They often say that changes come in waves. Puerto Rico has an interesting relationship with change, from our colonial status remaining mostly unchanged since 1917 to new condos popping up throughout San Juan. And yet, our music is always changing, with new sounds not so much evolving from previous genres but bursting out of the collective ether to not only create change but give it a voice. From bomba y plena to the salsa of the ’70s to reggaetón, the island’s musical history has been defined by innovation. And with his debut EP, Puerto Rican artist Pink Pablo is set to become the face of a new musical tradition — one that breaks from the conventions of everything that came before.
“The way that I do music, I don’t even think of the genre that I’m making. I just flow.”
“The way that I do music, I don’t even think of the genre that I’m making. I just flow,” the artist tells POPSUGAR.
It’s an approach that is immediately apparent upon listening to the handful of songs he has available across streaming services. Whether it’s “Veo Luces” or “Perdimos El Control” (the two lead singles from his upcoming EP), genre is nothing more than a loose framework for the singer to play with, taking what he needs and discarding anything that doesn’t suit the vibe and message he’s after.
“I don’t go to the studio and say, ‘I want to make a dancehall, or a reggaetón, or an indie song.’ I just do whatever calls to me that day. “
Born in Rio Piedras, Juan Pablo Rivera Agosto’s journey to music started the same way so many Puerto Rican kids’ journeys do: in church.
“Playing in church with my father was really a defining factor. That’s where I learned to play by ear and developed my taste for simple melodies,” he shares. “You know, those church songs are incredibly catchy and they’ve lasted hundreds of years.”
Music was like a lifelong companion for Rivera Agosto. If he wasn’t playing with his father in church, then he was making beats using music softwares with his cousins. But it wasn’t until his close friend and current manager, Marcos Mazo, invited him to the States that he decided to dedicate himself to music. Putting his PhD on pause, Rivera Agosto headed to LA.
“He invited me and I went to LA to do music full-time. That was where the project really gained traction and where I really developed the sound,” he says.
It’s here that Rivera Agosto’s story starts to deviate from the urbano norm. For decades, the path to making it on the island was an insular one, requiring grinding away at local clubs and studios. Even the SoundCloud generation of artists, like Eladio Carrión, Bad Bunny, and Young Miko, were essentially a more digital version of that same tried-and-true framework. But while it may seem like an innocuous detail — after all, musicians tend to record at studios all over — Rivera Agosto’s trip to LA is indicative of a bigger shift in Puerto Rico, one that sees this small island at the eastern end of the West Indies exploring new paths and entering new conversations on the world stage.
“I think Puerto Rico is expanding its ear for different sounds. Right now, [the island] is this hot spot that the whole world is looking at and [seeing] the talent that is coming out of here,” says Rivera Agosto.
When asked about the vibrant music scene in Puerto Rico, the singer says he feels privileged to be a part of it, mentioning how rich it is to grow up in a place with such a strong musical tradition. But he also feels that the current rise of alternative genres like alt-perreo and alt-trap is an inevitable change, one that results from a certain ennui in regard to what the urbano genre has become.
“It can be formulaic. You know, you can make music like the music that [already has an established sound] and it can be amazing,” he says. “But it’s not exciting. What’s exciting is breaking new ground . . . In any movement, people crave a new way of expressing themselves. Puerto Rico is at that point. The music is transforming. But where it goes, only the artist can define it. We gotta create it.”
Rivera Agosto’s upcoming EP narrates the past year and a half of his life, a turbulent time period that was filled with love, loss, and toxic habits. It’s the perfect setup for the artist to explore his inner sentiments across a varied soundscape that veers from electropop to rock, reggaetón, and even disco. But while that kind of eclecticism might seem almost too varied, the EP is tightly held together by Rivera Agosto’s vulnerable lyrics and the vein of nostalgia and longing that runs through it.
“I’m just narrating my life. [It’s important to] let people see you and see your struggles.”
“I’m just narrating my life. [It’s important to] let people see you and see your struggles,” he says. “[It’s] relatable because we’re all going through the same sh*t. I just want to be that beacon.”
As Pink Pablo, Rivera Agosto is certainly on his way. While he refers to the recent success he’s enjoyed as “just a taste,” the buzz he’s generated is authentic and seems primed to only grow from here on out. Recently, the artist enjoyed his first series of shows in Puerto Rico, one taking place in the historic barrio of La Perla in Viejo San Juan. It was the first time he would actually interact with his fans live and get a feel for how they related to his songs. It didn’t disappoint.
“Sometimes you’ll be at the studio making songs and you really don’t know how they translate to people. But having people enjoying your live show and screaming your [lyrics], that’s like gasolina, just telling me I’m on the right path,” he says.
As far as where that path will lead eventually, Rivera Agosto isn’t really sure. He’s just enjoying the ride and being an artist that people can connect with. And he wants to keep it that way.
“Sometimes, I’m writing bars and I’m like, ‘Bro, is this you, or is this what they want to hear?’ So, it’s a process of digging and digging,” Rivera Agosto adds. “And it’s beautiful. Like, Pink Pablo has turned into this thing that I’m not even in control of. It’s something that’s beyond me. I’m just at the service of the music. I’m at the service of the message. I’m at the service of Pink Pablo.”