X 100PRE

This is the debut album by reggaeton artist Bad Bunny. The title X 100PRE stands for Por Siempre which translates to forever. I wanted to do this review because I like reggaeton music however I don't really understand Spanish. So in order to combat this language barrier I decided to have my friend Jackie Enriquez in order to try to bridge the gap.

The first track NI BIEN NI MAL starts the album off strong. It seems like a very happy and upbeat song. In actuality it's very dichotomous. The title means not bad but not good. Bad Bunny is talking about a break up that he endured and is saying that he isn't doing bad but he's not doing good either. The song at first has a very celebration type feel. However, lines like "Pa' no pensar en ti tengo que fumar" shows that he's still hurting about this break up and has to smoke to forget about her. The ending of the song really wraps up the feel that this is about a break up with a sad violin section at the end.

200MPH is another highlight. With the beat produced by Diplo, it is very exciting and upbeat. It is an exact opposite from the previous track. It has a summer time vibe and a feeling that it is all about the fast life.

¿Quién Tú Eres? means "who are you?" and starts off very interesting with jungle like noises. This track has a very aggressive feel coupled with some masculine bravado. This is highlighted by the outro of this track that also serves as a transition to the next track. Lines like "¿Cabrón, tú me pagas los biles? (No). Tú hablando de mí y yo haciendo mile'. Otro palo pa' encima 'e los files', ey". Which is pretty much saying that this person is nothing to Bad Bunny and his opinion of him doesn't matter. He even asks if he pays his bills. He follows this same energy up by stating, " Habla claro, ¿quién tú ere'? Ey. Huele bicho, ¿quién tú ere'? Ey". He's saying here that this individual should speak clearly and that he smells like penis while questioning who he is.

Caro is one of my personal favourites off this whole album. Caro means expensive in Spanish. He's pretty much stating that he is expensive and even his flow is expensive. He is also not willing to cut himself short by stating that he knows his worth. He also compares himself to Kevin Durant by pretty much saying that whatever he picks up it goes in. This track has a very interesting Ricky Martin interlude in it. Ricky Martin, along with Bad Bunny, comes out and sings, "¿Por qué no puedo ser así? ¿En qué te hago daño a ti? ¿En qué te hago daño a ti? Yo solamente soy feliz ¿Por qué no puedo ser así? ¿En qué te hago daño a ti? ¿En qué te hago daño a ti? Y solamente soy feliz. Solamente soy feliz. Solamente soy feliz (Solamente). Solamente soy feliz (Solamente)". This translate to saying, "Why can not I be like that? How do I hurt you? I'm just happy. Why can not I be like that? How do I hurt you? And I'm just happy. I'm just happy. I'm just happy (Only)". This shows solidarity especially for the LGBT community. This is because Ricky Martin was one of the first, if not the first, big Latin American stars to come out as openly gay.

Tenemos Que Hablar is the next song and it not only has a love song vibe but also one as well. This translates to "We have to talk". This track is pretty much Bad Bunny being confused as to why he and his girl need to talk. He is confused. He cries out, "I hear your message and it says that we need to talk. What did I do that we need to talk?". There is a also a bit of drama going on between him and this girl. He also states, "Apuesto que fue tu amiga, ey. Siempre le he caído mal. O tu primo gay, Omar. Yo siempre le he gusta'o. Tú lo sabe', eso es normal". Which roughly translates to I bet it was your friend or your gay cousin Omar. Pretty much stating that someone in her close circle said something about him that upset her.

Otra noche en Miami is another hit on this album. It has a very 80's feel and is a major highlight of this album. It talks about Bad Bunny going out in Miami and having fun times with girls, drugs, and cars. This is highlighted by the line, "Y con estas putas no me gusta compartir la frisa". This translates to I don't like sharing my blanket with these h**s". Even with this very happy song, heartbreak also rears its head in this track as well. He has a few memorable lines like, "Soy todo un Fazza en la ciudad del sol". This means that he is the prince of the city of the sun. He uses the word Fazza which is the nickname of the Prince of Dubai (Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum).

Ser Bichote is another one of my personal favourites on this album. He is pretty much saying that he always wanted to be the man. He outlines how his everyone wanted him to be something that he never wanted to be in the line "Mami quería que yo fuera un ingeniero. Papi quería un pelotero. Mi maestra de segundo me dijo que fuera bombero

Nah, yo ya voy a hacer lo que yo quiero". He says how his mom wanted him to be an engineer, his dad wanted him to be a baseball player, and his school teacher wanted him to be a firefighter. Despite of all of this, Bad Bunny just wanted to be who he wanted to be. The whole song resonates the same message throughout coupled by an up tempo reggaeton beat.

"Si Estuviésemos Juntos" means if we were still together. This is another love song on this album. He again states more drug use in this song. Memorable lines from this song is "Deuces de Ñengo y De La, no la de Chris Brown" and "Del carro pa' los tiempo' en la superior. Siempre dejaba ropa interior. Cada polvo mejor que el anterior. Pero no como el primero. Tú sabe' que ese no se va a borrar. Ahora me paso en el putero, yeh".

"Solo de Mi" is yet again another love song by Bad Bunny. This features a beat change, which seems to be very popular as of late in the music industry, to a more up tempo vibe. Bad Bunny shows another side of him which is more spiteful. "Me cago en la madre que te parió (Prr). Contigo yo no vuelvo ni pa' Dio'". At the end of the song he has a connector to the next song with an outro.“Mira, puñeta, no me quiten el perreo”.

"Cuando Perriabas" is a perfect track to transition to after the previous song's ending. The track's title means, " when you used to grind". This is a party song and is definitely a sexual one as well. He asks the girl to grind on him like she used to, " Más lento, muévete".

La Romana definitely is the one track that differentiates from the rest. It starts off with a classic reggaeton beat and then, just like Solo de Mi, has a beat change to a more of a Dominican flair. Fellow musician El Alfa assists in this section with a very repetitive part that is also infectious. The line "To' el mundo me quiere, yo tengo lo' chavo'. Y las mujeres me lo lamen como la paleta 'el Chavo. (Chavo del Ocho)". Bad Bunny is saying that the world loves him and even the girls "like it like the lollipop of Chavo".

After the happy up tempo vibe of La Romana, Bad Bunny then goes to a somber slower tempo song. Como Antes means Like Before. In this track Bad Bunny is reminiscing about his childhood and how good it was. This is brought out in the lines, "Eh, ey, ya lo traté, ya lo traté, eh. Borré el Netflix, fui a Blockbuster y una movie alquilé. Te hablé por el Messenger y por MySpace. Los Simpsons a las cuatro, y pa'l cuatro, a las seis, ey. Saqué la' fotos del cajón Y mis tennis no se ven, te estoy pisando el mahón. Pasé la Gold, en el Game Boy, ey-ey". He remembers older things like MySpace, Messenger, Blockbuster, watching The Simpsons at 4PM, and Pokemon Gold Version. All of which all millenials can relate to. He also touches base with an old girlfriend of his but this time in a more positive way.

RLNDT is arguably the saddest song on this whole album. He compares himself to a kid named Rolando "Rolandito" Salas Jusino who went missing in 1999. Bad Bunny says that he feels lonely just like him. "Quisiera encontrarme y volver a ser yo. Pero parece que de mí no queda nada" shows that he feels like he doesn't know himself anymore.

Estamos Bien is another great song off of the album. The title means "We are OK". The verse "El dinero me llueve (Hey). Ea, diablo, qué aguacero. En la cuenta un par de cero'. Y empezamos desde cero, hey (Hey-hey). Y eso que soy un grosero, hey (Hey). Que se joda, soy sincero. Y si mañana me muero (Brr-brr). Ya estoy acostumbra'o a estar siempre en el cielo, hey (Hey). En privado siempre vuelo. En el cuello tengo hielo Gasto, gasto y no me pelo. Mucha' puta' y modelo'" revists the party lifestyle talking about private flights, girls, money, and how he's already living in heaven. He mentions the tragedy that happened in Puerto Rico with Hurricane Maria with the line, "Aunque pa' casa no ha llega'o la luz. Gracias a Dios porque tengo salud, eh, eh (Amén). La vida no tiene repetición

Después que mami me eche la bendición, yeh".

The final song of this album is the radio hit MIA featuring Drake. To be honest this is the worst song of the whole album. Despite Drake's laziness on this track there are some highlights. One example is, "Quiero tirarnos fotos y que se hagan viral (Ja). Tus ojos me concentran como Adderall (¡Wouh!). Contigo me sube el overall (Yeh). A nosotros ni la muerte nos va a separar (Wah). Bebé, yo soy tuyo na' más (Na' más). Diles que conmigo te vas (¡Wouh!). Que dejen de tirarte (Rrr). Que a ti nadie va a tocarte". Other than this, there isn't much to say about this track.

The top 5 tracks from this album off the top of my head are Caro, Otra noche en Miami, Ser Bichote, Solo de mi, and Estamos Bien. I also asked my friend Jackie to do the same. Surprisingly her top 5 off the top of her head are almost the same and in the same order. They are Ni bien ni mal, Caro, Otra noche en Miami, Solo de mi, and Estamos bien. This goes to show that despite the language barrier, music somehow unites people rather than divides us. I would rate this album an 8 out of 10.

#X100PRE