Few artists in the landscape of modern pop music have had as meteoric a rise to superstardom as Benito “Bad Bunny” Antonio. Consider this: from 2020 till 2022, he was the most-streamed artist on Spotify (and over the last two years bested only by Taylor Swift). These numbers seem even more astounding considering that the Puerto Rican rapper, songwriter and producer (and sometimes, WWE wrestler!) primarily has his output in Spanish. Over his career, particularly with 2022’s smash “Un Verano Sin Ti” and 2024’s “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana,” Benito has perfected his blend of Latin trap and reggaeton into something that feels like his own sonic signature, with his characteristic slurry voice. In his last outing, he grappled with his feeling of being lost in a nocturnal world of fame and success tinged with darkness. This time, Benito yearns to face his most unabashedly authentic and true self. In DTMF, he manages to align with the traditional sounds of Puerto Rico, while also sounding contemporary, while also twisting genres in such intricate and interesting ways. I’m sure this album will shape Latin trap and reggaeton to come. If that sounds like an exaggeration, let me assure you–it is not. 2025 has just started, and I would be genuinely surprised if any other mainstream album comes close to scratching as many itches as DTMF did for me.
Right from the first song “Nuevayol,” Benito makes it clear how he takes pride in his heritage, how he is dedicated to his craft and that he is going to rule the world with reggaeton and dembow. The swagger in the lyrics is aptly matched with the kinetic instrumentation. The energy continues to the next track “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR,” where Benito wants his lady to come with him to Puerto Rico and indulge in the island’s joys and pleasures.
This album has a greater focus on live instrumentation, which comes to the forefront in the stellar “Baile Inolvidable” featuring students from Escuela Libre de Música, Puerto Rico’s public music school. In what feels like an extended salsa jam session, Benito reminisces about a woman whom he cannot forget as she taught him how to dance and how to love. It sounds euphoric and laced with grief at the same time, which is a common thread through several tracks here. Another example is the song “CAFé CON RON,” a collaboration with Los Pleneros de la Cresta. It is a stripped-back, percussive and group-vocal-led plena ode to the working-class neighborhoods, where friends travel through twisted roads and mountains to join in celebration with coffee and rum and dance.
“EL CLúB” mixes nocturnal house beats with lyrics exploring a sense of loss and frustration where Benito, serenaded by narcotics and women, still misses that one ex whom he has not seen in a while, wondering if they are happy. “KETU TeCRÉ” switches that mood back to standard reggaeton territory, where he chastises himself for opening and sharing his vulnerabilities with someone who doesn’t deserve that. A trio of collabs, “PERFuMITO NUEVO,” “WELTiTA” and “VeLDÁ” finds Benito indulging in the standard Bad Bunny sound that fueled his last two chart-topping albums. The former two songs dive into depictions of sensuality and romance, while the latter describes the hedonism surrounding online hookups (if I had to be critical of this album, this is the weakest song on the record).
The production on this album is consistently masterful and nuanced. This album should slap, whether you listen to it on headphones, or blast it on the loudest sound system you can catch hold of. “BOKeTE” and “TURiSTA” are two of the softer cuts on the album that wrap you in a blanket of reverb-drenched synths and guitars, with some of Benito’s best vocals in this album, exploring love fading into oblivion, and exploring love at a surface level without diving deep due to fear of impending separation. Again, this album is sad and the songs use Puerto Rico as a backdrop where things, bitter or sweet, keep happening. Consider “PIToRRO DE COCO,” which incorporates jíbaro music samples with contemporary production, where Benito croons that he asked Santa for a lover–the one who doesn’t arrive–and he is relegated to crying and drinking coconut pitorro.
However, Benito saves the strongest stretch of songs for the last. The ideological centerpiece “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” is a beautiful rumination on the current state of Puerto Rico, slowly mutating into a glorified and gentrified tourist destination, which threatens much of its personality. The instrumentation heightens the song to its emotional climax and is a genuine tearjerker. The title song is already a big viral hit, and for good reason. Perhaps social media is indeed a good reservoir of our memories associated with people, places and moments–things we are never sure if we are experiencing for the last time. The closer “LA MuDANZA” is a defiant love letter to Puerto Rico, where Benito narrates his story. He uses his music as a weapon for solidarity.
Overall, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” is a massive endorsement of the folk music of Puerto Rico, a testament to the transformative and healing power of music, and proof that Bad Bunny is more than capable of stimulating shifts in cultural conversations beyond the realms of music. I do not doubt that DTMF will stand the test of time, and its appeal will certainly grow on close and casual listeners over repeated listens. In a relatively short career, Benito has been riding high in a creative streak that has shown no signs of dampening. As a fan, I hope he only keeps rising and rising for years to come!