As Puerto Rico’s music, independent and pop genres, continue to strive forward to reach communities inside and outside the island, more musicians are collaborating with filmmakers to create visuals that expand their ideas while promoting their music. Mid-August saw this fusion of audio and video continue as musicians Andrea Cruz, iLe, Bad Bunny, PJ Sin Suela, and Ñejo worked together with directors J. P. Irizarry, César Berrios, and Fernando Lugo to deliver introspective, thought provoking, and party-starting images for the audience at large.
(still from the Andrea Cruz video)
A promotional video for the song “No Toquemos Tierra” from her debut project Tejido de Laurel, Andrea Cruz’s latest visual, as directed by J. P. Irizarry, seems to tell the tale of a much older Cruz visiting one of her places of comfort, in this case the rural area of Puerto Rico, as she brings her guitar along with pictures and starts to remember a time of peace. Serving as another tactic for the singer/songwriter to promote her first album, the video is also another way for fans and newcomers to engage with the musician and take a deeper look at the story of Tejido de Laurel.
Serving as what appears to be the first single for iLe’s upcoming sophomore project, the music video to “Odio” sees the musician collaborating with young filmmaker César Berrios to look back at the events which occurred on July 25th, 1978 in Cerro Maravilla, provoking viewers, especially those directly related to Puerto Rico, to think about their country’s history.
(still from the Bad Bunny, PJ Sin Suela and Ñejo collaboration)
Finally, the last video in the list is a much more light hearted video as Puerto Rican rappers Bad Bunny, PJ Sin Suela, and Ñejo collaborate on the single “Cual Es Tu Plan”. Though the single’s lyrical subject matter is nothing out of this world as the song is essentially a party tune about sex, what makes this track important is the connection between generations and, in a way, the passing of the baton from Ñejo to the younger, Bad Bunny and PJ Sin Suela, who currently serve as the most popular faces in Puerto Rican trap and lyrical Latin pop rap. Thus, what really makes this single important is the potential dialogue that it can create between old school rappers and the new generation.
This August saw some of Puerto Rico’s up-and-coming talent as shown by Andrea Cruz and some of its most popular as presented by iLe, Bad Bunny, PJ Sin Suela, and Ñejo delivering a lot of visuals that ranged from personal storytelling to historical introspection to generational connections. It is this type of variety that makes Puerto Rico’s music scene such an interesting and powerful one as it shows the audience at large just a few voices of the many that have yet to tell their stories, especially in this time of the island’s history.
Watch Andrea Cruz’s “No Toquemos Tierra”
Watch iLe’s “Odio”
Watch Bad Bunny, PJ Sin Suela and Ñejo’s “Cual Es Tu Plan”