BIOGRAPHY
Lyz Martin is an award-winning Panamanian singer and songwriter whose bi-lingual Spanish and English lyrics combine with different musical styles, including pop and reggae, to create danceable melodies and soulful ballads.
Early Years and Influences
Today, Lyz’s favorite musical artists and influences are Moses Sumney, Jhené Aiko, Erykah Badu, Rosalía, and Deftones. Which is not at all surprising given her upbringing. Born Arielys Elaine Martin Cordoba in 2001 in Panama City, Panama, Lyz grew up in a house where recordings of many different musical styles were often heard, including bachata, salsa, and reggaeton as well as classical and Bollywood. Her mother’s taste in music was eclectic and influenced Lyz to adopt the same broad musical palate. Lyz began expressing her musical interests first by humming random melodies around the house as a young child, which then progressed into singing at home for family and neighbors. Eventually, she worked up the confidence to begin singing in church. The feedback she received was very encouraging, which led her to start entering talent contests at school. Not only did she win the contests she entered, her continued multi-year winning streak eventually led to school officials persuading her to step back from school contests for a while so that others would stand a chance of winning. In the contests, she would typically sing popular ballads, feeling this style of music provided the best format to showcase her developing voice. Lyz began writing romance stories at age 11, after reading many romance novels and feeling inspired to write one herself. Soon after, she began writing poetry and became interested in slam poetry, a form of performance art where poems are performed in front of an audience. Self-described as an intense and somewhat shy pre-teen, Lyz kept her early written material private because she feared people would not like it. But this would soon change.
Recordings
When Lyz was 13, she wrote her first song titled Self-made Bubble. Having recently started at a new school where she did not know any other students and felt alienated and alone, this first song explored these themes. This was the first time she combined her new lyric writing skills with her ability to create a melody. She played it for her mother, who was so moved by it that she decided to contact a friend who owned recording studio in Chitré to set up a recording session. The result was a collaboration between Lyz, rapper Kenny Man, and producer Rene Carerra that helped establish Lyz as an aspiring recording artist.
For the next several years, to show off her singing talent, Lyz recorded cover records of popular music, including Stay and Man Down (both made popular by Rihanna), Elastic Heart (made popular by Sia), and Earned It (made popular by The Weeknd). She put some of the recordings up on YouTube and mentioned them on her Facebook page. The readily available examples of Lyz’s vocal abilities combined with connections that her family had in the local music industry led word to spread, and her reputation continued to grow. In 2017 a local rapper named Latin Fresh invited Lyz to collaborate with him on a new recording. The record, Todo o Nada, which is about empowerment and choosing to be alone rather than accepting a partner who gives you less than you deserve, featured Lyz’s vocals and was produced by DJ Krazy Tracks for record label Urban City Club. Not long after, Lyz was invited to work on another collaboration, this time with artist Martin Machore. The record, titled Free the Fire, featured Lyz’s vocals and was produced by DJ Fiti X. The song is about igniting passion and letting loose on the dance floor. She gained valuable experience in music promotion by visiting numerous radio and television stations, beauty pageants, and casinos throughout Panama to talk about and perform this song.
Keeping in mind that Lyz was still a teenager, the inspiration for her next song came, unsurprisingly, from a romantic break-up. Lyz’s second solo recording, titled Me Despido, tells of a broken heart with lyrics such as, “There's no turning back now, don't look for me no more.” After writing the lyrics and melody, Lyz teamed up with producer DJ Chiky to make the recording. By this time Lyz had amassed a growing fan base thanks to Instagram, and the reaction to the track and video was extremely positive. This encouraged Lyz to also make the recording for a song she had written previously called That Way, again pairing up with DJ Chiky for what would be her third solo-recording. Lyz dedicated That Way to reggae roots Panamanian icon I Nesta (El Rasa Del Futuro) who was going to be a guest on the recording but passed away unexpectedly before his recording session was scheduled. The song is about falling in love with someone and loving the way they love you. Lyz’s next recording, titled Otro Muerto, was a collaboration with rapper Suku Castro and producer El Noch. The song is about protesting against gang violence and the crimes that Panamanians have to deal with on a daily basis. Feeling more sure about her talent and growing reputation as an up-and-coming Panamanian artist, Lyz’s next collaboration was with Gian Varela, a Panamanian house music DJ/producer and son of the former president of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez. The project was initiated by Lyz’s mother reaching out to Gian to see if he might be interested in creating a beat for a new track for Lyz. He was interested, and after some inspiring creative back and forth between Lyz and Gian, his beat was combined with her lyrics and vocals on the new track called Radar.
While the finishing touches were being put on Radar, an important development in Lyz’s career happened – she began working with veteran music producer Mark Roofe. The connection was made through a family friend, and when the Miami-based producer heard Lyz’s music and saw how passionately involved she and her family were in advancing her career, he was inspired to become a part of the team. Mark is an bass guitar player, originally from Jamaica, who has worked with many successful artists including R&B artist Adina Howard, rapper Iconz, Latin R&B act Son by 4 and others, headed up A&R for the label responsible for first signing R. Kelly, and has run his own commercial recording studio in downtown Miami. Mark added his talents to Radar, bringing an entirely different level of professional production to the track. Citadel FM, a U.S.-based provider of ambient music to hotels, restaurants, and stores, included Radar in its pilot program featuring up and coming new artists, also featuring Lyz’s image on a digital billboard located near the MGM Resort.
This new creative relationship between Lyz and Mark motivated Lyz to write new songs and create new recordings like never before. The next track released was No Te Conozco, which features a guest appearance by George “Bruk Up” Adams, originator of the Jamaican dance style Bruk Up, who was famously acknowledged in the track by Beyonće titled Move. This was followed by Mala, which is about female empowerment, and Heroína, which is about wanting to be loved for who you are and not being willing to change in order to feel accepted. Lyz also collaborated with Jamaica-based producer Stephen Carlyle F. Dixon, on the track 6 AM, about having trust in God when you are afraid or experiencing doubt.
Competitions, Awards, Notable Performances, and Accomplishments
In 2019, Lyz was a contestant on a national music competition television show for Panama TVN Channel 2 titled Vive La Música, beating out many other contestants in numerous auditions before being eliminated in the first official round of competition. This caught the attention of the Panama daily newspaper Mi Diario, which described her in an article as one of the promising artists in the Panamanian music scene.
In 2022, Lyz’s track Radar won four awards at the Conferencia Internacional de la Music Imperial Premios Imperial Gold Music Awards, including the top prize (1st place Imperial Gold Music, Best National Song, Best Female Song, and Best Tuning).
In 2024, Lyz was named as a nominee for the Caribbean Music Awards in the Artist of the Year (Latin Caribbean) category. The winner will be announced at the event in late August 2024. Also in 2024, Radio Disney added Radar to its stations.
Lyz has been invited to perform at numerous important events. These include fundraising events such as Relevo Por La Vida (Relay for Life) organized by the Fundraiser Amigos del Niño con Leucemia y Cáncer (FANLYC), Radiotón Mes de la Sonrisa organized by Operación Sonrisa (Operation Smile), and El Gran Día organized by Arcos Dorados, the company that operates McDonald’s restaurants in Latin America and Caribbean, to benefit the Fundación Ronald McDonald (Ronald McDonald Children’s Foundation) and the “My First Job” program. She has also performed at the final gala of the Global Beauty Panama 2020 pageant and the 2023 Festival De La Musica por el Planeta (Musical Festival for the Planet), staged on the Escalinatas del Edificio de la Administración del Canal de Panamá (stairs of the Panama Canal Administration building), where she was also asked to co-write and perform an original song for the event.
Personal Life
While continuing to develop her writing and vocal skills and grow her network of collaborators, Lyz finished high school and in 2019 decided to pursue a bachelor's degree in English with an emphasis in translation at the Universidad Latina in Panama City. She graduated with her degree in 2023.
Lyz is an Afro Ambassador for the Afro Unidad movement, a Pan-African cultural kinship movement founded in 2020 by Afro organizations and artists. The movement includes over 50 Afro Ambassadors across 14 countries who host events and programs globally, and focus their efforts on consciousness, liberation, healing, & unity.
In addition to music, Lyz’s passions include spirituality and psychology.
What’s Next
These days Lyz finds herself writing new songs all the time and she is busy at work recording them so that she can share them with her fans.
Lyz's Team
Karel Córdoba (Manager)
Jermaine Ridgeway (Executive Producer)
Javier Card (Executive Producer)
Godfrey Bowen (Executive Producer)