No doubt you’ve heard a thing or two about Bad Bunny recently. He’s a rapper, singer, and producer, also known as the “King of Latin Trap”—and reggaeton, of course—who’s soon to become the first solo Latino to headline the Super Bowl. But he’s also Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, a 31-year-old from Puerto Rico and an outspokenly political artist, using his platform and music to address humanitarian crises, gender-based violence, and political corruption. Our guest today is Petra Rivera-Rideau, an expert in music and racial politics who completed her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley and also holds the distinct honor of having taught the first-ever (as far as we know) course on Bad Bunny. She talks about her latest book, P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance, Bad Bunny’s artistic and political legacy, and the rise of popstar-studies in academia.
Further reading:
- Book: P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican ResistancebyPetra Rivera-Rideau
- The Bad Bunny Syllabus by Petra Rivera-Rideau and Vanessa Diaz
- Article: “How Bad Bunny Saved the Grammys” by Brady Brickner-Wood, The New Yorker
- Video: “El Apagón” by Bad Bunny
- Video: “TURiSTA” by Bad Bunny
- Video: “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” by Bad Bunny
This episode was written and hosted by Leah Worthington and Nat Alcantara and produced by Coby McDonald.
Special thanks to Petra Rivera-Rideau, Pat Joseph, and Laura Smith. Art by Michiko Toki and original music by Mogli Maureal. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.