
Bad Bunny is being sued by BM Records, which controls the rights to a bunch of mixtapes from the 1990’s by DJ Playero. BM Records and DJ Playero get a lot of credit for the development of reggaeton. (Thanks a lot for that, by the way.) And they claim Bad Bunny’s hit Safaera contains material found in Playero 37 and “Playero Street Mix Vol. 2.” And specifically, the works “Besa Tu Cuerpo” and “Chocha Con Bicho,” and “Sigan Bailando.”
These are the recordings that “Safaera” supposedly “samples,” kinda, depending upon which part of the complaint you’re reading. (All this “not having your terminology straight” business drives me disproportionately nuts. It’s my own issue, I realize this.)
Know Bad Bunny’s “Safaera?” Because if not, I’d really recommend leaving it that way. But if you feel compelled for some reason, here you go…
I hear samples in there alright. If you listened to the whole thing you probably heard at least one. But my piping hot take here: In fact, let’s call it “just a bit better than a guess” since I’m not very familiar with DJ Playero, and have no desire to get familiar…
No, he didn’t sample Playero.
I looked at it and can say this about Bad Bunny’s “Safaera” with regard to the Playero material: There are a LOT of lyrics in common. I don’t speak Spanish, and I’m not (clears throat) a “poetry” expert, but I think it strains the imagination that it’s coincidental. Both mention the Chacón sisters (famous dancers) in precisely the same context, just one conspicuous similarity of which there are many. Several lines at a time from Playero’s lyrics appear in Safaera. And if the transcriptions in the complaint’s exhibits are accurate, as I think that they are, then Bad Bunny might more appropriately be accused of interpolating the Playero material.
An “interpolation” takes material from one work and performs it in another work. It’s like an intentional musical quotation. If you sing, “Took my chevy to the levy but the levy was dry,” in the middle of your song, nobody imagines you’re unaware you’ve copped Don McLean, we all know you did it on purpose. It’s not a “sample” however, unless you took the audio from McLean’s record and placed that audio in your new work.
Bad Bunny appears to have alluded to generous swaths of Playero lyrics, essentially presenting them in the same rhythms, and as the complaint mentioned, with a lot of the same notes. Though I think the complaint should probably have referred to the sameness of the “melodic contour” rather than notes, as Bad Bunny changes a lot of pitches, without changing contour.
Melodic contour is the shape — the rising and falling of the notes in a melody; how the rise and falls occur over time, and at what slopes or steepness. If you can, imagine “Happy Birthday To You” but alter the notes, to a minor key perhaps, or just new notes, but you still rise and fall at the same times, and to just a little different degree. You’d still have the same melodic contour — notes would rise and fall in the same way in both versions and both versions would be “Happy Birthday To You,” sorta, but would have lots of different note pitches.)
I think we’ll eventually arrive at the idea that Safaera interpolates Playero tracks.
But I don’t find any evidence of sampling. So every news article about this case has been at least a little bit wrong, I think.
Even the actual complaint against Bad Bunny reads:
Of importance to the instant action, “Safaera” includes at least four distinct uncleared samples of the Playero Works.
I don’t think it does. Safaera contains samples, including that damned tumbi thing from Missy Elliot, I just don’t know think any came from Playero. Please go ahead and change my mind.
The complaint, and dammit lots of articles on the subject, mention “samples” and “sampling” but I think the quote above is the only one that accuses Bad Bunny of employing unlicensed audio. But the rest of the time, I’d almost suspect they’re intentionally creating confusion. The complaint, as I read it, paints Bad Bunny as having cleared several other samples for Safaera (implying that Bad Bunny knows about sample clearing!) and having to take the song down briefly while a clearance got sorted out (implying Bad Bunny’s been known to be a little careless about it) if that’s even true. All of that seems directed toward substantiating the argument that Bad Bunny’s offenses are willful and therefore subject to statutory damages of, and this is what they’re asking for, up to 150k per offense.
But if Bad Bunny sampled anything from DJ Playero for Safaera, I haven’t found it yet, though I’m not really looking. It would be a lot of work. Again, what he seems to me to have done is interpolated Playero, and presumably without permission. You can still get sued for that. And I guess he has been. Kinda.
10 Comments
I deconstructed the song march 20, 2020 (accordin to my fb post)
Bad Bunny – Safaera #deconstructed
1) slow reggaeton beat from the jowell & randy days.
2) dj nelson & dj goldy – suenos mojados beat from xtassy reggae
3) wicked dickie riddim sample
4) pounder riddim
5) taxi gang – santa barbara beat
6) the noise 5 intro sample
7) nengo flow verse is a combination of two blanco flakke verses from sigan bailando and from dime si estas ready
8 )could you be loved riddim
9) the pitch riddim sample
10) alexis & fido – el tiburon sample
11) get your freak on sample from dj nelson – tu eres un loco
12) “run things” – run things rude boy sample from pose off by screechy dan & red fox
13) beatnuts – no escapin this recreated sample
14) hey sample – daddy yankee “party de gangster”
15) papi sigue from glory sample
16) jamaican lazer sound effect
Missin two elements i cant remember origen right this moment….
I did say “Change My Mind.” Thanks! That’s great. I’m going to go check out your post and I’ll report back.
How can bm records sue when they dont even own the rights to none of the beats used in any playero prior to 40 (40 didnt use full beats but still sampled)… and i wonder are they even going to give money to “blanco flakke” (rip) family from this legal action?
Hey brian, just wanted to chime in with my break dowm from the song and the hipocrisy of the industry…. Your assumption of the interpolation is correct….
And I love it! Thanks! I don’t know all of those records you referenced. But which if any of those are actually sampled and not already credited? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safaera
I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t answer this as though I were a lawyer. But speaking as a musicologist, consider a few of the references you made… Xtassy Reggae contains that timbale part, and lots of a Eurythmics song. Nelson and Jordy might have licensed the Eurythmics song, and they can say they own THE WAY THEY USED IT against that timbale and other elements. Similarly Nelson can’t say he owns the Get Ur Freak On sample, but if he licensed the Timbaland part, he can say he owns THE WAY HE USED IT in Eres Un Loco. Does that make sense?
None of those samples are licensed…. And thats why they are hipocrites….
Safaera was removed from spotify because it uses the jaws theme (cant remember the correct song name) (which was taken from alexis & fido song el tiburon which was taken from the jaws theme)… both times not cleared…
Reggaeton has a long history of uncredited samples and loops , in the recent years because of its popularity they started to clear samples…
To answer your question safaera does not sample anything from any playero production… what it does do is use phrases (resung) from two songs by blanco flakke that are featured in playero productions… and by definition thats an interpolation…
Xtassy Reggae was an unlicensed “bootleg” reggaeton compilation.. nothing used in the production was used with permission… the cd doesnt even list correct song names or any production credits.. we found out dj nelson and dj goldy made it cus in the last 8 years or so they admitted to it
That is correct. Nothing was sampled, so most of the reporting was wrong. It’s an interpolation of the lines from those few songs.
As for them being hypocrites, I see your point, but I also think there’s a difference in degree between sampling a drum beat and interpolating a melody and lyrics.
And I’d also differentiate between a bunch of pioneers in the 90’s and a Bad Bunny level artist today.
Did I mind when Danger Mouse made Gray? No.
Should we mind if Jay Z interpolated Hey Jude without a license today? Arguable philosophically, but mostly yes.
Why did you write a whole article without “really looking” for the answer to this question? When I read this sentence [“And they claim Bad Bunny’s hit Safaera contains material found in Playero 37 and “Playero Street Mix Vol. 2.” And specifically, the works “Besa Tu Cuerpo” and “Chocha Con Bicho,” and “Sigan Bailando.”] I was immediately able to pinpoint Playero’s samples in Safaera. I do not understand why you gave your two cents on the matter when you do not care to actually investigate. You do not like reggaeton, and that is okay, but half-assing an article about it is weird.
Hi Nat.
Who are you going to believe? Me? Or you’re lying ears? 🙂
I understand your comment, but you’re mistaken. What you pinpointed is not a sample. Go read through the whole two cents again. And if you still don’t get what I was saying, come back and we’ll talk more. Thanks for commenting.