Afilando Los Cuchillos
"Afilando Los Cuchillos" transl. "Sharpening the Knives" is a protest song by Puerto Rican musicians Bad Bunny, Residente, and iLe. It was released on July 17, 2019 through YouTube, in response to Ricardo Rosselló and the Telegramgate.
| "Afilando Los Cuchillos" | ||||
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| Single by Residents de calle | ||||
| Released | December 13, 2019[1] | |||
| Recorded | July 16, 2019[2] | |||
| Genre | ||||
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| Label | Residents de calle | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Residents de calle singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Residente, iLe & Bad Bunny - Afilando los Cuchillos (Cover Audio)" on YouTube | ||||
The song was officially independently released as a single five months later, on December 13, 2019, credited to the pseudonym "Residents de calle".[1]
Background
The beat was produced by Trooko.[3] The song was written and recorded in one day and received 2.5 million views on YouTube within the first day of its release.[2] In the song, the artists accuse Rosselló of corruption, homophobia, and incompetence.[4] Residente raps about the emotions of the citizens of Puerto Rico who have experienced generations of government corruption. He also raps about how there are still houses without roofs as a result of Hurricane Maria. Bad Bunny raps about how the youth are disillusioned by the government's aggressive prosecution of petty crime while simultaneously underfunding education in Puerto Rico.[3]
Los 40 described iLe's hymn in the song as melodic.[5] NPR calls the song a clear example of a Latin American protest song and Pitchfork describes it as a diss track.[3][6]
On July 17, 2019, Residente, Bad Bunny, and Ricky Martin attended protests in front of the Capitol of Puerto Rico.[7]
References
- "Credits / Afilando Los Cuchillos / Residents de calle". Tidal. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- Robles, Frances (July 19, 2019). "'Sharpening the Knives': Musicians Join the Protests in Puerto Rico". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- Ruiz, Matthew Ismael Ruiz (July 25, 2019). "Residente, iLe, Bad Bunny "Afilando los Cuchillos"". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- Ross, Alex Robert (July 17, 2019). "Bad Bunny and Residente unite against Gov. Ricardo Rosselló on "Afilando los Cuchillos"". The FADER. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- Díaz Espiñeira, Paloma (July 22, 2019). "'Afilando los Cuchillos': Bad Bunny y Residente unen sus voces contra el gobierno de Puerto Rico". LOS40 (in Spanish). Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- Contreras, Felix (July 25, 2019). "'Afilando Los Cuchillos' Soundtracks Puerto Rico's Social Movement In Real Time". NPR. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- Orozco, Gisela (July 17, 2019). "Residente y Bad Bunny estrenan 'Afilando los cuchillos', canción contra Ricardo Rosselló". Chicago Tribune (in Spanish). Retrieved July 27, 2019.
