Unhealthy Bunny is the most-streamed artist on the planet, a standing additional underscored by the truth that his new album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, is for certain to debut at Quantity One on the Billboard 200 album chart. He’s a trend icon, a WWE mainstay, a gods-gift to each tabloid editors and web rubberneckers. His final album, 2022’s Un Verano Sin Ti, was amongst his most eclectic thus far, incorporating indie luminaries from the world of Latin pop to each increase the boundaries of reggaeton and (presumably) recommend his impatience with the style’s constrictions. Mega-artist restlessness is a typical affliction amongst world-straddling musical titans, and Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana is the sound of an artist processing it — and combating it, and transcending it, and blowing it off — in his personal distinctive phrases. As at all times, Benito goes his personal means.
Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana may be the primary of Unhealthy Bunny’s albums since 2020’s landmark YHLQMDLG the place it feels just like the eternally formidable Puerto Rican artist is pointedly contending along with his fame whereas additionally enjoying along with his self-mythology. But, the place that album was omnidirectionally ecstatic, this one is extra darkly reflective. Contemplate, as an illustration, the shade-y bars he gives on the opener, “NADIE SABE,” wherein he tells us how drained he’s of gossip and assumptions individuals have now that he’s a mega-celeb: “La gente tiene que dejar de ser tan estúpida y pensar/Que conocen la vida de los famoso/Wow, qué mucho podcast, qué mucho babosos” (“Folks must cease being silly and considering/They know the lives of well-known individuals/Wow, too many podcasts, too many dummies”). He is aware of he’s on the pinnacle of his profession — “Ya no estoy en mi peak, ahora estoy en mi prime” (“I’m not at my peak, now I’m in my prime”), he raps on “NADIE SABE.”
However he persistently invokes the paranoia that comes with such success. All through the LP, he appears to ask: Who’s with him and who’s towards him? Who really is aware of him and who pretends to? Who’s an actual fan versus a pretend fan? (“Tú no ere’ mi fan actual, por eso te tiré el celular,” he raps on “NADIE SABE,” referencing the notorious phone-throwing incident that overtook headlines this 12 months.) This comes at a value, making the album a bit thematically repetitive and missing a number of the political depth of previous tasks. However it’s an unflinching look into the movie star psyche, and Unhealthy Bunny retains it ruthlessly sincere. On “THUNDER Y LIGHTNING,” he even lashes out at J Balvin, an artist he collaborated with to assist construct reggaeton’s world attain.
What retains the album partaking, and well-worth its 80-plus-minute run time, is the music itself, at all times his energy and his security zone. Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana combats all of the movie star no matter swirling round him (each actual and imagined) with music that marries a wealthy orchestral scope to beats that see him look again on the Latin-trap roots from early in his profession. All of the whereas, these songs additional his pure skill to bend genres and pop histories to his will. The sonic vibe is moody and tense at occasions. He piles up intelligent, attention-grabbing samples at each flip: Hints of Madonna’s “Vogue” seem on the entice monitor “VOU 787″; he flips a little bit of the Charles Aznavour traditional “Hier Encore” on “MONACO.” “LOS PITS” has echoes of Nineties hip-hop, and whereas there’s nearly zero reggaeton on the album, just a few homages make it in. A 1996 favourite by the reggaeton veteran Frankie Boy slides into “NO ME QUIERO CASAR,” which additionally includes a Tego Calderon snippet. The reggaeton legend additionally pops up on “FINA.”
The sounds loosen up the temper, exhibiting Unhealthy Bunny’s skill to faucet into the pop-culture zeitgeist throughout Latin America. There are references to Lionel Messi and Peruvian talk-show host Laura Bozzo and Puerto Rican heartthrob Jay Wheeler. (Younger Miko has a Dr. Simi bar on “FINA,” which is humorous, but additionally of the time.) Towards the top of the album, Unhealthy Bunny softens up for one of the crucial heartfelt strains on the LP: “Gracia, Dios, por poner en mi camino A Jan, a Noah y a Gabriela” (“Thanks, God, for placing on my path/Jan and Noah and Gabriela”). The lyrics reference his greatest pal and artistic collaborator Janothony Oliveras, his supervisor Noah Assad, and his former girlfriend Gabriela Berlingeri.
However whereas he’s grateful for these three, Unhealthy Bunny is largely battling issues solo on this album. Even the album artwork is a nod to the renaissance and sturdiness of the cowboy determine. (The picture additionally salutes the prominence of música Mexicana, which he has contributed to along with his collabs with Grupo Frontera and Natanael Cano, and it’s an indication of his skill to lock into what’s well-liked.) The duvet exhibits a determine in blue, hanging on to a bucking bronco. Even when he’s a lone rider in a tough world, the message is evident: He’s nonetheless on prime.
