NUEVAYoL

The opening line ¡Nueva Yol! says "New York" but in a Puerto Rican accent.

Let's focus on why "York" becomes Yol. In Spanish, words don’t usually end with a "k" sound, so that final "k" can get dropped for easier pronunciation. Additionally, in Puerto Rican Spanish, the "r" and "l" sounds frequently swap places, as they sound similar and tend to be confused across different languages. You’ve probably noticed this before, like when some native speakers of East Asian languages are first learning English, "r" and "l" can get mixed up. This is a similar kind of sound substitution but in the opposite direction.

Te and divertir go together and come from the verb divertirse - to enjoy oneself.

Encanto means "charm," and it's related to the English word "enchant" since something that is charming is enchanting.

Primor means something like "beauty and grace." It's related to the English word "prim," like in the phrase "prim and proper."

Tienes que comes from the verb phrase tener que and is used to express obligation. It literally translates as "to have to [do something]."

Pa' is a contraction of para, and the full phrase para dónde means "where to." This part of the song is someone interrupting to ask for the destination (which of course is New York!).

These lines from the chorus are sampled from "Un verano en Nueva York" by El Gran Combo, who is also from Puerto Rico.

The chorus lines are repeated with a new interruption that suggests someone is confused or surprised by what they're experiencing.

¿Y este frío? literally translates to "And this cold?" but it's more naturally asking "What's with this cold?" Someone is complaining about unexpected cold weather during what's supposed to be a summer in New York, since New York is much colder than Puerto Rico!

Ratito means "a little moment of time." It's formed by adding the diminutive"-ito suffix to the word rato meaning "a period of time."

Na' má' is a contraction of nada más meaning "no more."

So the whole phrase Un ratito na' má' is literally saying "a little bit, no more." This creates a pleading tone, like someone begging to stay just a little bit longer in New York. Or maybe they are begging to leave (because it's so cold)!

This line refers to being in New York over the Fourth of July, which is of course in the summer!

Ando here doesn't mean "I walk" but rather it's used colloquially to mean "I am" or "I'm going around" .

Rulay is slang that doesn't have an exact translation, but basically means feeling good or feeling "nice," like being in an uninhibited, carefree state of being.

Mío' is a contraction of míos. *Los mío'" is a colloquial way to say "my people" or "my crew."

The phrase la que hay literally means "that which there is," but it's slang for "what's up" or "the situation." He's saying that his people understand what's really going on.

La nota is slang for being high or intoxicated. It comes from the idea that the feeling itself is the most notable part of the experience and stands out. Because the high is the defining sensation, it became known simply as la nota, the thing worth noticing.

En high uses the English word "high" and literally refers to the intoxication of being in an elevated state, like he's "very high."

Washington Heights is a neighborhood in New York, and it's very close to the Bronx, which was referenced in the previous line.

Notice also the preposition "por". "Por" implies movement through something, meaning he’s not just in Washington Heights, but passing through it while in this high state. This use of "por" adds a sense of motion or flow, suggesting he's cruising through the neighborhood, experiencing it while under the influence.

Willie Colón is a famous musician from New York of Puerto Rican heritage.

El malo literally means "the bad one," but translates more naturally as "the bad guy". It's used here as a nickname, like for someone with a tough, rebellious persona. This is also a reference to Willie Colón's album titled "El Malo."

Año' is a contraction of años meaning years. Pasan los años means "the years pass" or more colloquially "the years go by."

Sigo comes from the verb seguir which here means "to continue doing [something]" or "to keep doing [something]."

Palo' is a contraction of palos. On its own, palo means "stick," and it's related to the English word "pole" (which is basically just a big stick). This idea then got extended to include the act of being struck or hit with a stick. So palos means "hits," as in "hit songs."

Putting everything together, sigo dando palos means "I keep giving hits," or more naturally, "I keep dropping hit songs."

Disco' is a contraction of disco. It refers to a record disc, more commonly known as just records.

Cuadro' is a contraction of cuadros, or paintings and he references Frida Kahlo, a famous Mexican painter.

'e is a contraction of de meaning of, as Spanish uses de to show possession.

Perico is slang for cocaine and literally means "parakeet," since parakeets are energetic and talk a lot (similar to a person on drugs).

Tusi refers to a synthetic drug often called "pink cocaine."

Rosita is the diminutive form of rosa (pink), making it "little pink" or just "pink" in a more affectionate way.

Confunda' is a contraction of confundas. When used reflexively, it means "to get confused" or "to confuse yourself." He also uses the negative command form of the verb and is referring to the previous line to say, "don't mix up the white and the pink drugs."

Mejor evita literally means "better avoid," referring to the drugs from the previous line. This also uses the command form of evitar: "(you) better avoid (it)!"

Cañita is the diminutive of caña (sugarcane). It's a colloquial way to refer to rum, since rum is made from sugarcane.

En casa de Toñita means "at Toñita's house," and refers to a bar in Brooklyn, New York, where the owner Toñita is Puerto Rican.

PR is an abbreviation of Puerto Rico.

Sentir means “to feel,” and when we say se siente, the se makes it reflexive and impersonal. In this case, PR se siente cerquita means "Puerto Rico itself feels close." This is impersonal, as Puerto Rico of course can't feel itself, and whoever is doing the feeling isn't explicitly stated.

Cerquita is the diminutive of cerca (close), making it "so close." The diminutive adds emotional warmth, to say that having a drink at Toñita's house makes Puerto Rico feel intimately close, not just physically close.

Nadie me lo quita literally means "nobody takes it from me." It uses the reflexive form of quitarse, which means "to take away" or "to remove." The me shows that the action affects him personally, while lo refers back to the championship.

Va a ser is the Spanish near future construction meaning "is going to be."

Rey means king and is related to the English word "royal."

Reggaetón and dembow are music genres. The term dembow originated from a 1990 Jamaican dancehall song called "Dem Bow" which translates roughly to "they bow" or "they submit." It's using the word "dem" like the English word "them".

El Lápiz refers to El Lápiz Conciente, a Dominican rapper. He is comparing himself to this influential figure in Latin music. In Spanish, the word lápiz literally means pencil, but here it's used as a proper noun.

Capea El Dough is the name of a well-known rap song featuring Lápiz. The name mixes Spanish slang capea (roughly meaning "hustle for") with English "dough" (slang for money).

He says yo nací instead of just nací which adds emphasis to "I" (like cuando YO nací).

Fue que nació el flow literally means "it was that flow was born." He could have just said nació el flow (flow was born) but fue que adds emphasis. It's like saying "that's when flow was born." Flow refers to the rhythm and pattern of how lyrics are delivered, like how he rides the beat. He also uses the definite article el to refer to flow as a singular, concrete concept.

La'o is a contraction of lado (side), and de lado a lado means "from side to side." The ping-pong metaphor continues the "side to side" analogy to emphasize that his flow is dynamic and rhythmic.

Pesa'o is a contraction of pesado (heavy).

Big Pun was a rapper of Puerto Rican descent known for his powerful flow, so this line connects Bad Bunny's own style to that of Big Pun.

Robamo' is a contraction of robamos meaning we rob. Las gata' is a contraction of las gatas which is literally "female cats." But here it's used colloquially to refer to women, since cats are often associated with femininity and sexuality in popular culture.

So putting everything together, les robamo' las gata' means "we robbed the women to / for them", which in English is better phrased as "we steal their girls." The James Bond reference is used to say that they're so slick at winning over women that it's almost like a covert operation.

The phrase "en la mía literally means "in (that which is) mine," but it translates more naturally as "in my own lane" to say he's doing his own thing, in his own space.

Adversario means "adversary" and he's saying he doesn't have any competition.

Los Yankee' and Los Met' refer to the baseball teams "The Yankees" and "The Mets," two baseball teams from New York.

Juan Soto is a Dominican baseball player who plays for New York.

A correr means "better start running." Think of a as meaning "toward" or "to" in the sense of movement or direction. When you say a correr you're essentially saying "toward running" or "to the act of running," like you're pointing everyone in the direction of that action. You're not commanding a specific person but rather declaring that it's time to move toward this action. Anyone present should orient themselves "to the act of running". A natural translation in English is therefore, "Better start running."

Notice the next phrase starts with que which usually means "that," but here it translates better as "because." This is because it's introducing a subordinate fact that explains why you better start running. Like "You better start running, [given] that the bus is coming." When a que clause explains the reason for an action, it functions like "because".

Otra ve' is a contraction of otra vez, or another time. Sacamo' is a contraction of sacamos (we take out). 'el is a contraction of del. So otra vez la sacamos del estadio means "another time we take it out of the stadium," or more naturally "again we knocked it out of the park." He's referring to baseball still, by talking about taking the ball out of the stadium in the form of a home run.

Ya mismo is often translated as "right now" and in some areas, like Spain, it usually does mean someone is about to do something immediately. But in much of Latin America, there's a more relaxed or leisurely sense of time, so ya mismo often just means "soon." It's like when someone in English says "I'm leaving right now," but they're still brushing their teeth.

Nos vamo' is a contraction of nos vamos, or "we are leaving."

Cuida'o is a contraction of cuidado meaning careful.

Notice how que nadie nos escuche starts with que and uses the subjunctive. One way you can think about it is by pretending that it says (espero) que nadie nos escuche, or "I hope that no one hears us." Since this is a wish or desire, escuchar takes the subjunctive. Another way to think about it is by translating the word que as "let" in English, so that he says "let no one hear us." This is an indirect command, since he's really saying "don't let anyone hear us," but it's softer than a direct command.

Tiene' is a contraction of tienes.

Piquete is Spanish slang for style or swagger. It comes from the verb picar, meaning “to sting” or “to bite,” and it’s related to pico, a sharp point (like a mountain peak). Add the diminutive -ete, and you get piquete, or literally, "a little sting" or "a little bite." It’s saying someone’s style has an edge to it and is sharp or bold, like how in English we might say "that look has some bite to it."

Notice the difference between buena versus bueno. In Spanish, adjectives can change their ending to match the gender of the person being described. Buena describes a woman, bueno describes a man. In this context, estar bueno/buena is slang meaning "to be attractive" or "to look good."

In huelo rico, rico literally means "rich" but contextually implies "smelling good." It's describing a nice intense scent, like how delicious food can taste "rich".

Ando here it doesn't mean "I walk" but rather "I'm going around" or "I'm rolling" to describe his lifestyle. Con los de cien means "with those of hundred" but translates better as just "hundreds" to refer to hundred-dollar bills, and show that he's surrounded by wealth.

Quiere' is a contraction of quieres. Lo refers to "it," as in "do you want it," but what "it" exactly is, is unspecified. Tiene' is a contraction of tienes. Put together, lo tiene' que mover means "you have to move it".