Modern times
By the 1960s, local doo-wop groups were evolving into what became known as the Combos Nacionales, five to ten musician groups using electric instruments and incorporating the diverse sounds of jazz, calypso, salsa, merengue, doo wop, soul and funk. Famous Combos Nacionales included The Silvertones, The Exciters, The Fabulous Festivals, The Beachers, The Soul Fantastics, Los Mozambiques, The Goombays, Los Juveniles, Roberto y su Zafra and Bush y sus Magnificos. By 1970, the dynamic Combos Nacionales sound dominated Panamanian popular music, only winding down toward the late 1970s.
Reggae en Español originated in Panama, known as Spanish reggae is very popular among youth, and spawned the Spanish language dancehall also known as reggae en español (Spanish dancehall) style known as the predecessor to reggaeton, which originated with such artists as El General, Nando Boom, Renato, Mr. Rico, Aldo Ranks, Kafu Banton, Jam & Suppose, Danger Man and Chicho Man, before becoming popular in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and eventually amongst youth in the United States. As of 2006, Panama has become a major source and contributor to reggaeton and, especially as Reggaeton from Panama is on the rise and continues to dominate charts in the United States and abroad.
The Pioneers of the International Reggae en Espanol movement out of Panama were Gary H. Mason aka: Big Daddy G., and Luis "Wicho" Phillips aka: The Karma Master. They introduced and produced the songs "El Meneaito" performed by Gaby, "Soy El Mas Sensual" performed by Renato, "Camión Lleno de Gunn" performed by Jam & Suppose, "El Marciano" performed by Cocoman, as well as hits by Reggae Sam, Aldo Ranks, Toby King, Reggae Kid, and many other well known Panamanian Artists.
While often still referred as Reggae, much of the current Panamanian reggae scene is based in Jamaica's dancehall scene. The genre still maintains some of the style of the earlier reggae en Español, such as the laidback lyrics and references to everyday life, but some details, like the common practice of taking Jamaican dancehall songs (or even non-dancehall songs, as the case of Benny Benassi's Satisfaction) and releasing them with Spanish lyrics but otherwise minor to no differences with the original track, is now often criticized as plagiarism, mainly due to Internet, which has allowed people to have more awareness about a song's origins.
One of such artists to often face said criticism is Japanese, who tends to release songs based on viral hits like Gangnam Style or "Moving like Bernie" (a song involving the "Bernie dance" dance moves), or popular songs like Wiggle. This criticism, however, is mostly related to what some people consider "uninspired lyrics". Some speculate that the plagiarism issue is what keeps Panamanian and Jamaican dancehall scenes rarely colliding in the form of music collaborations, despite the closeness of both cultures.
Parallel to this, reggae influences in Panama have also spawned several popular reggae roots bands, such as Cellula, Pureza Natural, Raices y Cultura, Inspiración Mística, Panta Rey, among others. While reggae entered the country through Antillian immigrants, it has reached all sorts of people, like Mestizo singer from Coclé I-Nesta, who has experimented with traditional reggae roots, dancehall and even reggae fusion, and has collaborated with Argentinian reggae singer Fidel Nadal. Reggae roots remains popular among Panamanian youth of different regions, classes and races, specially among Rastas and secular weed subculture.
A thriving and very popular rock en español scene has produced such groups as Orquesta Garash, Radicales Libres, Filtro Medusa, Skamilonga, Los Rabanes, Xantos Jorge, Cage 9, Factor VIII, Os Almirantes, Nervial, Los 33, Señor Loop, Roba Morena, Out-reazon, Lemmiwinks, Skraped Knees, Calibre 57, ROGAM, Cabeza De Martillo, just to name a few. Solo artists like Cienfue and Horacio Valdés have also proved popular.
In recent years, the Electronic Dance Music scene of Panama has flourished, not being restricted just to concerts by David Guetta or Tiësto, but having full-fledged electronic music festivals like The Day After, which have featured famous EDM acts like Afrojack, Nervo, Martin Garrix, W&W and the like. Some national electronic music producers have appeared; however, the development of the producer scene is at a much earlier stage than its fanbase, partly because of the country's music labels focus on dancehall and its subgenres. However, a well-known Dancehall producer from the country, Predikador, has had an experimental venture on electronic dance genres in his "2050" series of sequentially named tracks, which have drawn from the popular EDM genres at the time each track was made (namely, Dubstep and Big Room House).
Also worth mentioning is Pedro Altamiranda and his historically popular music spanning several generations and political moments. His songs have a comedic tone and are often satirical; some of which have been banned by leaders like Manuel Noriega. Despite this, his influence has persisted, and many popular phrases and slang used in Panama are lyrics from Altamiranda's songs.
