“DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” by Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny celebrates his Puerto Rican culture and community with “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” his seventh studio album, released on Jan. 5, 2025, with proud, bold and vulnerable tracks. Bad Bunny is a global sensation, having been awarded Spotify’s 2025 Global Top Artist award, artist of the year at 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards and Latin Artist of the 21st Century. At the Latin Grammys, Bad Bunny was awarded Album of the Year for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.” Yet, many see his success as a threat to American identity, despite Puerto Rico being American territory. Bad Bunny has been insistent in his efforts to protect minorities and immigrants from harm, adjusting his tour to avoid the U.S. mainland over concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” Bad Bunny continues to connect his music back to Puerto Rican culture, incorporating versatility in musical styles to bring his emotions and imagery of his homeland alive. In 17 songs, Bad Bunny includes salsa, reggaeton, Latin trap and ballad-genre music. “EoO” is an upbeat, danceable reggaeton song, where Bad Bunny sings about going out and partying and pays homage to past reggaeton singers who shaped the genre, sampling “Perreo Baby” by Héctor & Tito. He says in the final verse, “’Tás escuchando música de Puerto Rico, cabrón / Nosotro’ nos criamo’ escuchando y cantando esto / En los caserío’, en los barrio’ / Desde los 90 hasta el 2000 por siempre / Y ando con el mejor de to’ los tiempo, Tainy” (You’re listening to music from Puerto Rico, fool / We grew up listening to and singing this / In the housing projects, in the neighborhoods / From the 90s to the 2000s and forever / And I’m rolling with the best of all time, Tainy). This song, as well as many others like “NUEVAYoL” and “BOKeTE,” feature more intense drums and bass, creating an atmosphere that helps listeners feel the club through the beats. Bad Bunny does an incredible job of making music that connects to listeners even if they don’t understand the lyrics.
The song for which the album is named, “DtMF,” is the most vulnerable and poetic track. His voice hypnotizes listeners as he sings about the lost family and culture that he wishes to return to with a low tone and raspy voice, making this track even more emotional. Although Bad Bunny is detailing specific anecdotes of his family, this song connects with everyone who is physically separated from their cultures. In the chorus he sings, “Debí tirar más fotos de cuando te tuve / Debí darte más besos y abrazos las veces que pude / Ey, ojalá que los míos nunca se muden / Y si hoy me emborracho, pues, que me ayuden” (Should’ve taken more pictures when I had you / I should’ve given you more kisses and hugs whenever I could / Ayy, I hope my people never move away / And if I get drunk today, I hope they help me out).
As one of the biggest artists in the world, he resists diminishing himself for white American audiences, and this shows through his introspective and upbeat music. In “LA MuDANZA” and “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” he calls out colonialism, gentrification and political corruption while also celebrating his culture. Every single aspect of this album feels intentional, and the depth in Bad Bunny’s commitment to authenticity makes his music addicting.
Rating 4.5/5
“I’m the Problem” by Morgan Wallen
Country singer Morgan Wallen released his 37-track album “I’m the Problem” on May 26, 2025. With four studio albums, Wallen has broken a magnitude of country artist records and was most recently named Billboard’s top artist of 2025. After breaking through on Season 6 of “The Voice,” Wallen attained mainstream success as a musician. However, despite lasting 13 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, “I’m the Problem” is too long to maintain an engaged audience.
Releasing long albums seems to be a pattern with Wallen — his last three studio albums feature more than 30 tracks each. The first track, “I’m the Problem,” details Wallen’s conflict with a woman, singing, “I guess I’m the problem / And you’re Ms. ‘Never Do No Wrong’ […] And it got me thinkin’ / If I’m the problem, well, you might be the reason.” Wallen’s idea of failing relationships is the only connecting factor throughout this nearly two-hour project. The subsequent songs, “I Got Better” and “Superman,” highlight the same message about how Wallen is a complicated person and disputes the blame for his struggling relationships from solely him.
One of the only redeeming factors of “I’m the Problem” is its catchy instrumentals — the steady guitar throughout the album makes listeners want to tap their feet along to the beat, compelling them to listen. However, Wallen overuses the same instrumentals, tying into one of the project’s greatest flaws — it’s monotonous and forgettable.
From the repetitive lyrics about the same topics to the lack of a narrative arc, there is nothing of interest or noticeable depth to “I’m the Problem” that would warrant listening to the same song 37 times. The features, which offer some nuance to the album, still don’t fill the space. “What I Want,” featuring Tate McRae, feels like a theme song that plays during a low-budget movie montage of a complicated love story where all the issues could be easily fixed through communication, something listeners tune out. Although McRae is known for high energy dance-pop like her single “TIT FOR TAT,” “What I Want” is bland and lacks excitement, with the chorus repeating “Only stay a couple nights, then she gon’ be gone / I said, ‘Baby, you should know that’s what I want.’” Wallen fails to show listeners anything about him, and none of the songs connect to him as an artist. Instead, he features the generic topics people make fun of country music for — girls, alcohol, trucks and guns.
Rating: 1.5/5
“AM I THE DRAMA?” by Cardi B
Cardi B’s second studio album “AM I THE DRAMA?,” released on Sept. 19, 2025, is exactly what the artist advertised it to be — authentic, attention-grabbing and confident. For the seven years following her Grammy winning rap record “Invasion of Privacy,” Cardi B had been consistently releasing hit singles, with “Please Me” in 2019, “WAP” in 2020 and “Tomorrow 2” in 2022, while fans awaited a complete and cohesive project. Cardi B’s bold and fun energy along with her commitment to staying true to her identity are what make both “AM I THE DRAMA?” and her so intriguing.
The album opens with the voices of reporters saying, “Grammy Award-winning recording artist Cardi B, known for her chart-topping hits / Now stands accused of a crime spree that has left a trail of devastation and fear,” fittingly setting the album’s dramatic tone. “AM I THE DRAMA?” is so compelling because there is not a moment of insecurity in her songs, neither in the lyricism nor in the beats.
The first single on the album, “Outside,” shows this, with lyrics “Well, let’s go wrong for wrong (what?), let’s go lick for lick (let’s go) / If I can handle that (uh-huh), let me see you handle this (OK).” This project balances cohesion with musical variety well. The flow on “Imaginary Playerz” is so different from the rest of the tracks on this album. Sampling Jay-Z’s 1997 song of the same name, this track is nostalgic and showcases Cardi B’s ability to step outside her usual vibe with a 90s-style east-coast rap song. Furthermore, the features on the record are chosen effectively, amplifying the message of each song — whether it be about love, revenge or self-confidence. For example, the pop and R&B features on “Pick It Up” with Selena Gomez and “Nice Guy” with Tyla have a softer tone, conveying their themes of love and commitment. These songs provide diversity to the album, contrasting songs like “ErrTime” where she’s celebrating her achievements.
Although versatile, songs like “Salute” and “Magnet” are repetitive in both content and production, taking away from the overall impact of the project. Tracks about self-confidence can be done well multiple times in the same album — like Cardi B has done in this album with “Check Please” and “Principal” — when approached with different beats or melodies, but compared to the rest of the songs, parts of “Salute and Magnet” are repetitive, and their verses don’t stick out. Several of the songs on this record were also previously released as singles years ago, and re-releasing them takes away from the album as a distinct project. Ending this record on “Killin You H—” could’ve closed the album on a more mellow but powerful tone, but instead Cardi B follows it with “Up” and “WAP” which, although are great songs, are several years old, diluting the album’s impact. Regardless, Cardi B exceptionally delivered what she promised with “AM I THE DRAMA?” — excitement and fun.
Rating: 3.5/5
“The Life of a Showgirl” by Taylor Swift
“The Life of a Showgirl,” released on Oct. 3, 2025, is Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, and it falls short as less-than-compelling lyricism hinders Swift’s attempts to return to her previous pop sound. In 12 songs, Swift attempts to transform into a new persona of hers, the showgirl, who is openly and freely in love, a huge shift from “The Tortured Poets Department,” where she was recovering from the end of a long-term relationship. The first few songs in this album do exactly that, with the “Fate of Ophelia,” “Elizabeth Taylor” and “Opalite” starting strong in terms of production and instrumentals. The keys and drums in these songs make each track feel magical and light. The ways these songs depict love through their lyricism feels youthful and pure, fully embodying the pop genre.
Although often simplistic, Swift’s upbeat tunes work with the context of her songs, as she sings, “It’s alright / You were dancing through the lightning strikes / Sleepless in the onyx night / But now the sky is opalite.” In the final track “The Life of a Showgirl” Swift says, “I took her pearls of wisdom, hung them from my neck / I paid my dues with every bruise, I knew what to expect […] Who wish I’d hurry up and die / But I’m immortal now, baby dolls / I couldn’t if I tried.” With fast-paced beats that resemble people clapping along, the song invokes the imagery of Swift on tour, about to go on stage as she sings about her experience as a veteran artist.
However, the quality of the lyricism later falls off as Swift begins to use lazier rhymes, such as in the track “Cancelled,” Swift sings “Good thing I like my friends cancelled / I like ’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal.” Paired with the drums and orchestra instrumentals, this makes the track feel more unserious than anything else. Although “Wood” was produced like a fun 2010s pop song, the track was completely overshadowed by uncomfortable lyricism as Swift sings, “New Heights (New Heights) of manhood (Manhood), / I ain’t gotta knock on wood,” referring to her fiancé Travis Kelce, who has a podcast called New Heights. Being explicit about sexuality is not a problem in music, but Swift’s attempt, while humorous, fails to connect with listeners or express in a substantial way.
While “The Life of a Showgirl” has only 12 songs, each track feels disconnected from the visuals originally released in anticipation of the album’s release. The underwhelming lyricism and over-the-top visuals communicate contrasting messages. The album doesn’t commit to completely flashy glittery pop tracks, nor does it reflect on the nuance of being a performer whose image to the public must be perfectly curated. Although it is exciting to hear Taylor Swift return to pop, “The Life of a Showgirl” fails to be impactful.
Rating: 2.5/5
