In Panama, "raka" (short for rakataka) was a put-down for someone from the hood. Raka Rich and Raka Dun took the word back. To them, a raka is someone proud of where they come from and who they are. As Raka Dun puts it, "not everything that comes from the ghetto is negative."

Los Rakas are Panamanian cousins who came up in East Oakland's youth centers in the mid-2000s, freestyling at the end of Zion-I shows with early support from Bay Area legends like The Jacka. They called their sound Panabay: hip-hop, plena, reggae and dancehall from Panama and the Bay, rapped in Spanish and English.

In 2011, "Soy Raka" became their anthem, and its video helped spark a dance movement in Panama, with kids adding "Raka" to their own names. In 2015 they became the first Spanish urban artists to perform at Coachella. Their self-titled album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album. Along the way they've worked with Major Lazer, Blondie and Amara La Negra, shared stages with Snoop Dogg, Shaggy and Kali Uchis, landed "Hot" on the FIFA 14 soundtrack, and built their own label, Raka Music. Their latest album is La Raka Zaza.