Loading summary
Transcript81 lines
- [00:01]
NPR Sponsor
This message comes from Apple Card. With Apple Card, you can get up to 3% daily cash back every day wherever you shop. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch terms and more@applecard.com A quick note before the show. This podcast contains explicit language.
- [00:20]
Ana Maria Sayer
This is really exciting. Okay, we need to calm ourselves because this is gonna be good.
- [00:29]
Felix Contreras
I'm Felix Contreras. Let the chisme begin.
- [00:33]
Ana Maria Sayer
Oh, my God, I love that. I'm Ana Maria Sayer. We're here with the amazing, venerable, wonderful.
- [00:41]
Felix Contreras
Fabulous Isabela Gomez Armiento.
- [00:44]
Ana Maria Sayer
Oh, wow. I'm never gonna say your name again. You have to do it every single time. Two days ago, two days, we released the most legendary, amazing, Internet breaking tiny desk to ever exist, in my opinion. I'm snapping Bad Bunny, tiny desk. If you haven't watched it already, I would highly recommend going and watching it now. We're talking about this happening during arguably what is maybe the biggest peak of Bad Bunny's career. I need to set the scene a little bit. So he comes in on a cold Washington, D.C. day. We packed the room. There had to be 250 people in there, maybe like full maxed out.
- [01:43]
Felix Contreras
There was a lot of buzz and a lot of anticipation in the building. People waiting in the hallway before he got there. Everyone kind of nervously chattering amongst themselves, like we knew something big was about to go down.
- [01:53]
Ana Maria Sayer
I had been talking to his team for years. We had all been wanting this to happen. Waiting, waiting. Album would drop. Album would drop. And it wasn't the time. And now I understand, because this was the perfect time. His whole crew came in, all different kinds of instrumentalists, all from the island. There were 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 of them, decked out in casual wear, sports clothes, very representative of the space every. And he came in just ready to rock. I mean, the energy in that room that day, Issa, you were there. I was one of the highest energy I have ever experienced.
- [02:28]
Felix Contreras
I mean, we were all buzzing, like, obviously first when his album De Witirmas photos came out in January, but then when he came a month later to play it for us at the tiny Des.
- [02:50]
Ana Maria Sayer
Yeah, I got to speak with him after the Tiny desk, and he said something to me that I think is really kind of an explanation in a nutshell of why his record Debitira Almas Photos that came out back in January is blowing up. I mean, he says it on the record. This fear of losing home, of being disconnected away from home.
- [03:38]
Isabela Gomez Armiento
Mio de Pelder Algo yo guro que siempre, siempro no.
- [03:43]
Ana Maria Sayer
Afraid of losing something. I think always, one always lives in fear of losing something. When you're afraid of losing something, what you do is take care of it even more, protect it, defend it. I would tell you about so many things that maybe I'm afraid of losing, but the action of starting to take care of and defend what one has is worth more than saying. Saying you are afraid. So before I said, I'm afraid, I'm ready to overcome that fear. But from another perspective, the album comes from a point of missing Puerto Rico, from a point of being far from Puerto Rico, and from starting to appreciate many things that may have always been there and they weren't appreciated. So that's more or less where all of this comes from.
- [04:57]
Felix Contreras
I thought this was such a powerful answer when he gave it to you, because I think it really shows that the angle of this music and this celebration for him is not necessarily about worrying or looking back in remorse, but looking back and wanting to celebrate. Looking back and wanting to rally people in defense of the island and also saying, it's not too late, you know, we can still do something, and the music is what's going to rally us up to stake what's ours, essentially.
- [05:26]
Ana Maria Sayer
I love that interpretation, not only of his answer, but really of what this album is. I think there's a point of connection, a point of access for everyone, because it's not down tempo, it's not downtrodden, it's not defeated. And anyone can really take something from that. And that has never been more clear to me than the celebratory element of it. Okay, so let's start with a little bit of the tiny dust version of Pitorro de Coco. I wasn't sure how hard he was gonna go for it. I knew that, you know, this album is very vocally heavy singing. Heavy, I think maybe more than almost any record he's had, despite the fact that it makes perfect sense for the space. I was like, oh, this is gonna be a test, because no in ears, no monitors, no backing track, no auto tune. They were clear on that before they came in. And I was like, can he rise to the occasion?
- [08:13]
Felix Contreras
I think this was such a crazy way to start. The tiny desk, because so much has been said and written about Bad Bunny's voice. How deep it goes, how high it goes, how he manipulates it, and yet we've never heard it be so full before. And we've never heard it be so bare before. He's completely projecting in this room, acoustically in a way that just transcends anything we've come to understand about his voice up until this very moment.
- [09:27]
Ana Maria Sayer
That was Pitoro de Coco by Bad Bunny from his tiny desk. Fabiola Mendez had graced our beautiful desk with her incredible cuatro. Traditional Puerto Rican cuatro playing. About a year prior, I remember maybe it was six months. It was the last altini. So six months and some. And really, to see her again in this space with one of the biggest artists in the world, probably arguably the biggest name off of the island, to have her moment and do and shine in the way that she did. And this was. I mean, he kept doing this, right? Like, he kept giving the musicians their place to shine and show their traditional instrumentation, which really rounded it out nicely.
- [10:09]
Felix Contreras
Yeah, he's not just talking the talk. When he says he wants to appreciate the things that haven't been appreciated, he's really walking the walk. He gave all of these musicians the time and the recognition for their instrument to really take center stage, which is already so amazing, but even more so when we're not used to seeing Bad Bunny perform with a band like this, with these kinds of instruments, with these kinds of sounds. So it was like magic on both levels, you know?
- [10:32]
Ana Maria Sayer
Right. And to have it so up close, too, where you can literally see these instruments, see the musicians playing them. Like, you can't. You can't spotlight a traditional artist in a stadium.
- [10:42]
Felix Contreras
Should we go to Pere?
- [10:45]
Ana Maria Sayer
You know, I always want to. Let's go, Issa. I have never heard a reggaeton track, honestly, in general, sound like this. Even at the tiny desk, we've had a lot of reggaetonos come through and do their different arrangements. I love hearing fresh new takes on Dembo every single time, but this was really like, I've never heard it before. This is a little bit of Voye Yavarte paper. It sends me every single time.
- [12:00]
Felix Contreras
I forgot that he did that until I was rewatching this tiny desk.
- [12:04]
Ana Maria Sayer
No, you don't understand, Issa. In the warm up, he kept doing it, and they had that sound on the sampler, and it was like he kept accidentally hitting it and the whole room would go, what? I mean, the second that he moves from that intro to. To the actual Dembo, I'm like, I remember hearing that for the first time and being like, oh, this is going to be unlike anything we've ever heard.
- [12:58]
Isabela Gomez Armiento
Hey, come on.
- [13:28]
Felix Contreras
Hey. There are songs on the album that have the Plena Bomba salsa arrangements, and I really thought that's what he was going to bring to the tiny desk. It was really cool to watch him take a straightforward reggaeton Dembo song on the album and completely reinvent it into Aplena arrangement. So many people have talked about how this album feels very intergenerational because it's genres that parents and grandparents know and love. And it's kind of opening them up to the world of Bad Bunny, who maybe before they were like grocero. He's so vulgar, you know, they maybe didn't quite appreciate him in his reggaeton lane. And this, like the Plena backing to lyrics about Tinder and Perreo is just like intergenerational hangeo is here to stay.
- [14:36]
Ana Maria Sayer
You're so right. Every single dia I talked to in Puerto Rico was like, no, but I love Benito now. Like, they're all like, they're converted. 100% super converted. And this tiny desk is gonna do so much more to convert them. Because still, while he incorporated these instruments in the album, a Plena arrangement of a Dembo song, I've never. I've never heard that. And it's gonna bring, I think, even more so all kinds of people to the music.
- [15:02]
Felix Contreras
And it really shows how he's rising to the challenge because he didn't have to do that. He had plenty of other songs he could have played that would have been amazing from this album already within those musical structures.
- [15:13]
Ana Maria Sayer
Mm. He's like Cafe con Ron. That would be too easy, please.
- [15:16]
Felix Contreras
Exactly. That was Bad Bunny and his tiny desk version of Voyage Paper. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
- [15:25]
NPR Sponsor
Support for NPR and the following message come from Betterment, the automated investing and savings app. CEO Sarah Levy shares how Betterment utilizes tech tools powered by human advice.
- [15:36]
Felix Contreras
Betterment is here to help customers build wealth their way. And we provide powerful technology and complete human support where technology can deliver ease of use and afford and the people behind that technology can provide advice and guidance.
- [15:54]
NPR Sponsor
Learn more@betterment.com Investing involves risk performance, not guaranteed support for NPR and the following message come from LinkedIn ads. One of the hardest parts about B2B marketing is reaching the right audience. When you want to reach the right professionals, use LinkedIn ads. LinkedIn has grown to a network of over 1 billion professionals. Target buyers by job title, industry, company role, seniority skills, company revenue, all the professionals you need to reach in one place. Get a $100 credit on your next campaign. Just go to LinkedIn.com allsongs Terms and conditions apply only on LinkedIn ads.
- [16:33]
This message comes from Amica Insurance. As Amica says, empathy is our best policy. Whether you're seeking auto, home or life coverage, they'll work with you to choose the policy that best serves you and your family. Discover how Ameca can help protect what matters most to you today. Go to ameca.com and get a quote today.
- [16:55]
Support for this podcast and the following message come From Lagunitas Brewing Co. Since 1993, Lagunitas has been challenging the status quo, brewing innovative beer and crafting stories along the way, featuring a wide range of craft brews, cult classics and non alcoholic options. There's a seat at the bar for everyone. Bring the dog to Lagunitas Brewing Co. Because every great song deserves a great beer. It's good to have friends. Learn more@laganitas.com Moving on.
- [17:25]
Ana Maria Sayer
Another incredible, unique arrangement. Let's talk about Glo Friends. I'm gonna play a little bit of CLO Friends by Bad Bunny.
- [18:46]
Felix Contreras
I know I already said this, but his voice.
- [18:50]
NPR Sponsor
Yeah.
- [18:50]
Felix Contreras
And he's in his rapping bag. I love that. We got some of that too. We got some of like bar for bar. Bad Bunny showing us his OG moves.
- [18:58]
Ana Maria Sayer
The other quattro player, his name is Luis Sanso. He studied the cuatro. He teaches the cuatro. He's one of just a couple artists from the island who are preserving this very traditional style of playing. And actually the instrument, it's so sharp.
- [19:14]
Felix Contreras
And it's so specific to the island. And again, we've seen artists who are more within the folk realm. Artists like Natalia La Forcade, artists like Silvan Estrada who have played cuatros from other parts of the Caribbean and who are very intentional in centering those instruments. But it is just so refreshing to see that music front and center within, like a Latin pop sphere. Because this is Latin pop now.
- [19:54]
Isabela Gomez Armiento
Kafita Sarasomotra.
- [20:25]
Ana Maria Sayer
That was CLO Friends by Bad Bunny. Very, very, very special moment in the show coming up. This was, I think, hands down for Mi Issa. This was like the moment for me. Benito gets into Loke Le Pasoa, Hawaii, which we have to spend some time talking about that. But first I actually want to talk about what he says. After he plays the song, he gets into this whole really funny story. Like, I don't even know what the word is.
- [20:53]
Felix Contreras
It was an SNL monologue, essentially.
- [20:57]
Ana Maria Sayer
That's exactly how I describe it.
- [21:03]
Isabela Gomez Armiento
Wow. Super nice. In Washington, dc. No, no, no.
- [21:12]
Ana Maria Sayer
He tells this hilarious story where he says he's playing in front of the White House. They wouldn't give him Another place to play. And this guy comes out and he asked them. He's like, oh, I really love your.
- [21:22]
Felix Contreras
Music in this fictional scenario. And he says, we can't vote for the person sitting in there, but they decide what happens to our island. Or something to that effect is kind of what he follows it up to say. And then when he gets to the point where he's making a very political point about being a Puerto Rican musician, about the music he's playing right now, and about being in Washington, D.C. i was like, this whole thing is scripted. This whole thing is planned. So at the end of this big story, Benito comes to the conclusion that, like, it's been over 100 years of Puerto Rico being a colony and fighting to preserve their culture and keep it alive. And yet, a lot of times, people in the US Mainland Americans don't even know where Puerto Rico is on a map. And it's a very powerful political statement to end on what started, like, a fun, goofy story.
- [22:22]
Ana Maria Sayer
The thing is, I mean, I've spent time talking with musicians who have played with him on tour. I spent a lot of time with the guys who came through with him. And everyone says the same thing where they're like, no, no, no. He really just constantly changes things up. He's constantly coming up with things on the fly. Like, he gets bored if it's too formula. So we're gonna play a little bit of Lo que le Paso a Hawaii, which obviously is one of his most beautiful, important, politically charged songs off the album. And from this show, here's Lo que.
- [22:51]
Isabela Gomez Armiento
Le Paso a Hawaiian.
- [23:43]
Ana Maria Sayer
Issa. I've heard this song approximately 10,000 million times on the recording. I was there the day he played it. I've watched the tiny dust since, and it still gives me goosebumps.
- [23:54]
Felix Contreras
I think this song, Lo Kelepasoa, Hawaii, is one of the clearest illustrations of what you were saying at the top of this conversation. Ana, about this universal feeling of feeling your home slipping away. This is one of the songs that I've seen all over TikTok with all variations of Latin American flags, of compilation videos of all kinds of different countries. It is a migrant anthem at the end of the day, but it's also a staying anthem. It's an anthem about not leaving and not giving it up.
- [24:27]
Ana Maria Sayer
100. And the way he comes in on that chorus, he says something about the depth of that voice. Like, it's. It's gravelly, it's raw, it's thick, it's deep. It feels almost comforting. Like, it feels very resolute. It feels very grounded in a way, even more so than I hear on the recording. And there's something about it that makes me feel like, okay, this is what the deal is, but this is how we fight this. It.
- [25:52]
Felix Contreras
The studio version of Lok Lepaso Hawaii plays with these dropouts, with these moments of silence right before he goes into his grand statement, you know, But I think something about it being in this room that, you know, is full of people and the ability for everyone to just be quiet for those few seconds before he delivers this political thesis. There's just something so powerful about experiencing that in a communal space. Because the office was packed, there was so many people there, and you could have heard a pin drop in those few seconds.
- [27:30]
Ana Maria Sayer
That was Lo que le paso a Hawaii by Bad Bunny. But speaking Issa, of the way that he really took command of the space, right, he did more of this kind of, like, interstitial play thing. He had the moment. He's like, should I be speaking Spanish? I don't know. Should I be speaking English? Which was hilarious and perfect.
- [27:47]
Felix Contreras
He said, I don't care. As he told the New York Times.
- [27:51]
Ana Maria Sayer
Again and again and again and again. He does this in spite insane thing where he calls out, he uses the audience to introduce the set. It's once again this masterful, masterful performance thing that he does, right? Where he's like, oh, but like, what's. What's my dad's name? And he says, even before he says that, he goes, you could take anyone's name and put them at the beginning of this song. And that, to me was like, whoa, yeah, like, quien isn't part of La Mudanza? Like, who doesn't have that in their lineage, at least amongst Latinos? And so when he did that, and then he calls out, what's my dad's name? Someone from the audience starts to go. And he's like, oh, yeah, Benito. Hijo de Benito.
- [28:33]
Felix Contreras
Yeah. He's doing, like, a really interesting non traditional call and response. Because if you know, you know what this question is leading to.
- [28:43]
Ana Maria Sayer
Absolutely.
- [28:44]
Felix Contreras
And then it leads to poetry. It leads to what's essentially a poem.
- [28:47]
Ana Maria Sayer
I know it's not rapping. No, it's not singing. It's poetry.
- [28:51]
Felix Contreras
It's like spoken word.
- [28:52]
Ana Maria Sayer
I'm gonna go ahead and play a little bit.
- [28:54]
Isabela Gomez Armiento
This is La Mudanza by Bad Bunny, Laurita.
- [29:57]
Ana Maria Sayer
I had this moment, Issa, where I was watching this and I. He says that, Aki, his line about.
- [30:03]
Felix Contreras
They killed people for bringing out the flag.
- [30:05]
Ana Maria Sayer
For bringing out the flag. And I look at this gorgeous, gorgeous Puerto Rican flag, which, by the way, we had our amazing colleague Adrian Florido, actually brought from Puerto Rico, was handmade. I see it there. Just absolutely brilliant on that desk. And, you know, there's a very specific varietal of blue that a Puerto Rican flag has to have. Because when they got their own flag, it was like, oh, let's just make it American blue. And it's like, no, no, no. We want this beautiful crystal, bright light, like the ocean. Azuli. And to see that on our desk with him singing those words, I mean, it just. It made me cry.
- [30:43]
Felix Contreras
I think there's two things about La Mulanza and this performance of it that are really special and that really bring this point home. First, the specificity of him telling his family history. But saying this could be anyone's story, like, just taking pride in where you come from and thanking your ancestors. That's a really powerful thing that anyone can identify with. And I think he sets it up perfectly here. But also, once again, he's blending the personal with the history. The fact that the Puerto Rican flag was banned, people were persecuted for wanting to show Puerto Rican pride for decades, and that's why it's so powerful now, and that's why it's such an important symbol. I mean, if you're in New York City, you see the Puerto Rican flag everywhere. And it's because that used to be a right that people didn't have. So for him to have it displayed in front of the desk, to be singing about it, to be joyful in the presence of the flag, I mean, I was crying, too.
- [31:41]
Ana Maria Sayer
And he proceeds to go and make this the most fun improvisational. Because all the best, Hinda. Like the ones that people really get excited about. Remember, they're all improv. You can see them. They're having fun. They're just doing whatever. They're just being good musicians, right? They're making good art.
- [31:56]
Felix Contreras
They're jamming. They're jamming out.
- [31:57]
Ana Maria Sayer
Exactly. Because that's the space. His congero.
- [32:35]
Felix Contreras
Yeah.
- [32:36]
Ana Maria Sayer
Julito Gaston. And, oh, my God, the solo he does. I'm gonna play you a little bit of this. Please do.
- [32:54]
Felix Contreras
It.
- [33:39]
Ana Maria Sayer
This will really be one of those shows that I think this is, like, when you look at tiny desk and you're like, what's the impact? There's a few that I'm like, oh, these will be in the museum. Like, these will be actually relics that we use to remember certain really important cultural, historical moments. And this has to be one of the top for me.
- [33:57]
Felix Contreras
I agree 100%. And I think, again, so much has been said and written on our air on this show in other outlets about Bad Bunny's politics and Bad Bunny using music as a vehicle of politics. And I think that's never been clearer than it was during this performance.
- [34:53]
Ana Maria Sayer
Well, I need to go watch it again, Acho pere. But thank you so much for coming to unpack this with me. This was so fun.
- [35:03]
Felix Contreras
Anytime I'm always I know my girl.
- [35:06]
Ana Maria Sayer
Who I can cough who's like obsessed with this as much as I am.
- [35:09]
Felix Contreras
So just hit me up.
- [35:10]
Ana Maria Sayer
Thank you. That was Isabela Gomers Sarmiento. She is a reporter on the Culture Desk and one of my favorite people on the planet Earth. Thanks for coming. You have been listening to Alt Latino from NPR Music. Our audio producer for this episode is Simon Rettner. The woman who keeps us on track is Grace Chung. Soraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR Music. And our jefe in chief is Keith Jenkins, VP of music and visuals. I'm Anamaria Sayer. Thank you so much for listening.
- [35:59]
NPR Sponsor
This message comes from NPR sponsor Viori A new perspective on performance apparel. Check out the latest Dream Knit collection by visiting viori.com NPR for 20% off your first purchase. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions.
- [36:17]
This message comes from Carvana. Sell your car right now to Carvana. Just enter your license plate or VIN and get a real offer that's good for seven days. Sell to Carvana today. This message comes from the Capital One Venture X Card. If you love to travel, Capital One has a rewards credit card that's perfect for you. With VentureX, earn unlimited double miles on everything you buy and turn all of your purchases into extraordinary travel. And you get premium benefits at a collection of luxury hotels when you book on Capital One Travel. Plus, you'll get access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide. Capital One what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com for details.