Last Friday, May 6th, Bad Bunny — better known in the Latino community as San Benito — blessed us with his latest Album Un Verano Sin Ti, which translates to A summer without you. In this piece, Benito presents us with a diverse range of Caribbean genres and powerful songs that make up an amazing summer playlist.

The album consists of 23 songs produced and recorded between Puerto Rico, the artist’s home country, and the Dominican Republic, in collaboration with famous reggaeton producers like Tainy, MAG and Beto “La Paciencia” and stakes a claim as one of the most diverse albums a reggaeton artist has created. It contains a variety of musical genres like merengue, Dominican dembow, reggaeton, bossa nova and EDM, involving collaborations with legends of the Latino urban genres including Colombian iconic duo Bomba Estéreo and Puerto Rican singer Tony Dize.

As Bad Bunny stated, the album was built to be a comprehensive representation of the Caribbean, showcasing the rhythms of the region.

For example, the mambo of “Después de la Playa”, the second track of the album, is accompanied by the Dominican band Dahian el Apechao, resembling an old-school meringue which can be found in any Latino party. This track specifically sparks nostalgia in most of us as it reminds us of the tracks our parents listened to. “Titi me Preguntó”, on the other hand, is a prime example of the variety of rhythms in the album. It starts as a bachata, continues as a rap and then turns into a Dominican dembow.

Having a 23-track album may seem overwhelming, but it seems to be following a common trend of reggaeton artists moving away from the traditional album concept to engineering their albums. Instead, they rather present it as a playlist containing a long list of songs with the same central theme which in this case is about heartbreaks, relationships and the beach. The album creates a much appreciated range of moods for a playlist that will accompany us during the summer through our ups and downs, during parties and during heartbreaks.

Apart from being great to dance to, the tracks also carry important messages about feminist struggles and the Latino identity. By doing this, Bad Bunny is revolutionizing urban genres by highlighting and giving visibility to social issues in mainstream music.

The 19th track, Andrea”, which is a dream-pop track featuring Buscabulla can be considered a feminist anthem. The song talks about Andrea, a young girl working in a nightclub in Puerto Rico, who struggles to find her own way in society. The message is endorsed through the chorus saying “I don’t want anyone to tell me what to do”, which Buscabulla commented to be a manifestation of the feeling of Caribbean women who feel limited by the expectations of society. The verses continue to reinforce this message, as Bad Bunny sings, about the demand for Andrea’s wish to get respect. The song even touched on topics like abortion and how women are called murderers by governments for getting abortions. Tracks like these set standards for the growth of feminism within urban Latin genres which have been long criticized for their misogynistic and objectifying lyrics.

This is not the first time the artist speaks up about feminism. In his song “Yo Perreo Sola” he talks about a young woman who just wants to have fun and enjoy her night dancing freely and alone without being bothered by men. In the video of the song, the phrase “Ni una menos” which translates to “Not one less” is always shown in the back which is the name of the Latin American feminist movement protesting against gender violence.

Similarly, another track that touches on a very important topic is “El Apagón'', which is an EDM track that captures the essence of life in Puerto Rico as its name refers to a blackout, referring to the power cuts in the country since a private firm took over the power supply of the island last year, but its chorus and upbeat rhythm highlight the joyful spirit of the island. The last verse of the song sang by the singer’s girlfriend, Gabriela Berlingeri, says “Que se vayan ellos” which translates to “Let them go” and “Esta es mi Tierra” which translates to “this is my land”, also refers to the large number of incoming firms and wealthy men coming to the island taking advantage of the lower taxes causing prices to rise and displacing locals.

Another iconic line of this song is the opening line: “Now everyone wants to say Latino” which carries a strong message addressing the increasing number of musicians and artists without Latino roots that are coming into the reggaeton genre and singing in Spanish. This carries particular relevance considering that for a long time, Latino genres were seen as inferior and associated with thugs.

Bad Bunny, is probably the most well-known Latino artist at the moment, with over 9.1 billion streams last year, he was named one of the 100 most influential people of 2021. His messages are widely spread which is why his lyrics that bring light to these issues are very important as he can have a massive influence on youth.

Overall, Un Verano sin Ti is a very experimental album showcasing Bad Bunny’s versatility and his constant evolution as an artist which we have seen since his last album, “Yo hago lo que me de la gana”. From here we don’t really know what else to expect from Benito as he experiments in new areas like acting since he will embody “El Muerto” in the Marvel Universe, but we can always expect his work to meet the highest standards and be innovative as it has been for years.