“Safaera” by Bad Bunny, Jowell & Randy, and Ñengo Flow is a Spanish-language alternative reggaeton, dembow, and experimental track from Bad Bunny’s second studio album, YHLQMDLG. It was released on February 29, 2020 as the album’s fourteenth track through Rimas. The song was written by Benito Martínez, Joel Muñoz, Randy Ortiz, Edwin Rosa, Melissa Elliott, Timothy Mosley, Robert Marley, Josías de la Cruz, José Cosculluela, and Marco Masís, and produced by DJ Orma and Tainy.

The song is one of the most chaotic, ambitious, and celebrated reggaeton tracks in Bad Bunny’s catalog. The word “safaera” is a Puerto Rican expression connected to promiscuity, debauchery, or substance abuse, which fits the track’s wild party atmosphere and explicit old-school reggaeton energy.

Musically, “Safaera” is not built like a conventional pop song. It works almost like a reggaeton symphony or perreo megamix, moving through at least eight beat changes, five different rap flows, and more than a decade of musical references. Its main musical elements include dembow rhythms, reggaeton percussion, electronic synths, sampled guitar riffs, rhythm-track samples, DJ-style transitions, rap vocals, call-and-response sections, and dense beat switches.

The song does not rely on a traditional studio band or live instrumental arrangement. Instead, its sound is built from layered production, samples, and digital rhythm design. “Safaera” samples or references a guitar riff from Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On,” rhythm tracks from Shaggy and Rayvon’s “Big Up,” “Santa Barbara” by Chaka Demus & Pliers, synths from DJ Nelson and DJ Goldy’s Xtassy Reggae, an opening line from Cosculluela’s “Pa’ La Pared,” and a sample from Alexis & Fido’s “El Tiburón.”

The track brings together multiple generations of Puerto Rican reggaeton. Bad Bunny, already one of Latin music’s biggest stars by 2020, collaborated with Jowell & Randy and Ñengo Flow, artists strongly connected to classic reggaeton, underground urbano culture, and the perreo tradition. That combination gives the song both a modern superstar appeal and a strong old-school reggaeton identity.

One curiosity about “Safaera” is that Jowell originally disliked trap, while Bad Bunny was recording mostly trap songs during the period when they first discussed collaborating. They joked that they would work together only if one of them agreed to make either a trap or reggaeton track. After Jowell later liked Bad Bunny’s “Mía” with Drake, the collaboration became more realistic.

Another major curiosity is the song’s sample-clearance controversy. On May 14, 2020, “Safaera” was removed from Spotify and returned the following day. The removal was connected to sample clearance. There was also later public discussion about royalties related to the Missy Elliott sample, with Elliott clarifying that she did not own 99% of the song, but rather had a smaller share alongside several other samples and writers.

“Safaera” also became a viral internet moment. In March 2020, shortly after the release of YHLQMDLG, the song inspired the “SafaeraChallenge” and the “#AbuelaChallenge” on TikTok. The latter became especially popular during COVID-19 quarantine, with elderly people dancing to the song in short videos.

Commercially, “Safaera” was especially successful in Spanish-speaking markets. It reached No. 1 in Spain in its fifth week, becoming Bad Bunny’s seventh song to top the chart there and the first chart-topping song in Spain for both Jowell & Randy and Ñengo Flow. It also reached No. 4 on Billboard’s US Hot Latin Songs chart, No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100, and charted across Latin America.

The song received widespread critical acclaim. Pitchfork called it a “Best New Track,” while Billboard selected it as one of the essential songs from YHLQMDLG. Rolling Stone described it as five minutes of chaotic reggaeton energy and later included “Safaera” on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, ranking it at No. 329. Pitchfork also ranked it among the best songs of the 2020s so far.

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Bla-bla-bla, bla-bla-bla
Ey-yo, yo-yo, yo-yo, yo-yo, yah
Yah (la-la-la-la-la-la-la) blow, blow
(La-la-la-la-la-la-la)

Diablo', qué safaera
Tú tiene' un culo cabrón
Cualquier cosa que te ponga' rompe la carretera (la-la-la-la-la, ay)
Muévelo, muévelo, muévelo, muévelo (la-la-la-la-la-la-la)

Qué safaera (la-la-la-la-la)
Tú tiene' un culo cabrón
Cualquier cosa que te ponga' rompe la carretera (ay, tra)
Muévelo, muévelo, muévelo, muévelo

Qué falta de respeto, mami
¿Cómo te atreve' a venir sin panty?
Hoy saliste puesta pa' mí
Yo que pensaba que venía a dormir

No, vino ready ya
Puesta pa' una cepillá'
Me chupa la lollipop
Solita se arrodilla, hey

¿Cómo te atreve', mami, a venir sin panty?

Mera, dímelo, DJ Orma
¿Qué tú te cree'? Jodí'o cabrón, jeje
Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana
Díselo, Conejo
Ey, ey

Hoy se bebe, hoy se gasta
Hoy se fuma como un rasta
Si Dio' lo permite (si Dio' lo permite), ey
Si Dio' lo permite (que si Dio' lo permite), ey

Hoy se bebe, hoy se gasta
Hoy se fuma como un rasta
Si Dio' lo permite, ey
Si Dio' lo permite (yo, yo), ey

Real G
Orientando la' generacione' nueva'
Con la verdadera

Bellaqueo a lo galactic
Sí, pa' que se te mojen los panty
Métele bellaco a lo versátil
Má' puta que Betty Boop
La que se puso bellaca, mami, fuiste tú
Sigo matando con la U

Chocha con bicho, bicho con nalga (empuja)
Cho-chocha con bicho, bicho con nalga, sí (empuja)
Chocha con bicho, bicho con nalga (empuja)
Te-te está rozando mi tetilla (empuja)

Este año, no quiero putilla (empuja)
Te ven con mucha' prenda' y se quieren pegar (empuja)
Te ven bien activa'o y se quieren pegar (empuja)
Porque está' bien buena, porque está' bien buena (empújamelo completo)

Teta' bien grande' como Lourdes Chacón
Las nalga' bien grande' como Iris Chacón
La chocha no sé, porque no la he visto
Pero vamo' pa' la cama a clavarte en panty

Hoy se bebe, hoy se gasta
Hoy se fuma como un rasta
Si Dio' lo permite
Si Dio' lo permite, yeh-yeh

Y hoy se bebe, hoy se gasta
Hoy se fuma como un rasta
Si Dio' lo permite
Si Dio' lo permite

Mami, ¿qué tú quiere'?
Aquí llegó tu tiburón
Yo quiero perrearte y fumarme un blunt
Ver lo que esconde ese pantalón

Yo quiero perrearte y perrearte y perrearte
Yo-yo-yo quiero perrearte y fumarme un blunt
Yo quiero perrearte y perrearte y perrear
Yo-yo-yo quiero perrearte y fumarme un blunt, un blunt

La rola ya me explotó
La nena, bailando, se botó
Ese culo se merece to'
Se merece to', se merece to', yes
Ese culo se merece to'
Se merece to' (ey, ey, ey), se merece to' (ey, ey)

Ah, yo pensaba que se ponía lenta
'Tá bien, 'tá bien, vamo' de nuevo, de nuevo
Miren a Orma, miren a Orma, que está bellaco

Mi bicho anda fuga'o y yo quiero que tú me lo esconda'
Agárralo como bonga
Se metió una pepa que la pone cachonda
Chinga en lo' Audi, no en lo' Honda, ey

Si te lo meto, no me llame'
Que esto no es pa' que me ame', ey
Si tu novio no te mama el culo
Pa' eso que no mame

Baja pa' casa, que yo te lambo to'a
Mami, yo te lambo to'a
Baja pa' casa, que yo te rompo to'a, ey
Que yo te rompo to'a

Baja pa' casa, que yo te lambo to'a (sigue)
Mami, yo te lambo to'a (sigue)
Dime, sierva (papi, sigue)
Si tú fuma' yerba (papi, pa-papi)

Jowell
Bebé, bebé, bebé, jaja, jajajaja

Perreando en la bichota
Se ve que chinga rico en la nota
Yo quiero tirarme un selfie con esa' nalgota'
Para'o, para'o, para'o lo tengo, se me nota
¿Qué vamo' a hacer con esa' nalgota'?

En la uni que son A, A, A
Pero esa' teta' son C
Tú ere' una superbellaca, mami, yo lo sé
Yo también soy un bellaco, ¿qué vamo' a hacer? (Tú sabe', eh)

Con ese bum-bum, guíllate, bum-bum
Guíllate ese bum-bum, guíllate, bum-bum
Si tiene' ese bum-bum, guíllate, bum-bum
Si tiene' ese bum-bum, guíllate, buoh

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