Afilando Los Cuchillos

"Afilando Los Cuchillos"
Single by Residents de calle
Released	December 13, 2019 (2019-12-13)[1]
Recorded	July 16, 2019 (2019-07-16)[2]
Genre	Alternative hip hop Latin
Length	5:21
Label	Residents de calle
Songwriter(s)	René Pérez Joglar Benito Ocasio iLe
Residents de calle singles chronology
"Cántalo" (2019) "Afilando Los Cuchillos" (2019) "René" (2020)
Music video
"Residente, iLe & Bad Bunny - Afilando los Cuchillos (Cover Audio)" on YouTube

"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.

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

1. "Credits / Afilando Los Cuchillos / Residents de calle". Tidal. December 13, 2019. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
2. 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.
3. Ruiz, Matthew Ismael Ruiz (July 25, 2019). "Residente, iLe, Bad Bunny "Afilando los Cuchillos"". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Contreras, Felix (July 25, 2019). "'Afilando Los Cuchillos' Soundtracks Puerto Rico's Social Movement In Real Time". NPR. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
7. 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.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at Genius