Is anyone having a better year than Bad Bunny? On top of a head-turning appearance at the Met Gala and the action-packed trailer for his summer movie with Brad Pitt, Bullet Train, it was announced at CinemaCon in March that the artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio would star in Sony’s El Muerto in January 2024, making him the first Latinx superhero to lead a live-action Marvel film. Two months later, his critically acclaimed third album, Un Verano Sin Ti, would debut at the top of the Billboard charts—his second Billboard 200 number one—and set all kinds of chart records. On its third week, the album is still giving Harry Styles a run for his neon zebra jumpsuit on the Global Spotify Chart. Talk about deja tu huella.
The latest achievement for the rapper is being the cover star for the June issue of GQ. As reported in the issue, along with a summer-themed photoshoot–which pairs perfectly with the theme of his latest album, Un Verano Sin Ti–the international superstar also talked to the magazine about his personal life, his unstoppable career, and everything in between.
Bad Bunny has been making bold style choices since he was twelve years old. Back then it was tilted baseball caps (reggaeton style) and shirts borrowed from his dad. Now the Grammy award winning musician wears Gucci knee pads and custom diamond jackets, and sometimes affixes a third eye to his forehead for effect.
Much like…well, pretty much every rapper in the world, Bad Bunny’s music includes a lot of songs about women. One song in particular, “Tití Me Preguntó,” raised a lot of eyebrows with diehard fans who follow the reggaetonero’s relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Gabriela Berlingeri. Since the song features Benito boasting about having one girlfriend today, and another one tomorrow, social media ran with a seemingly-baseless rumor that the Puerto Rican natives are in an “open” relationship. While the artist didn’t address that narrative, specifically, in his interview, he did talk the fact that the public really knows a lot less than they think about his personal life.
As for venturing into the Marvel Universe, the newest superhero, El Muerto, is a wrestler whose powers and mask are passed down from generation to generation of a single family, with each inheritor of the role having to prove themselves to their oppressor, el Dorado, in order to stay alive and keep their powers. When the announcement was made, some pundits wondered why a relatively obscure character was getting the live-action treatment instead of more popular Latinx characters in the Marvel Universe, like Spider-Man 2099. But Bad Bunny understands what a perfect fit the superpowered wrestler is for him. “I grew up watching wrestling,” he told GQ in his cover story. “This role is perfect, and I know El Muerto is going to be epic. I’m a Marvel fan and the fact that I’m now part of this family still feels like a dream.”
The June issue of GQ is available at news stands and online now.
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