Every pop musician worth their salt these days has a TikTok challenge for a song. (And some others make one anyway.) For Bad Bunny, that’s the Abuela Challenge, which became popular when quarantine began in March: Fans play his Missy Elliott–sampling banger “Safaera” for their Spanish-speaking grandmothers and watch for their reactions to his raunchy bars. Specifically, it’s the line “Si tu novio no te mama el culo / Pa’ eso que no mame,” which roughly translates to “If your boyfriend doesn’t eat your ass / Why bother?”
Points made aside, Bad Bunny told Rolling Stone for its new cover story that his own mom was equally scandalized by some of his lines. “Where did you hear that?!” he said in Spanish, imitating his mom’s voice. “I was like, ‘Sorry, Mamí.’ She knows my heart’s in the right place.” Considering he released another album on Mother’s Day that’s no cleaner, we’d hope so. Regards to all the grandmothers stuck in quarantine with their grandchildren and more Bad Bunny music.
Bad Bunny himself isn’t quarantined with his family — he’s in an Airbnb in Puerto Rico with his girlfriend, Gabriela Berlingeri, who recently featured on his social-distancing anthem “En Casita.” (She also played photographer for his Rolling Stone cover story.) Elsewhere in the interview, he hinted that Berlingeri, whom he’s been dating since 2017 but only went public with recently, could feature on more of his music. “Nobody knows this, but when I did [‘Te Gusté’], the song with J. Lo, Gabriela recorded references for J. Lo’s vocals,” he said. Why not put that on the next quarantine album?