costilla literally translates to "rib". It's a common anatomical term, but Bad Bunny uses it here in a very clever and thought-provoking way.
He references the biblical story where Eve is created from Adam's rib, singing "La mujer no salió de la costilla del hombre / Fuimos nosotros que salimos de su pelvis" (Woman didn't come from man's rib / We came from her pelvis). By using "costilla", he immediately grabs the listener's attention to challenge an ancient narrative and make a powerful modern statement about the origin and strength of women.
Bad Bunny wrote "COMPOSITOR DEL AÑO" right after taking heat from critics for winning a major "Songwriter of the Year" award. Instead of writing a typical victory track, he uses the moment to call out public hypocrisy. He opens with his own background: "De niño monaguillo, de grande trapero" ("As a child an altar boy, as an adult a trap artist"), reminding everyone that he is human before he is a superstar. He finds it ridiculous that society wastes energy attacking his lyrics when real crises are unfolding everywhere around us.
He tackles everything from racial double standards to politics. He notes how "2020 y el racismo es peor que el COVID" ("2020 and racism is worse than COVID") and points out how a Black man with a gun is labeled a criminal while a white man carrying one is treated like it is just a hobby. He flips religious dogmas on their head too, saying "La mujer no salió de la costilla del hombre / Fuimos nosotros que salimos de su pelvis" ("Woman did not come from man's rib / It was us who came from her pelvis"). When he tells youth to vote and kicks corrupt leaders to the curb, he is saying music trophies mean nothing compared to real justice. For him, true success is simple: "Poder ser yo, dejarte ser tú, ese es el mejor premio que puedo tener" ("Being able to be me, letting you be you, that is the best award I can have").
Bad Bunny was bagging groceries at a supermarket in Vega Baja and studying audiovisual communication at the University of Puerto Rico's Arecibo campus when the tracks he was uploading to SoundCloud between shifts reached DJ Luian, who signed him to Hear This Music in 2016. He was born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio in Bayamón in 1994 and grew up in the Almirante Sur barrio of Vega Baja.
The breakout was "Diles" in 2016, then "Soy Peor" that December, and by 2018 he was on Cardi B's "I Like It", a number one on the Hot 100. His albums run from X 100pre and YHLQMDLG through Un Verano Sin Ti, the year end number one on the Billboard 200 in 2022, to Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which in February 2026 became the first all Spanish language album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year. He also has "Callaíta", "Dakiti" and "Tití Me Preguntó" behind him, a summer 2025 residency at the Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, and a WrestleMania tag team match in 2021 that he and Damian Priest won.