(You should though.)
Disclaimer #1: I’m not Latina (as far as I know?) so I mostly reviewed how it sounds, instead of Bad Bunny’s lyricism.
Disclaimer #2: Bad Bunny is colloquially referred to as ‘Bunny’ and ‘BB’ here for ease of writing.
Disclaimer #3: Half of the track-by-track reviews I wrote while listening to live. I might sound crazy.
- For the review of the album as a whole, scroll to the bottom.
NADIE SABE – An interesting introduction. Clear title drop that mixes BB’s new sound found during Un Verano Sin Ti with strings and soft instrumental. It almost doesn’t go with his voice, and ends up a little bit clashy on the ears. This thing is SIX WHOLE MINUTES. He takes that time to declare who he is, shouting out his real fans, and opening about his mental state. Respect.
MONACO – We’re continuing with the string theme. And this one is SO CATCHY. Bunny comes in with some autotune dazzling his voice now. You might recognize the sample, considering how recognizable and iconic it is.
FINA – The samples on this album are great so far. Chopped-and screwed beats are so nice. I recognize Young Miko from Classy 101 feat. Feid. She has an interesting flow. I’m not a hyper-fan but she does the beat justice. (Smoker voices always make me feel like I need to cough.) The way she carries the chorus and intro makes Bad Bunny feel like the feature, and I’m not entirely against it. Did he just make a Caillou joke? What?
HIBIKI – BB lets another artist start for him. I believe this is a habit of his, sort of like an opener on his own song. Mora’s smooth tone and easy lilt are a striking difference to Bunny’s dark and deep voice, and his solid articulation. This sounds more melodic off the bat. Interesting beat that changes itself around more than a few times. Difficult to dance to but good to listen to!
MR. OCTOBER – PRODUCER TAG! Do you find producer tags likable or not? But the flow here is GREAT. And that whistle just makes it all the more catchy. I found myself bopping my head immediately. This song is lowkey and almost sultry in how it sneaks up on you. He rhymed four, ford, fort, threesome, and zone. For such a good song, it ends rather abruptly.
CYBERTRUCK – This one was a bit of an acquired taste. The decay on the pitches in these beats. Drums don’t kick in for a while, which is becoming more characteristic of BB, when they do it’s light, fast 808s. When CYBERTRUCK picks up, BB’s ability to throw in clever references around his chill rhymes definitely carry the piece. He shouted out Doja and SZA! Again, I found myself bopping my head mid-song. I find that singing rappers tend to stick to the same pitch, so to hear BB play with that a little and slide around while he sang was nice.
VOU 787 – This beat feels like it stole its tinny strings from Donna Summer. It feels like an interlude, due to being the shortest piece on the album. It feels like a freestyle, almost, like an afterthought in the way that it didn’t match its preceding songs. I didn’t like it that much.
SEDA – I half expected Bryant Myers to open, but BB starts the first verse. I think I understand this choice- Myers is heavy with autotune. So heavy that we need a bit of an ease-in. He carries his verse easily, although I don’t feel like it brings much new to the table. Again, this song doesn’t fully let the beat finish which is becoming a bit of a problem. But you could sleep to it!
GRACIAS POR NADA – Here, he’s singing over piano chords, which is interesting because it clashes badly until the drums kick in. I’m really loving the difference in drums on this. The hook is a little lacking though. It feels a bit too energetic over a beat that is a good deal more relaxed.
TELEFONO NUEVO – New phone, who dis? Luar La L, apparently. BB starts off and name-drops God a lot, especially in the earlier tracks, but he turns up here again. I won’t spoil how he does the beat switch here, but it’s so INCREDIBLY clever. An upbeat song turns to an anthemic, in-your-face spit from Luar La L, really playing up the idea of a phone call. Clears out why he didn’t introduce himself in the beginning of the song and instead waited to cut in on Bad Bunny. BB’s artist choices on this album are also very cold.
BABY NUEVA – This one is also interesting. It’s heavy on the bass, but stark with its instrumentation, which leaves me feeling wanting. BB is playing too often with the trick of making us wait, which starts to feel a little, tiny bit overused, especially considering how long this album is, and we just got halfway through. Of course, when the actual beat kicks in, it makes me want to move, but still nothing stands all the way out to me.
MERCEDES CAROTA – Hey, why are all these song-titles caps while the album title is in lowercase? Anyway, solid bop. I could listen to this while speeding. (As I write this, I am reminded that I don’t even drive yet.) Bunny starts this without his usual melodic rap, and his voice is surprisingly calmed for the charged lyrics. It’s his usual topics of sex, fame, and fighting, but it carries surprisingly well, if you don’t get bored of the song’s simplicity. It doesn’t bring a lot of punch. We’ve switched from BB having his features open for him to them closing out his songs. But even so, we’re about to go about a four song stretch without any features at all.
LOS PITS – WOW. RnB? The singing sample on this almost gives me the vibes of Drake or Ella Mai, somewhere in between. Halfway through this song, I realize it irks me that Bunny did not give us any transitions between songs. However, between his steady flow, and him talking to the listener, the cooing sample in the background calms down those previous tense bars. It’s not a bad song at all, but it almost feels forgettable until he takes it up an octave after a very elegant “fuck!” NOW this song starts to change. BB does callouts like a DJ over his turntable, complete with club airhorns and all. I just wish this section had a longer life, because it feels so authentic to Bunny in a way I can’t explain. He sounds like he’s having fun, instead of just performing.
VUELVE CANDY B – Bass heavy song. I already liked this one due to the catchy hook, and as soon as those drums kicked in I was feeling it even more. The callouts and the adlibs sound as if they’re not from him, but they’re good enough to catch my ears, with their consistency in arrival. From curses to exclamations to simply buzzing his lips, my attention is totally captured, even as he leans into the mic and whispers his own praises into perfect harmony, firing off imaginary guns and ringing up his imaginary change. Thin but varied instrumentation makes this, in all the reverb it’s perfectly ‘facil’ for BB to take off and create the sound he wants us to here, with beat drops we don’t expect, and his voice hanging calmly over a track only decorated by the soft loop of synth keys and windy SFX.
BATICANO – What genre is this? Cyberpunk 2077?? The beat is interesting to say the least, and not even in a bad way. I was enjoying how different and on point it was. DID HE SAY HE KISSED TOKISCHA? This song doesn’t stay in one place for long, but all the way through it almost feels particularly ominous. Bad Bunny’s voice gets clipped and chewed around a lot here.
NO ME QUIERO CASAR – I audibly screamed when the melody for this song kicked in. This is the catchiest song about not getting married ever. It is seriously a party song. There’s a bit of a title drop in this song, and then out of nowhere Bad Bunny goes la-la-la-la-la-laaa! I’m not even mad about it. This song feels so playful but down to earth, in a good way. I enjoyed this song all the way through, even the short dip into a slow part, but the instrumental absolutely carried, sample and all, and BB’s vocalizations just added to the bouncy, lighthearted flavor.
WHERE SHE GOES – I was so excited when this song came out. One of the lead singles from the album, it felt like such a break from what we’d heard on Un Verano Sin Ti, almost like a callback to his old style, while still experimenting with what Bad Bunny’s sound could be. He nearly serenades us in the opening, and then we’re hit with a steady constant beat. Bad Bunny never sounds rushed when rapping unless he has to. He always falls perfectly in time, and even at such a fast pace as this, the song never feels rushed or frantic. As raunchy as the song lyrics are here, it’s still so catchy, and seems sincere in a way that mostly only Bad Bunny can pull off.
THUNDER Y LIGHTNING – There he is! ELADIO CARRION!! I’m a little fake, because I first heard of him through Coco Chanel. I’m not complaining, though, because Coco Chanel is such a banger, such a good song. I highly recommend it– we’re back to the feature being the opener. Here Eladio takes over where Bad Bunny would be, skulking around the lower register of his voice. They seem to be rapping over a drill beat together, but their voices perfectly compliment each other, and seem to fit into each other as they continue the song in hushed tones.
PERRO NEGRO – Absolute tone change. That didn’t feel smooth at all. I’m really liking the mix of styles that Bad Bunny is bringing onto the album, I just wish he’d give us a bit of an ease into each. However, it seems he has a lot of ideas to present, and I’m not disagreeing with this one. The feature is definitely back to being the opener, and I definitely trust Feid to deliver on this type of beat. This song is also over so abruptly that it doesn’t completely feel finished, which is also an uncomfortably common theme.
EUROPA :( – Not even a song. Planes’ canceled!
ACHO PR – There is a whole cast of people on this song. This is the type of BB song I would expect to hear blaring out of car windows on a hot day. I remember Ñengo Flow from his previous collab with Bunny (Gato de Noche), Arcángel from just about everywhere else. No one feels like they’re talking over each other, but it’s hard to tell whether this is actually Bunny’s song or a group project. Again, not against it.
UN PREVIEW – The other lead single! I actually hadn’t listened to this one before the album came out. I find it a little strange that the song named preview is the one that comes last. Nonetheless, I like the direction that VV takes it in, and even though it’s yet another awkward transition, it’s a good day to close nadie sabe off. Something classic, and close to home.
Rating: 8 / 10
This album for me is a solid 8.
Best Tracks: Where She Goes, Monaco, Vuelve Candy B, Acho PR, No Me Quiero Casar, Telefono Nuevo
nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mañana is a delightful, punchy mix of many styles of melodic (and non-melodic) rap. BB draws on many different artists to assist him through nadie sabe’s musical journey, and never forgets to touch base with the roots of dembow and reggaeton; even when considering himself in the realms of drill and RnB. Even outside of the usual ‘box’, Bad Bunny is in his element here, at ease making his statements with his newfound vaquero persona. And just like his new persona, this album is equally free, and almost as equally wild. Critics and fans, despite varying reviews, both seem to agree on this general concept. (However, while the critics complain that there’s nothing particularly inventive, fans complain that floor seats for concerts are at ridiculous prices.) Either way, Bunny’s coming for the throne again— and for his haters. Every track oozes self-confidence, strong belief that he can carry this style however he wants. For some tracks, he absolutely pulls it off, for others, the listener is left wanting. Still, several of the tracks remain noteworthy. Bad Bunny knows how to pull in listeners. He doesn’t play to or for their ears, but he’s aware enough of his audience to know what will keep them with him until the end of the ride.