Review: Bad Bunny's latest album a rap-heavy treatise on fame and an ode to his 'real fans'

It is what every artist wants and so few manage: distinction. In a heartbeat, Bad Bunny 's idiosyncratic baritone -- instantaneously recognizable in both in his somber singing and stadium-sized raps. There is no question when Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio's records are playing.

It is what every artist wants and so few manage: distinction. In a heartbeat, Bad Bunny 's idiosyncratic baritone -- instantaneously recognizable in both in his somber singing and stadium-sized raps. There is no question when Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio's records are playing.

Then it is even more immediately impressive that he chooses reinvention -- repossession of his past sounds and a modern refitting -- that the popular Puerto Rican musician is still as distinctive as ever. "Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Manana," El Conejo Malo's 22-track, fifth solo album (translating to "Nobody Knows What Will Happen Tomorrow") is a more restrained ride than the album that preceded it, but in some ways, no less dynamic.

Those expecting a continuation of Benito's sunshine-y 2022 album "Un Verano Sin Ti" -- one of The Associated Press' top albums of the year -- should prepare for a different listening experience. (And isn't change the muse of great art?)

On this album, reggaeton offerings are limited (dembow fans won't be disappointed, rather, they might just find themselves hitting play on "PERRO NEGRO" and "UN PREVIEW" more than some of the other album cuts.) Where the musician previously mastered weaving a myriad of sounds -- perreo next to rock, bomba and merengue into EDM and hip-hop -- "Nadie Sabe" strips Bad Bunny's magnetism to its foundation and builds from there.

It's why much of this album recalls Bad Bunny's early days: the Latin trap of his debut album, 2018's "X 100PRE" -- like in "MONACO" and "GRACIAS POR NADA."

Conceptually, a lot of this album deals with the trials and tribulations of newfound fame -- the humanity it strips away in place of power and wealth. Returning to an earlier format is an experiment in reclamation, the actions of an artist who plays by their own rules but simultaneously finds attraction in returning to a time period of control. As he announces in the choir-assisted, six-minute-plus opener ("Este disco no es pa' ser tocado ni un billon de vista / Es pa' que mis fans reales esten contento"' ("This album is not meant to be played and get a billion views / It's so my real fans are happy").

Simplifying his approach doesn't mean sacrificing his innovations. Those aren't hard to find: "VOU 787" utilizes the synth that opens Madonna 's "Vogue" (Madge gets a name check in a later verse). "BATICANO" teeters on BDSM synth-wave -- that is, if the genre used lyrics about the Teletubby character Tinky Winky in a NSFW fashion. "HIBIKI" similarly explores a kind of techno-house; "Where She Goes" is Jersey club.