Carliz De La Cruz Hernández is claiming she recorded the phrase “Bad Bunny baby” on her phone in 2015, with the recording subsequently appearing on the Puerto Rican artist’s tracks ‘Pa Ti’ and ‘Dos Mil 16’ without her permission.
Bad Bunny (real name Benito Martínez Ocasio) is yet to publicly respond to the legal case, which was filed in Puerto Rico last month.
As reported by Billboard, the pair first got together in 2011, when they both worked at the same supermarket in Bad Bunny’s hometown of Vega Baja.
Photo: Frazer Harrison
Since then Bad Bunny has had a meteoric rise to international stardom, being the most-streamed artist on Spotify for three consecutive years since 2022.
Last year also saw the release of his fourth studio album, Un Verano Sin Ti, an impressive and varied 23-track offering that flips between reggaeton, bossa nova and much more in-between – and which we ranked 20th for the best albums of 2022.
It’s precisely his popularity since De La Cruz Hernández claims she recorded the “Bad Bunny baby” line that has come under the spotlight in this case, with the lawsuit reportedly emphasising the popularity of the two tracks in question, with ‘Pa Ti’ having more than 355 million views on YouTube and 235 million listens on Spotify, whilst ‘Dos Mil 16’ has more than 60 million views on YouTube and 280 million listens on Spotify.
What’s more, the documents also allege that De La Cruz Hernández recorded several versions of the line, would often provide feedback on her then-partner’s music and that the line was also used in several early SoundCloud demos.
Further, she claims she was sent a contract by Bad Bunny’s representatives on 5 May 2022 – the day before the release of Un Verano Sin Ti – which offered her $20,000 (£16,300) for the recording. The album, which included ‘Dos Mil 16’, then dropped without any agreement reportedly having been reached.
De La Cruz is also suing Rimas Entertainment, Bad Bunny’s record label, and the pop star’s manager Noah Assad.
