Acoustic Avenue: The beauty behind X100PRE

Morgan Kong

In this weekly column, senior Emily Thomas provides her take on a new albums, concerts, and artists.

Ana Toro, Assistant Interactive Media Editor

For Gen-Z, no one has been more influential in Latin music and reggaeton than Bad Bunny. His demeanor and lyrical ability is amazing, not to mention his beats are insane. I have been a huge fan of his and can only say that my love for him grew a lot this year. That is why I wanted to share with you all his first album X100PRE.

This album has reggaeton and club vibes everywhere. It is an incredible album that goes from plain fun times to some really thought-provoking songs that get you in your feelings. Not to mention the production on this album is fantastic. He really outdid himself with choosing his producers and creating beats.

My top favorites from this album are “Caro,” “Solo de Mi,” “Otra Noche en Miami,” and “La Romana.” “Caro” is one of the most thought provoking songs on this album because Bad Bunny sings about how it has never cost him anything to be happy. I think that is such a beautiful message of self love and of focusing on your personal happiness. “Otra Noche en Miami” is another one of my most favorites because it is a bit slow and can really make you sad if you listen to the lyrics.

There are also some very nice elements of Bachata in “La Romana” which is how the song starts. It later goes into a rap verse, that is nearly incomprehensible, by Dominican rapper El Alfa.

I find the title of this album very interesting. It was very strange at first because I didn’t understand the meaning of the X or the 100 or even the PRE. But, after some research, it all made sense. The name of the album is “Por siempre” or “forever.” 

Let’s break it down: In Spanish, there is a shorthand for the word “por” which means “for,” that shorthand is the letter X. Then there is the “100” which is just meant to be said in Spanish normally, “cien.” The “PRE” is just the end of the word “Siempre” in Spanish, which means always.

If you put it all together you get “Por Siempre”. The sound that the word “cien” makes when you say it is the first part of the word “siempre.” So, the underlying meaning of the title of the album is that it is forever, like music is forever. The feeling that this album will give you every time you listen to it is forever.

This is such a beautiful album, and when you get into the real meaning of it all, it’s even more beautiful and emotional.