ON THE COVER Latino resurgence at the Grammys
For the first time in the six-plus-decade history of the Grammy Awards, the ceremony’s most prestigious award - album of the year - could go to a project recorded entirely in Spanish: Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti.
The nod arrives as Latin music, particularly reggaeton and Latin trap, continues to dominate global pop despite being repeatedly snubbed by the industry’s biggest awards ceremony. It’s as much a milestone for the expansive genre as it is for the Puerto Rican rap phenom, a record-breaking force since his emergence from the digital din of SoundCloud in 2016. The path to his historic nomination is analogous to the genre’s journey from the Latin explosion of the late 1990s - when artists such as Shakira and Ricky Martin broke into mainstream radio with primarily English-language albums - to Bad Bunny’s boundary-diffusing generation. But it also highlights some of the industry’s pitfalls.
“It’s overdue,” said Leila Cobo, Billboard’s chief content officer of Latin. “It’s extraordinary that there isn’t something in Spanish nominated every year in one of the main categories.” After all, the nomination - which honours albums for their artistry - has eluded decades of Latin pop heavyweights including Shakira, Martin and Daddy Yankee. In many ways, though, it makes sense that Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, is the artist to break this barrier.
Even before releasing his debut studio album in late 2018, Bad Bunny had already become a staple on the Latin charts and broke through Billboard 100 on I Like It,
a smash-hit collaboration with Cardi B and J Balvin.
After Hurricane Maria devastated his native Puerto Rico, he captured the island’s resilience in Estamos Bien and has continued informing the public how the government has failed the more than 3 million US citizens living there. Now, he’s a global star. He’s the first artist who performs exclusively in Spanish to be booked as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. He performed on WrestleMania. He had a recurring role on Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico,
made a cameo in the Brad Pitt flick Bullet Train and will lead an upcoming Marvel film. This spring, he’ll co-headline Coachella with Blackpink and Frank Ocean.