El General
Edgardo Armando Franco grew up in a Panama City neighborhood shaped by generations of Jamaican migrant labor, and in the late 1980s and early 1990s became one of the first breakout stars of 'reggae en español,' translating Jamaican dancehall riddims and toasting into Spanish. Hits like 'Tu Pum Pum' and 'Muévelo' carried Panamanian Spanish reggae to Latin American and US audiences and fed directly into the Puerto Rican underground scene that became reggaetón.
The 'Dem Bow' riddim that Shabba Ranks popularized in 1990 became a direct rhythmic building block for El General's own reggae en español productions that same year.
listen forShabba Ranks's 'Dem Bow' and El General's 'Son Bow' share more than a title nod — the same riddim's rhythmic pulse runs underneath both vocals.
El General has cited Bob Marley as a key influence growing up in a Jamaican-descended Panamanian community, part of the reggae soundtrack that shaped his ear before he began toasting in Spanish.
listen forThe loping reggae backbone of Bob Marley's 'No Woman, No Cry' is the rhythmic bedrock El General later sped up and chanted over on 'Muévelo.'
El General also named Burro Banton as a formative influence — his aggressive, gruff-voiced dancehall toasting was part of the raw Jamaican deejay style El General absorbed and adapted into Spanish.
listen forBurro Banton's rugged chat on 'Boom Wah Dis' and El General's own declamatory flow on 'Te Ves Buena' share that same rhythmically clipped, aggressive toasting attack.