The Meaning of ‘La Bestia,’ The Atlanta Braves’ Commemorative Song for 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acua Jr.

The song, produced by Samuel Ash and performed by Niko Eme, honours baseball legend Ronald Acua Jr.

Last week, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acua Jr. was named the 2023 National League Most Valuable Player, and a song named after the Venezuelan athlete’s nickname, “La Bestia,” was released to celebrate.

“La Bestia,” with its catchy dembow beat and lyrics chanted by Dominican artist Niko Eme, is the ideal sing-along song to pump up fans at a baseball game. “What exactly am I? What exactly am I? What exactly am I? “The beast,” repeats the chorus in Spanish.

“We wanted to do something that felt global and that we could chant to,” says award-winning Mexican-American producer Samuel Ash to Billboard. “I thought dembow was ideal for that because it’s something you could do with a group of people.” We wanted something with a lot of energy. So that’s exactly how I felt when we were brainstorming ideas for what direction to take with the music. I understand that dembow is a Dominican genre, but I felt it could still feel global and resonate with him as a Venezuelan.”

The song is only the Atlanta Braves’ second effort as part of a sports-meets-music initiative that began this year. To commemorate the release of the Braves City Connect jerseys, Zaytoven performed “Home of the Braves” with Young Dro.

“Part of it is trying to figure out how we can connect to our audience in unique and out-of-the-box ways,” explains Eugene Brooks, Atlanta Braves director of diversity marketing. “The objective is how do we reach people where they are, especially the younger audiences, through all the different platforms?”

“La Bestia” was written in a week and released on the same day Acua was named MVP. Brooks and Ash both admit that they kept the song under wraps in the hopes that it would go unnoticed.