State Champ Radio Residente
As one of the most influential and outspoken voices in Latin music, Residente has consistently pushed the boundaries of Spanish-language rap. Whether exploring the depths of human emotion and societal issues through his art, or pissing off mainstream reggaetoneros via hard-hitting tiraderas, there’s no denying that one can’t turn a deaf ear to the artist born René Pérez Joglar.
With his second full-length solo album, Las Letras Ya No Importan (or Words No Longer Matter) — released via 5020 Records, following his 2017 eponymous debut — Residente‘s evolution from a genre-bending rapper to a multifaceted artist and cultural commentator is unmistakable. This latest work, released Friday (Feb. 23), embarks on an exploratory journey through sound, emotion and critical opinions, featuring a diverse roster of collaborations that span genres and geographies, from SFDK in Spain to Christian Nodal in Mexico and Amal Murkus in Gaza.
Among the standout tracks, “313” emerges as a deeply personal ode to the passage of time and the preciousness of life, inspired by a friend’s passing and Residente’s own reflections on growing older. “Time is becoming more and more relevant in my life,” he tells Billboard Español.
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“Bajo Los Escombros” offers a poignant look at the Palestinian struggle, crafted amidst the backdrop of conflict with contributions from musicians in Gaza and the voice of Murkus. “Jerga Platanera” dives into the linguistic intricacies of Puerto Rican and Dominican slang, while “El malestar en la cultura” and “Artificial Inteligente,” contemplate the evolution of rap and the intersection of humanity with technology, respectively. This album not only underscores Residente’s commitment to musical and thematic experimentation but also highlights his role as a visionary in the ever-evolving landscape of the música urbana genre and beyond.
During our interview at his home in Lower Manhattan, Residente’s living space mirrors the diversity and depth of his music. Surrounded by an eclectic collection of books — ranging from Apocalypse Now to José Parla’s Segmented Realities, and The Wes Anderson Collection — and art adorning the walls, his environment is a testament to his wide-ranging influences. The skylight and balcony overlooking the Hudson River offer a glimpse into the serene backdrop of his creative process, while his dozens of Grammy and Latin Grammys on display serve as a testament to his enduring impact on the music industry.
Dressed casually in baby blue corduroys, a matching t-shirt, and a baseball cap, accented with a chain and silver whistle, Residente’s demeanor is as relaxed and approachable as it was thoughtful, as he reflects to Billboard the depth and diversity of his latest album. By the way, today (Feb. 23) is his birthday.
You have a lot to celebrate: your new album, your new music video, your debut as a lead film actor, your birthday. How are you going to spend it?
I think I’m going to go to a bar with family and friends, quietly. I am happy with the result of the video and the theme of “313.” It is an example of what I want to do more of. I’m going to celebrate that, the video, the album and what’s coming in the future as well.
Your video for “313” is visually stunning. It also features Penelope Cruz.
I always think about the visuals when I write songs, regardless of whether I make videos for them or not. Some people make videos for the song; I think I make music for the video. All the time I’m thinking visually and that’s where I compose the music. In this case I started to make the music and I was writing the ideas, adjusting to the weather conditions. It was quite difficult to shoot in November in Madrid, there is not much light. It snowed, it rained, everything happened during the shoot. That slows you down and the delay costs money. When you’re directing you have to think as a producer, writer, editor, and actor. I’m thinking about everything at the same time.
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I have Penelope Cruz also in the video, and Silvia Cruz singing. We connected super well when I met [Penelope]. I also met her husband Javier [Bardem], and I’m a fan of both of them. I love what they do, they’re tremendous actors and they have a super nice family. I originally said, “I’d like Penelope to be in it.” I talked to her and she said yes. Little by little she connected with the song.
The inclusion of violins in that track and the guitar strings you use in others are beautiful and show a musical diversity along with some boom-bap beats. How do you decide which instruments or sounds to use in your compositions?
The album has songs that are older, and I had other songs that didn’t [end up on] the album because I didn’t feel they are connected to this moment now. When “René” came out four years ago, I was going to release an album at that time and, well, now I’m releasing them. Now I do have songs that feel like they are more relevant today, like “313,” “Artificial inteligente,” “Quiero Ser Baladista” or “Bajo Los Escombros.” All these have cello, double bass, all this musical stuff. It seems to me that it is an album that marks a transition, as it happened with Calle 13’s second album, Residente or Visitante, which marked a moment. After that, everything was different.
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With your second studio album following your acclaimed 2017 debut, how do you feel your music and message has evolved in this latest work?
In this album I feel that the message comes more from my own experience. It is a very personal album, like “313” which is about enjoying this moment. I had a lot of losses last year and the year before. People I love died and everything I’m talking about enjoying all this comes from that experience in the past. And the last record was world music meets rap. This record is the more vulnerable part, like “Rene,” “313” or “Ron on the Floor.” It’s much more open in soul and spirit than before. I’ve always been open, but this time I’m more with the openness.
Upon entering your home, it is impressive to see the amount of Grammys and Latin Grammys you have won. How do you maintain your passion for music after so much success?
I maintain my passion with therapy, trying to do different, creative things that fulfill me. I feel a little tired as an artist, I’ve been doing this for a long time. I want to dedicate myself more to filmmaking, screen writing, experimenting, acting. Now we have a film out at Sundance, which won the Grand Jury prize. It’s called In the Summers. I’m the lead actor, I’m surrounded by spectacular actors and actresses who taught me a lot. I loved it. And the directing part I always love. I think that’s what keeps me motivated and inspired to keep working. It’s moving, doing other things within music as well.
How do you see the current state of Spanish-language rap and its culture, and how does your album contribute to this conversation?
One is a tool, and the other a genre that has rules and a culture that is respected. The discussion that was unleashed based on the list [of essential rappers in Spanish published by Billboard] seemed immature on the part of some of my colleagues. I think rap deserves to evolve as much as possible. I separate rap from hip-hop a lot. For me, [hip-hop] I see it as a genre where the tool of rap is used. That’s what I do.
I’ve never pretended to be of any specific musical genre, nor do I care. Never, since Calle 13, and right now, I’ve never wanted to be pigeonholed. I’m not a singer because I don’t sing, I rap, so I use the tool of rap. My album is for all the little kids who want to be rappers, who can’t sing but want to say things, and through rhyme is an alternative. And I’m doing well; I’m proof that you can do well doing different things, rapping, making music, making it evolve.
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The future of rap, if it continues to be overprotected — is like protecting a child so much that it won’t know what to do when it grows up. So it’s the same with the music genre. You have to feed it new things, get it out there, let it evolve and move. It will continue to evolve, if not, it will stay there and other genres will come along and pass over it. It’s important, so that it doesn’t overtake it, and so that the kids who want to write rap can experience their creativity to the maximum, and take it to the maximum, as high as they can.
Listen to Las Letras Ya No Importan here:
René Pérez Joglar, better known as Residente, is walking to lunch in Madrid as he chats on the phone with Billboard in the U.S., and every 30 seconds or so, someone stops him to ask for a photo.
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It’s been a couple of days days since he released his very buzzy and provocative “Quiero ser baladista” — nine minutes, seven seconds of seeming anarchy captured in a black and white music video. It begins as a diss track against Latin urban music overall, and then devolves into a series of scenes that include, among other things: Residente singing ballads, Ricky Martin rapping (synched to Residente’s vocals), Residente shooting Sony Music Latin Iberia chairman Afo Verde dead, and then Ricky Martin shooting Residente dead. Since its release last Thursday on Sony Music, the video has nearly four million views on YouTube.
It’s a lot, especially in the wake of 2022’s “Reisdente: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 49,” where Residente famously dissed J Balvin, and his more recent “Bajo y batería,” where he goes hard against Puerto Rican reggaetonero Cosculluela.
So we asked Resdiente himself to unpack “Quiero ser baladista” for us — in what is, to date, the only interview he’s done on the topic. Along the way, he also let us know a new album is coming out this fall. See our discussion below.
What did you want to say with this track?
The song was born because I wrote a song called “Bajo y batería” (Bass and Drums, released two weeks ago). I don’t like diss tracks. It would seem I do, but I don’t. I like them as a writing exercise, a literary exercise. They made more sense before, but now they feel like bullying. But, when I wrote “Bajo y batería” last year, I was really bothered by this one person, and in that sense, I was at least throwing a diss at someone who deserved it.
In the end, when I recorded that song, “Bajo y batería,” and it came from my soul — I thought, “F–k, I’m tired. I want to be a balladeer like Ricky Martin.” I told the engineer, “Save that thought.” And that’s where the song was born. I did it like a tryptic, where I want to get away from diss tracks. The balladeer is a way for me to retire from doing diss tracks, and the person who “retires” me is Ricky Martin. Not only does he kill that personality, but he even ends up rapping.
So, this is the end of Residente’s diss tracks?
I thought that was a nice way to end all this. This started with an interview with you for Billboard [during Billboard Latin Music Week in 2017, where Residente said a lot of Latin music was starting to sound like junk food]. From that point until three days ago, it’s been relentless. Obviously, I wasn’t only dissing during that time. I made songs like “This Is Not America.” But, that’s it. And what better way to close this stage than speaking with you, who I started it with, more or less. And closing it with Ricky Martin, who’s also a friend of mine and was amazing in everything he did here. He really got into that character and he learned all those lyrics and it was cabrón.
“I don’t like diss tracks. It would seem I do, but I don’t. I like them as a writing exercise, a literary exercise.” Residente
Even though Ricky Martin is a friend, the things he did in your video are pretty risqué for him — from shooting you, to rapping, to peeing on you. How did you convince him?
I explained the concept and he was down. In fact, in the beginning he thought he would actually be rapping, and he was down for that. I told him, “No, you’ll be lip synching, and you’ll do this and that.” He trusted in the visual idea from the onset. And when Ricky “sings,” it sounds real. It has gravitas. He was very cool.
You also “kill” Afo Verde, the chariman/CEO of Sony Music Latin Iberia, who actually plays himself in the video. How did you convince him?
I called him and said, “Hey Afo, I want to kill you in a video.” And he said, “OK, if you want.” I think it’s beautiful to see Afo there because it shows …. man, this is a song that we know isn’t for radio, even if radio is not as important as before. It’s a nine-minute song. And the fact that Sony, Afo, 5020 are all supporting what I want to do is great. Having the president of label on a set, going through everything that happens in that video, is not something you see every day. And it speaks to how open they are with me. Obviously, it’s all absurd and surreal and that’s what the video is — and that’s why it’s allowed within the aesthetic and the storyline.
So, you’re not throwing shade at the label?
No, no, no. Quite the opposite. I kill him because I don’t agree with him there and I feel he’s canceling my balladeer dream. But things don’t go well for me.
You told me you have a new album coming out in the Fall. Tell me more!
We’re talking all new music. The album will come out October, November. The date depends in part on a video I’m shooting with an actress I like very much. I’m going to include [already released singles] “René” and “This Is Not America,” but those are the only ones. The album will have 20, 21 tracks and they’re all like that, big songs. And there will be no diss tracks in there. You can diss me 15 million times and I won’t diss [back].
You’re really brilliant in your diss tracks. Is it simply fun for you, or do you take them very seriously?
I take it seriously, but it’s more like competing with myself. Trying to do something better than what I did before. Which is what you normally do with music overall, but with tiraderas the same thing happens to me. This has been a process of about six years, since I started.
Does it bother you when others write diss tracks about you?
At the beginning it did. But then it stopped bothering me, and it became more of a writing exercise. For example, I have a tiradera called “La Cátedra” which is a total writing exercise. I play a game on my phone called “2048” which is a numbers game; kind of like Tetris with numbers, where you start adding and multiplying numbers. That game is like 50% of what diss tracks are to come. It’s like coming up with a phrase for every prompt, but maintaining the narrative going. For me tiraderas are more technical. It’s like a writing exercise. But it’s not something that comes from the soul. It’s not the way René writes.
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