YEAR OF THE BUNNY 🐰

YEAR OF THE BUNNY 🐰 

February 11, 2026 • Issue No. 30

Best Música Urbana Album: Bad Bunny 

Album of the Year: Bad Bunny 

Super Bowl Halftime Headliner: Bad Bunny

While Tuesday’s Lunar New Year will usher in the Year of the Horse, it’s clear we are already living in the Era of the Bunny. I, for one, am happy to be here. 

Watching Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show from my couch on Sunday, while enjoying homemade pernil (Puerto Rican roasted pork shoulder) and black beans over rice, I bopped along not understanding a single word. (Regular visits to Spanish take-out spots in Harlem means I can whip up a couple of dishes, but I have no command of the language.)

Even without any Spanish comprehension, there was still plenty to see: the rich visual storytelling, the flair of the costumes and choreography, and the intricate logistics of pulling off a multi-camera, multi-stage 12 minute concert. 

Plus, there were a number of celebrity cameos. There was Cardi B jamming at the casita, and Ricky Martin (looking just like he did in the 90s!) singing in the sugarcane, and…Lady Gaga singing salsa music? 

While this choice made zero (cero!) sense to me at the time, it’s an uplifting maxim we can take to work with us: find ‘unlikely’ collaborators. 

The first time I heard Bad Bunny’s infamous ad-lib, a deep-toned monosyllabic “eh”, it was on Cardi B’s debut album Invasion of Privacy in 2018. Her song “I Like It Like That” featured J Balvin and Bad Bunny, two Spanish-speaking artists. Bad Bunny raps only a few lines in English on the song, I spend in the club, what you got in the bank, This is the new religion (bang), in Latino gang (gang). It was memorable enough for me to sing along to and to put him on my radar as a casual listener.

As a result, seeing Cardi in the background of his Super Bowl halftime made sense. These two go way back, they’ve collaborated before, they share a language and some hallmarks of culture. Ricky Martin made sense, too. Martin, like Benito (Bad Bunny), is also Puerto Rican and he made history with his 1999 release “Livin’ La Vida Loca” which was as much Spanish as the mainstream would allow at the time. 

But Lady Gaga is a blond-haired thin-framed Italian-American woman born and raised on the Upper East Side. She has no long history of collaboration with Bad Bunny and no strong cultural ties (that I know of) to the Latinidad community outside of being an ally — and putting on a record-breaking concert in Brazil. 

And…this is why her appearance was perfect. 

He said it when he won his Grammy and it shone from the Jumbotrons at Levi’s Stadium: The only thing more powerful than hate is love. The unity Bad Bunny believes will solve our country’s current crisis is unity — in leaning on our similarities instead of teasing out all of our differences. He could’ve limited his show to only Spanish-speaking, Latinidad artists (and it still would’ve been amazing!) 

But by connecting with a well-regarded princess of pop and capital-W capital-G White Girl, he expanded the reach of his message and doubled-down on the severity. He means what he says and he’s showing you how it can be done. 

Chances are strong that there are people at work who are always your first call. These are your go-tos. You have a fantastic working relationship, you can count on each other, and you probably commiserate together about the other people on the team who “just don’t get it” whether it is in-office systems and procedures, DEI, or social cues. Those are your Cardi Bs, the people jamming at your casita. 

You probably have a mentor/sponsor/supporter who knows their way around a little more than you do, who helped pave the path that you walk now. You can go to them for navigation advice and you maintain a grateful, but distant relationship. That’s your Ricky Martin. 

But there’s one more slot you’d do well to fill: the unlikely collaborator. The person who you may not believe has a lot in common with you — maybe they’re from another place, or work on another team — but could help you expand your reach. This person is a star in their own right and an opportunity to partner (Not use! Not exploit!) would help both of your stars to shine brighter. That’s your Lady Gaga. And it’s time to make the call. 

So, happy Lunar New Year! The horse is slated to bring swift action, gracefulness, and determination. As for the Era of the Bunny, I hope it keeps us all reaching out from our trusted circles to make them wider, more impactful, and more loving. 💎

P.S. On 3/11, Michaela and I are hosting a virtual discussion event called THE BUZZ. Consider this an official invitation! Learn more and RSVP here: https://wrkwell.co/ (just scroll down to Events!)

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