Who is bizarre rap and why does Shakira destroy her ex with him?

Colombian pop star Shakira is back on playlists and tabloids thanks to her scathing new break-up jam in collaboration with Argentinian DJ-producer Bizarrap.

On the wild new diss track, numerically titled “Bzrp Music Sessions #53,” Shakira bangs her ex-partner, retired Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué.

The song generated 50 million views on YouTube in the first 24 hours of its release, with fans circulating a particularly scathing lyric across the internet: “Women don’t cry more / Women cash in.”

If you’re not quite up to speed on Latin America’s top young producer, or its reigning music queen, who is embroiled in a series of scandals, here’s a helpful guide.

First off, who is bizarre rap?
Born Gonzalo Julián Conde in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the 24-year-old bizarre rapper rose to prominence as part of the country’s exploding Latin trap scene. In the late 2010s, he made his name mixing freestyles for Argentinian rappers, including Latin Grammy-nominated MCs like Duki, Nicki Nicole and Paulo Londra.

Since then, Bizarrap has expanded its reach beyond the South Cone through its phenomenally popular Bzrp Music Sessions YouTube series. Performed live at his studio in Barcelona, ​​Spain, these one-offs feature a singer or MC and the producer as he creates bold, EDM-influenced trap beats.

Released in 2022, his “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52,” featuring Spanish rapper Quevedo, has garnered 88.3 million streams on Spotify – and shot to number 1 on the platform’s Global Songs chart. (His session with Puerto Rican rapper Villano Antillano was named one of The Times’ top 100 songs of 2022.)

Why did a superstar like Shakira record a song with him?
These sessions have become coveted status symbols, and not just for up-and-coming rappers. Urbano stars Nicky Jam and Anuel AA recorded their own sessions; One of Bizarrap’s earliest influences, Skrillex, stopped by to jam with the talented newcomer.

Shakira, 45, has been following Bizarrap on social media for some time and even tweeted a happy birthday to him in August. Given their star power in the US – we’re still reeling from their legendary Super Bowl performance – it’s safe to say this latest collaboration could be Bizarrap’s first major radio hit in the US.

What happened between Shakira and Piqué?
The couple announced their split in June after an 11-year partnership, including the birth of their children, Milan and Sasha. “We regret to confirm that we are separating. For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask for respect for (our) privacy. Thank you for your understanding,” the couple wrote in a press release.

What appeared to be a pro forma celebrity breakup, however, was anything but. Piqué was reported to have been dating 23-year-old Clara Chía Martí, who was reportedly employed by Piqué’s television production company. Although it’s unclear when the two first started seeing each other, they were photographed Kissing at a music festival in August.

What does Shakira say about Piqué on the new song?
There are several funny lines throughout the song, including a brilliant throwback to “Loba,” the Spanish version of her 2009 electropop hit “She Wolf,” on which she sings, “A wolf like me ain’t for guys like you.”

But she refers to Pique more explicitly in the following line, with a pun based on his surname: “Yo solo hago música, perdón que te salprick.” (Which translates to “I only make music, sorry it splashed you.”)

Piqué’s new girlfriend also gets caught in the crossfire: “Tiene nombre de persona buena / Claramente no es como suena,” sings Shakira, playing the name Clara with the word claraments: “She has a good person’s name / Obviously it’s not what it sounds like.”

“No hard feelings baby / Wishing you the best with my supposed replacement,” she adds. “I’m worth two twenties / You traded a Ferrari for a Twingo / You traded a Rolex for a Casio.”

Shakira also makes some blunt revelations in the following verse: “You left me a neighbor [my] Mother-in-law / Pushing my door and owed the Treasury / You thought you hurt me but you made me stronger.”

What does Shakira mean by the line about debt?
Shakira is embroiled in a legal battle with the Spanish government, which claims the singer owed €14.5 million in taxes from 2012 to 2014. You should be tried in Spain.

“I paid everything they said I owed before they even filed a lawsuit,” she told Elle Magazine in September. “While Gerard and I were together I was on a world tour. I spent more than 240 days outside of Spain so there was no way I could qualify as a resident. The Spanish tax authorities saw that I was dating a Spanish citizen and started drooling.”

But wait — there’s more controversy out there.
Rising Venezuelan singer Briella has come forward to hint that Shakira’s hook on the new song – is similar to her wolf wooooo — closely resembles that of her own song “Solo Tú” which was released in June. “I’m in shock, I don’t know what to do,” she said on Instagram. “I love Shakira, I’ve been a fan of hers my whole life. I would at least like a loan [as] Composer.”

Call me cynical, but is all this gossip to promote a new Shakira album?
“I have an entire album’s worth of music that I’m so excited about,” Shakira said last fall. In 2022, she released two singles: her Latin Grammy-nominated pop smash with Rauw Alejandro, “Te Felicito” (I Congratulate You), followed by her more beneficent heartbreak ballad with Ozuna, “Monotonía” (Monotony). She has yet to confirm a release date for a new album, which would be her first since 2017’s “El Dorado.”