It’s Bad Bunny’s world, and we’re just living in it.
The Puerto Rican singer/rapper is the latest cover star for Time Magazine, where he explained that he isn’t compromising himself as he continues to take over pop culture.
Andrew Chow and Mariah Espada penned the feature, which gets Bad Bunny’s perspective on his title as music’s top name right now, the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico and what it was like to be the first Latino to headline Coachella.
“I always say no, but I think I lie,” he said when asked if he cares about staying the No. 1 artist across the globe. “Because at the end of the day I’m very competitive … But in a good way …I like to see people have good music because it’ll make me better. If I see someone making a song that’s rompiendo (breaking or hitting the records), if there is someone who made a cabróna (badass) song, I am going to make a more cabróna song. I want to do something better. But not to overshadow them, but because I want to do something better. We can all win, we can all shine together.”
His latest album, “Un Verano Sin Ti,” was named Best Música Urbana Album at the 2023 Grammys, giving him his third career Grammy. It was also nominated for Album of the Year, a category that wound up going to “Harry’s House” from Harry Styles.
Broadcast subtitles read “Non-English” during Bad Bunny’s performance at the February Grammys ceremony. While he didn’t see it in the moment, it is something that still strikes a chord with him today.
“In reality when I saw it … it didn’t capture the message,” he said. “It didn’t say ‘in Spanish’… como que ‘non-english’… well, the system doesn’t work. It was porqueria (crap), that’s the only way I could put it.”
Bad Bunny has collaborated with English-speaking artists in recent years, notably Drake and Cardi B. He says he’s not bothered by questions about whether he would ever do music in English, but he has no plans to do it until he feels like it.
“No, because I think it’s a fair question. But no one asks Drake when he’s going to make a Spanish song,” he said. “The day I feel like I need to do a song in English, I’ll do it because I feel it.”
Bad Bunny’s pop culture impact continues to grow away from the mic, too. He has stepped into the ring at WrestleMania and appeared in “Bullet Train,” where he got to fight Brad Pitt. His newest role in “Cassandro” features his first on-screen kiss, which he did with Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.
“It was cabrón,” he said. “My first kiss for a movie and it was with a man. That’s the penalty I get for being with so many women during my life. If you’re acting, you’re being someone you’re not. That’s the fun part. So when they asked me for that I said, ‘Yes, I’m here for whatever you want.’ I think it was very cool. I didn’t feel uncomfortable. It’s part of acting. It’s part of what I’m doing.”
The April 10/17, 2023 double issue of Time goes on sale Friday, March 31.
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