Fito Blanko on Latin Music, Toronto and Perfect Pitch
Superstar Fito Blanko sits down with Laps of Lux
Few artists move between musical worlds as naturally as Fito Blanko. A Panamanian-Canadian recording artist raised in Toronto, he has spent his career bringing Latin urban sounds into conversation with dancehall, reggae and hip-hop. In a LAPSOFLUX interview, Blanko described himself as “an award-winning Panamanian-Canadian Latin recording artist, a pioneer of Latin urban music in Canada, an advocate for Latin music and culture, and a dreamer.”
That sense of possibility runs through the milestones he remembers most: performing at EDC Mexico, presenting at the Latin Grammy Awards and serving as an ambassador for the Pan Am Games. They are different stages and audiences, but each reflects the same through line in his work: carrying Latin music into spaces where it was still finding its footing.
Blanko’s story is also part of a broader Canadian music history. The JUNO Awards’ guide to Latin music in Canada describes him as an early champion of Latin music and Spanish lyrics in Canadian hip-hop. His own account of the records, people and rooms that shaped him makes clear how personal that work has always been.
The Scarborough studio session he still remembers
Asked to recall a defining project moment, Blanko went back to 2008 and a late-night session in his Scarborough studio. He was working with Toronto rapper Bishop Brigante on a track featuring Snoop Dogg. As Blanko remembers it, the room filled with local rappers and producers who wanted to contribute to the remix.
“There was so much talent in that room: Bishop, Sensei Musica, Boi-1da, Roxx, Ken Masters, Hush (Young Tony), and Drake,” he said. “It was one of those nights that felt like we could achieve anything. We were all just kids then, but seeing how far everyone has come since makes that night all the more special.”
What stays with him is not only the list of names, but the feeling of possibility: a group of young artists sharing a room, making something together before anyone could know where their paths would lead. It is a vivid snapshot of Toronto’s collaborative music culture and of the community Blanko was building around his own studio.
A sound shaped by Panama, Jamaica and Toronto
Blanko traces his musical instincts to the records that travelled across borders and generations. “I was greatly inspired by Panamanian and Jamaican reggae artists, the pioneers of Latin urban music like Renato, El General, and Nando Boom, as well as Puerto Rican underground mixtapes such as The Noise and Playero.” Those influences sit alongside the hip-hop he absorbed while growing up in 1990s Toronto, where artists including Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, Nas, Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg were part of his listening world.
Rather than treating those references as separate lanes, Blanko’s music draws on their overlap: Caribbean rhythm, Latin urban energy and the lyric-driven sensibility of hip-hop. That mix also helps explain why he talks about music as culture and community, not simply as a genre label.
How “Meneo” found its way to Furious 7
One of Blanko’s best-known songs, “Meneo,” later appeared on the 2015 Furious 7 soundtrack. In the LAPSOFLUX conversation, he emphasized that the track had already been finished and released before the film came out: “The song was finished and released two years before the movie Furious 7 dropped.”
He recalled making the record with producer I Am Chino, Sensei Musica and Jorgie of Mr. 305 Inc. The path from studio session to major film soundtrack is a reminder that a song’s life can keep expanding after the original release. For Blanko, the placement was a striking milestone, but the track began with a creative team and a sound that already felt complete on its own terms.
Collaborations, community and the next chapter
Blanko’s catalogue has taken him into sessions and remixes with artists across Latin music, pop and hip-hop. He recalled working with Pitbull, Sak Noel, Fat Joe, Elvis Crespo, Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Rick Ross, J Balvin, Jowell, J Alvarez and Gente de Zona. “I feel blessed to have played a role on so many projects, big and small,” he said. The breadth matters: collaborations have let him move between audiences while keeping his own musical identity in view.
That collaborative spirit continues in 2026. Canada Soccer’s Perfect Pitch album, What If It All Goes Right?, includes “El Dorado,” credited to Isabella Lovestory, Fito Blanko and Alx Veliz, with Boi-1da. The national music ambassador program brings Canadian artists together around music and soccer, with proceeds supporting the Canada Soccer Foundation. It places Blanko in a current, distinctly Canadian project while keeping the cross-cultural collaboration at the centre.
In the LAPSOFLUX interview, Blanko said he was back in the studio working on a fresh project and wanted to “bring the party back and make clubs fun again.” He also spoke about staying connected to listeners online. His answers still sound like an artist who values the shared experience of a room: a studio session, a dance floor, or a community finding itself in a song.
A few quick answers
Asked for five favourite artists, he named Kanye, Sean Paul, Pitbull, Daddy Yankee and Héctor Lavoe. His favourite music cities were Toronto, Miami and Mexico. And for a dream collaboration, he picked producer Timbaland: “I’d love to hear what a Timbo shatta dancehall beat sounds like.”
Special thanks: Singhara, Jem Fortaine and Island Diaz.
Studio: Maison Films.