and Benito brings sex-posi, femme-forward sing-rap bars. Essentially, each leaned hardest on skills for which they’re especially beloved, and the end results are pristine. However, as much as we love Rauw and Benito together, it’s important to note that the track also features Elena Rose. She’s the one singing “party” over and over, and while it’s just one word, it’s inarguably critical to the vibe. In fact, the Venezuelan-American artist, who’s written tracks for tons of heavy-hitters, is also credited as a songwriter on “Party.”
“La Corriente” With Tony Dize
This banger marked the start of a comeback for Tony Dize, a pioneer of el reggaeton romántico known to blend “la melodía con la calle.” For about a decade, Dize hadn’t released anything, but his mark on the genre continued — it’s fair to say he played an inspirational role in the emotive songs Bad Bunny would later create. Unsurprisingly, fans of the genre were absolutely stoked when his name appeared on the tracklist for Un Verano Sin Ti, and the track didn’t disappoint.
“Andrea” With Buscabulla
When Buscabulla was invited to guest on “Andrea” in April 2022, most of the song was already written. Also already set was the title, which, while Benito didn’t explicitly state it, appeared to reference Andrea Ruiz Costas, a Puerto Rican woman murdered by her former partner in 2021. The song itself is a plea for respect and understanding. Berrios’ gossamer vocals are resolute as she sings, “No quiero que nadie me diga lo que yo tengo que hacer.” The line brings to mind the elements of power and control over women, of rigid expectations and sometimes fatal judgment. In a 2022 interview with NPR about the collaboration, Berrios said, “[Bad Bunny] really wanted to paint the picture of a woman that was still alive and that we could really hope that we could really build a better sort of society for this woman to thrive in.”
“PERRO NEGRO” With Feid
The joining of Latin American legends is a beautiful thing. Named for the iconic Medellín club, “PERRO NEGRO” is a perfectly uncomplicated, slow-perreo cut. Colombian superstar Feid teaming up with Bad Bunny manifested exactly as it should: A track that’s hooky but melodically exploratory, representative of the gains each has made in expanding the genre while retaining its rhythmic essence.
