The Context: In Panama – and, indeed, much of the world – Rio Abajo-born Sech is king of melody. Since the late 2010s, the reggaeton giant has become not just his country’s biggest star, but one of reggaeton’s premiere acts, making waves each year with his woozy, downbeat approach to the genre. And with hits like “Otro Trago” landing over a billion streams worldwide, it’s easy to let the numbers speak for themselves.
His third studio album, 42, was crafted around a recently-rediscovered journal from his younger years; Sech’s teenage narratives are brought to bloom here by his modern songwriting sensibilities, veering from rowdy firestarters (“Pata Abajo,” “Duvibes”) to conflicted-romance balladry (“Feliz de Mentira,” “Mi Ex”) . While not shaking up the formula, there’s plenty of A-Tier material here; the punchy “Wao” – already a fan favourite from its leaked TikTok snippet – closes the affair with a blast of metallic reggaeton.
Genres: Reggaeton, Latin Pop, Latin
Top 3: “Mi Ex,” “911,” “Wao”
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