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Episode Notes

Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1VR1sJMtl8e9ph14hET7EA

[\\u201cHablamos Ma\\xf1ana,\\u201d by Bad Bunny]

Maria: So now we\'re going to kind of touch on his music because he came out with the new album. Nat and I literally waited until midnight to hear it, but I also think we\'re not the only ones.

Natalia: No.

Maria: Everyone did. Everyone was waiting. Also, he released an album for the first time in 16 months yet, X100PRE stays relevant. I still listen to X100PRE every day.

Natalia: X100PRE came out on Nochebuena. So in Latin America, Nochebuena is the day before Christmas and that\\u2019s celebrated more than Christmas Day.

Maria: Yeah, the night of the 24th of December.

Natalia: So what did I do? So I was in Mexico, but I was with all my cousins. I have a lot of cousins and they\'re like kinda running all over the place. So I locked myself in like a room. Plug my headphones in, listen to it, walked out, and was like wow. Merry Christmas. Best Christmas present I\'ve received. Getting back to his new album.

Maria: Yeah. Let\\u2019s get back into Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana. We kind of like decided that we\'re gonna touch on our personal favorites and then also the songs we think are going to be the biggest hits.

Natalia: So this album is completely Latino. Unlike the last album where Bad Bunny had a song with Drake, this one features collabs with only Latin artists, but from all over Latin America. With Duki from Argentina, Pablo Chill-E from Chile, Sech from Panam\\xe1, and Daddy Yankee, who is an overall reggaeton icon. He sings Gasolina, which you\'ve probably all heard.

Maria: And he was also the inspiration for Bad Bunny to become an artist.

Natalia: Bad Bunny is living his dream.

Maria: So we\'re going to kind of like alternate and talk about our favorites.

Natalia: So the first song in the album is \\u201cSi Veo a Tu Mam\\xe1\\u201d, which is like at the very beginning. The beat is very catchy. But some of you might have recognized it because he sampled a song called \\u201cThe Girl From Ipanema\\u201d. And so that\'s why it might sound very familiar and I think it\'s so cool that he did that. It kind of shows how he can modernize it. And then also the lyrics. When he says, \\u201cSolo comparto memes, ya no escribo nada. Y no he borra\\u2019o tu foto, solo la puse en privada.\\u201d So that translates essentially to \\u201cNow I only share memes, I don\'t write anything anymore. I didn\'t delete your photo. I only put it on private\\u201d. And I think that really speaks to our generation.

Maria: Yeah.

Natalia: Because... Yeah, so the song is more melancholy and kind of sad...

Maria: But it\'s also really happy. It\'s the one thing I\\u2019ll point out.

Natalia: Which is very ironic. And it\'s great. Musically, great song.

Maria: Yes. Okay. One of my favorites is \\u201cLa Santa\\u201d, which is Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny\\u2019s collaboration on this album. I actually didn\'t think I\\u2019d like it as much, but the more I listened to the album, the more it stood out to me. I think more because lyrically I kind of really liked it. Like I saw this TikTok...

Natalia: Oh no.

Maria: About like this guy who was talking about how like Bad Bunny\\u2019s album is kind of like phases of a breakup.

Natalia: Yes, I saw that TikTok.

Maria: Yeah. And so like, I don\'t know. I feel like this is like one that\'s particularly like when you start realizing that you\'re catching feelings for someone but you\'re in denial. And I think it perfectly captures that feeling.

Natalia: So, kind of going off of that. So, Bad Bunny...he kind of tells a story that\'s not \\u2013 it\'s not chronological \\u2013 but he tells a story throughout his album. So the next song I really like is \\u201cPero Ya No\\u201d. \\nAnd this is kind of at the end of the last phase of a relationship where it\'s like, I used to like you, you used to like me, but not anymore. And honestly, Bad Bunny has some really funny verses. When we were listening to this, like, the first time we listened to it fully, I laughed a few times.

Maria: Oh, yeah.

Natalia: This is one of the lines. He says, \\u201cA m\\xed ya no me cachas, yo no soy un Pok\\xe9mon\\u201d. (Translation: You can\\u2019t catch me anymore, I\\u2019m not a Pokemon.) And I just think that\'s so funny. Yeah. And it\'s kind of like at the end of the breakup when you finally move on, and it slowly turns more and more upbeat kind of to symbolize the moving on and freeing yourself from a relationship. Which I think is really artistic.

Maria: So another one of my favorites is \\u201cYo Perreo Sola\\u201d.

Natalia: This is gonna be the hit.

Maria: This is gonna be a hit.

Natalia: It is a hit already.

Maria: Like it\'s so good. I love this because this song really is like that...

Natalia: This is like Beyonce\\u2019s \\u201cSingle Ladies\\u201d but like in 2020.

Maria: But also, this is the type of stuff Benito does where like he\'s a male but he\'s perfectly...

Natalia: Supporting female empowerment.

Maria: Yes.

Natalia: But also, something Bad Bunny does a lot is he mentions some of his earlier songs.

Maria: Yeah.

Natalia: So like in this he says, \\u201cElla est\\xe1 soltera antes que se pusiera de moda,\\u201d which means she was single before it was in style. This is to reference his song \\u201cSoltera\\u201d with Lunay.

Maria: and Daddy Yankee.

Natalia: But yes, that\\u2019s \\u201cYo Perreo Sola\\u201d. And then just a side note, Maria and I have formed these opinions after listening to the album constantly for like, three days so our opinions will probably change by like the end of the week.

Maria: Yeah.

Natalia: Because that\'s just the type of people we are. When I first listened to this, I was like \\u201cSafaera\\u201d is definitely gonna be a hit. It\'s gonna be the big one. But I will say that one part in \\u201cSafaera\\u201d where he plays the jaws theme song. And I just think that\'s so funny. He\\u2019s so creative with his music.

Maria: The thing with \\u201cSafaera\\u201d that makes \\u201cSafaera\\u201d unique is that he sampled so many songs into one song and it works. Like\\u2026

Natalia: Yes.

Maria: How?

Natalia: So, moving on. There\\u2019s this one song we both really, really like. I think \\u201c25/8\\u201d or 25/8 has some of the best lyrics of the entire album.

Maria: It really does.

Natalia: My favorite one is \\u201cNo e\\u2019 que sea antisocial, e\\u2019 que ustede\\u2019 dan mala vibra\\u201d (Translation: It\\u2019s not that I\\u2019m antisocial, it\\u2019s just that you guys give off a bad vibe). Which I personally relate to because when I don\'t like someone or like don\'t like a certain group of people, I will literally just shut off and not talk.

Maria: Mm-hmm.

Natalia: Like sometimes people think I\'m quiet or shy. But no, that probably just means I don\'t like you. My friends know I talk a lot. Do I talk a lot?

Maria: I don\'t think so\\u2026

Natalia: Okay, well, I talk.

Maria: Yes.

Natalia: So like, yeah, if you see me and like I\'m in a group setting with you and I don\'t talk, or like ignore you\\u2026

Maria: Now you know!

Natalia: Now you know, sorry, I just like exposed myself out there.

Maria: I genuinely I love \\u201c25/8\\u201d. It\'s one of my favorite songs. And I like the lyric that goes, \\u201cNunca seguidor, yo siempre he sido un l\\xedder\\u201d (Translation: Never a follower, I\\u2019ve always been a leader). Because Benito, \\u2013I told this to Nat \\u2013 I genuinely don\'t like artists who try to flaunt like they\'re the best. But Benito has all my respect and he can do that.

Natalia: He has the right to.

Maria: He has the right to.

Natalia: In this song he calls out like the hourly wage in Puerto Rico, which is $7.25, and he\'s like, this is not a liveable wage. And so I think this song really personifies and embodies all of Bad Bunny, like all he stands for, what he\'s accomplished, where he\'s going\\u2026. I think this is one of his best works.

Maria: I agree. Like, this song is the song that to me stands out lyrically in the album.

Natalia: And then we kind of already touched on \\u201cP FKN R\\u201d. This kind of ties back to \\u201c25/8\\u201d. He again calls out the government to like do something. And I think this ties also into his song \\u201cSer Bichote\\u201d in X100PRE. So a bichote is someone in a barrio or in a neighborhood, who is a drug trafficker. But he is loved in that community because he brings money into the community and distributes it. Essentially, like a Robin Hood type of figure. And so he compares himself to that, but with music. And he does the same thing in \\u201cP FKN R\\u201d. He makes a lot of metaphors with him, music, and drugs, which I think is very impactful since Latin America is many times associated with drugs.

Maria: So okay, these past few days after the album came out the only thing I hear whenever the dorm is silent is Nat going \\u201cMeow, meow, meow, meow, meow\\u201d. I don\'t know why meow?

Natalia: I can\'t sing so I have to use other vocal-like\\u2026vocal-like...things.

Maria: So she\'s imitating this part of the song where it goes \\u201cPr pr pr pr pr\\u201d.

Natalia: Which I think is really funny PR like when you make the sounds together I mean, sound and I just think that\'s so funny. So the next song on the album is \\u201cHablamos Ma\\xf1ana\\u201d, which is so good. This is like where he starts out with, he goes and he says, \\u201cYo hago lo que me da la gana\\u201d which is the name of the album obviously. He mentions it throughout the entire album, but this one\'s so good. He\'s like I do what I want. At the end it kind of goes into this heavy metal type of thing. So Bad Bunny is also very much influenced by pop-punk, like Blink-182. And Maria\'s laughing because she knows that I went \\u2013 I skimmed the surface of an emo phase in middle school.

Maria: You say it with such shame.

Natalia: It was a dark time in my past. So this was just giving me flashbacks.

Maria: Yeah, Nat loves this song. I personally...I still like it. I just don\'t think that it\'s like... I understand why he\\u2019s kind of closing off the album with the title of the album. So I get it.

Natalia: It also gives me a lot of like early 2000s Latin Pop Music vibes.

Maria: Yeah.

Natalia: Also, Bad Bunny is so flexible in genre and voice.

Maria: Yeah.

Natalia: So there\'s a lot, before we get to the last song on the album, he has so many other songs that are not in his two albums \\u2013 which you should definitely listen to. But like \\u201cChambea\\u201d versus \\u201cCual Es Tu Plan\\u201d.

Maria: Yeah.

Natalia: The sounds are completely different.

Maria: He said in an interview once that he knows that his audience will literally \\u2013 he could like do rock. People will listen to it. He can do reggaeton. People will listen to it. He could do whatever genre he wants.

Natalia: Okay, \\u201cCual Es Tu Plan\\u201d isn\'t even a genre. It sounds like elevator music with a reggaeton slow backbeat and it\'s so good.

Maria: \\u201cCual Es Tu Plan\\u201d is one of the best songs.

Natalia: And also \\u201cEstamos Bien\\u201d is so completely different on his previous album from all the other songs he had on there.

Maria: And I will go ahead and again \\u201cOtra Noche en Miami\\u201d \\u2013 literally one of the saddest songs. But also such a good beat. You can jam to it.

Natalia: Like \\u201cOtra Noche en Miami\\u201d and also \\u201cEstamos Bien\\u201d are very different from his usual pop reggaeton sounds, but \\u201cEstamos Bien\\u201d is actually one of my \\u2013 it was on my Spotify Wrapped. That was my most listened to song in 2019. I love that song.

Maria: Oh, you\'re bringing back the Spotify Wrapped.

Natalia: I love that song. It got me through a lot of stuff. It\'s a great song. I love it. And now for the last song on the album.

Maria: Which is \\u201c<3\\u201d.

Natalia: It\'s not even \\u2013 it\'s just like the...

Maria: The heart emoji \\u2013 emoticon.

Natalia: Emoticon. Like the less than and the 3.

Maria: Which is stealing my brand. Truly.

Natalia: It\'s our brand. We both use it. So this is a very...It\\u2019s more of an ode to his fans.

Maria: Yes, it\'s an ode to everyone. It\'s an ode to his family, to his fans, to like\\u2026

Natalia: Like he calls out his grandma.

Maria: And that\'s when like, you wanna cry.

Natalia: Like, he\'s like, \\u201cGrandma today I reached another goal. I don\'t know if you saw me on the Super Bowl.\\u201d

Maria: Yeah.

Natalia: Which is so cute.

Maria: It\'s so sweet. And also, like, he talks a lot about how everyone wants to be like him, in the industry. And he doesn\'t want to be like a king. He doesn\'t want to be considered...

Natalia: Yeah, that\\u2019s not what he wants. He doesn\\u2019t like the fame.

Maria: Yeah. And so he\'s kind of talking about how he\'s himself and that\'s all he wants.

Natalia: But also, something that shocked a lot of fans was...

Maria: He says...Allegedly.

Natalia: Allegedly.

Maria: That in nine more months, he\'s going to release another album and then retire, which we both have different sentiments about this because...Nat, do you think it\'s true? Because I don\'t think it\'s true.

Natalia: I think it\'s true. He put it in a song.

Maria: I actually don\'t think it\'s true.

Natalia: We will see in nine months.

Maria: We will see in nine months.

Natalia: That\\u2019s like a baby.

Maria: I don\'t know I love this song. \\u201c<3\\u201d is one of my favorite ones. I just feel like \\u2013 here\'s the thing with Bad Bunny. He makes me cry a lot.

Natalia: This album, we all thought. Like all the fans. So if you have not seen the Twitter memes for Bad Bunny, do it. They are so funny.

Maria: They\\u2019re so funny!

Natalia: Before the album, everyone was like \\u201cMe getting ready to cry at 12 am\\u201d. Like us mentally preparing ourselves for sadness. But then you listen to the album and you\'re like, \\u201cOh, wait.\\u201d

Maria: It\'s really happy.

Natalia: Yeah, and he like says that. He\'s like, yeah, my first album was very nostalgic. It was kind of sad. This one? No.

Maria: This one the theme is\\u2026

Natalia: Do whatever you want.

Maria: Yeah. Do whatever you want.

Natalia: That\'s what he says. That what that\'s what he does.

Maria: Yes. And I love that for him. His Instagram stories on the night of the release. If you have not watched Bad Bunny singing \\u201cTusa\\u201d by Karol G, it is the funniest video I have seen. It makes me cry from laughter.

Natalia: We\'ve watched it on repeat multiple times.

Maria: Yes.

Natalia: And just laughed. He\\u2019s so cute.

Maria: Literally.

Natalia: I love him.

Maria: I love this man so much. And with that, I think we end with that. That\'s the lesson for today.

Natalia: This is Natalia Camino.

Maria: And this is Maria Caama\\xf1o.

Natalia & Maria: On NBN Audio.

[\\u201cHablamos Ma\\xf1ana,\\u201d by Bad Bunny]

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