Las Letras Ya No Importan is the second studio album by Puerto Rican rapper Residente, released on February 22, 2024, through Sony Music Latin and 5020 Records.
Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Penélope Cruz, SFDK, Nino Freestyle, Busta Rhymes, WOS, Amal Murkus, Ibeyi, AI2 El Aldeano, Christian Nodal, Rauw Alejandro, Arcángel, Vico C, Big Daddy Kane, Ricky Martin and Jessie Reyez, all appear as guest artists in the album.
Throughout 2023 and early 2024, he began releasing various singles, all for the album except "Bajo y Batería", a nine-minute "diss track" ("tiradera" in Spanish) towards Puerto Rican rapper Cosculluela.
The post consisted of a short film featuring Spanish actress Najwa Nimri as a therapist that talks with Residente about his preoccupations with the current state of the music industry.
[13][9] The loss of loved ones is mentioned in tracks like the aforementioned "313" and "Ron en el Piso", an elegy for his cousin Julian, who passed away in 2021 after a drug overdose.
[14] In the latter, Residente raps about his status within the Latin music scene and his feelings around being called a "legend", while also commends Julian for supporting him during the early stages of his career.
In the former, Residente denounces corromption from governments and marked parallels between the situation of Puerto Rico as an unincorporated territory of the United States and the repression in Cuba, while in the latter he raps about the war in Palestine and invites various Palestinian musicians to play in the song.
[18] It is meant as a critique towards the consecuences of technology in the music industry, this as well as the obsession with commercial success and social media exposure is also discussed in tracks like "Ron en el Piso" and "Desde la Servilleta".
Actors Michelle Jenner, Sandra Escacena, Alberto Ammann, Darko Peric, Patrick Criado and Mario Rebollo, all appear in the music video.
[34] [35] [36] The music video for "Ron en el Piso" was produced by 1868 Studios, Zapatero Flims and World Junkies, and makes a review of Residente's career from his beginnings as a part of the band Calle 13 to his solo efforts, as well various significant people in his life.
[12] Finally, the music video for "313" was filmed at Granda de San Ildefonso in Spain and features Residente and Penélope Cruz as they sing to each other while a group of dancers surrounds them.
Additionally, the same year, he was nominated for Best Urban Fusion/Performance for "Cántalo", a collaboration with Ricky Martin and Bad Bunny, and won Best Rap/Hip Hop Song for "Antes Que El Mundo Se Acabe", becoming the inaugural winner of the category.