Bad Bunny talks upcoming debut LP in FADER cover story

Puerto Rican trap artist Bad Bunny had a major crossover with English-speaking audiences when he was featured on Cardi B’s “I Like It,” but he’s also on another of the summer’s biggest hits (the “Te Boté” remix with Casper, Nio García, Darell, Nicky Jam, and Ozuna), and he’s got tons of his own much-loved singles. He’s also The FADER‘s latest cover star, and he revealed more info about his highly anticipated debut album, La Nueva Religión, in their cover story (also available in Spanish) on him today:

The first track he plays is mid-tempo, faster than anything he’s released before. The house music-alluding outro on “Estamos Bien” may have been intended to ready his fans for this because it sounds like ‘90s hip-house, but not in a corny or nostalgic way. The second track sounds like trap music as filtered through Marilyn Manson and The Matrix, and he says he wants Diplo to remix it. Both are wild.”In reality, I’m still working on this,” he says, not shyly but as a caveat that perhaps two unfinished tracks cued up on his iPhone aren’t even a sketch of what his debut album will sound like. But it’s something. “The reference tracks are really premature, but like, what I want for this record — the sounds, the vibe, the ambiance — are more of the things I like, more of me, more of what I am, and more of what I think is my generation, those born in the ’90s and the ’00s. From childhood, I’ve had a lot of goals of things that I want to do in music. When I release my record, there are going to be more songs to give people an understanding that my musical concept can be different — but also me.”

He also talked a bit about the responsibility he feels in his music as one of the biggest crossover Latin trap stars:

…rap en español has very infrequently engaged non-diasporic audiences in the English-speaking world (with a few exceptions, including a couple of reggaetón booms, if you’re counting). With the runaway popularity of “I Like It,” Bad Bunny’s already got a leg up — and his verse includes two bars that constitute the first time he has rapped publicly en inglés. He’s gradually bettering his English, although he makes it clear it’s the English-speaking world that needs to catch up to the Spanish-speaking one — the “Latino gang gang” — and not the other way around. “Sometimes I [forget] there are people that think I represent a town, a hood, a country. When I land [in Vega Baja], it feels super dope, but it’s also a responsibility — people expect the best from you. That’s why, every time, I try to be like, I am just me. I’m being me, and if what I am [is what] you like, well, good. If not, there will be someone else who will come and do that for y’all.”

Bad Bunny sounds ready to continue to take over both the English and Spanish speaking worlds, and no matter what language you speak, it’s not hard to see the appeal of his music. Watch some of his videos, and view his list of upcoming US tour dates, below.

Bad Bunny – 2018 Tour Dates
30 August 2018 Smart Financial Centre, Sugar Land, TX
31 August 2018 Maverik Center, West Valley City, UT
01-02 September 2018 Los Dells Festival – Woodside Festival Grounds, Mauston, WI
01 September Bellco Theatre, Denver, CO
06 September 2018 WaMu Theater, Seattle, WA
07 September 2018 Selland Arena, Fresno Convention Center, Fresno, CA
08 September 2018 Rabobank Arena, Bakersfield, CA
09 September 2018 Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, CA
21 September 2018 Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, TX
23 September 2018 State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
28 September 2018 Scottish Rite Cathedral Theatre, Masonic Temple, Detroit, MI
29 September 2018 The Rave/Eagles Club, Milwaukee, WI
30 September 2018 Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
08 November 2018 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
09 November 2018 Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, NC
11 November 2018 Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY