Who We Are?
Early Life, Family and Education
Bad Bunny was born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio on March 10, 1994, in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, which is approximately 30 miles west of San Juan. Bad Bunny was raised in a lower middle-class household in Vega Baja’s Almirante Sur neighborhood. His father was a truck driver and his mother taught English. He has two younger brothers, Bernie and Bysael.
Young Bad Bunny was a fan of reggaeton (a blend of hip-hop and reggae) and liked performers such as Daddy Yankee and Vico C. He sometimes got to hear reggaetonero Tego Calderón in the car on the way to school. Bad Bunny also listened to salsa, merengue and rock. At one point, his preferred music was the Bee Gees.
Bad Bunny sang in the choir of his local Catholic church until he was 13. He then concentrated on making his own beats in his room and free-styling at school.
Bad Bunny enrolled in the audiovisual-communications program at the University of Puerto Rico’s Arecibo campus. To support his studies, he bagged groceries at an Econo supermarket.
Bad Bunny Merch - Career Beginnings
Bad Bunny first began sharing his music on SoundCloud when he was still a college student. In 2016, the popularity of his song “Diles” resulted in calls from producers, which Bad Bunny had to answer while at work in the grocery store.
After Bad Bunny found a manager, Noah Assad, the pair developed a plan to get attention by releasing singles and videos on YouTube instead of trying to sign with major record labels.
He started to write and create his own interpretations at the age of 14, and in 2013, he began to publish his songs through SoundCloud, including “Get” in 2013, “Tentación” in 2014, and “Just let me know” in 2015, among others. In 2016, his song “Diles” caught the attention of DJ Luian from SoundCloud, who signed him to his record label, Hear This Music. His single “Soy Peor” reached number 19 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. Bad Bunny’s May 2017 collaboration with Karol G, “Ahora Me Llama,” reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. It was listed on “Alt. Latino’s Favorites: The Songs of 2017” as one of the best Latin songs of 2017.
In the summer of 2017, Bad Bunny signed a booking deal with Cardenas Marketing Network (CMN) for several Latin American countries. Starting in November 2017, Bad Bunny hosted Beats 1’s first Spanish-language show, Trap Kingz. The remix of “Te Boté” with Ozuna and Nicky Jam reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart.