Cuban hip hop
Hip-hop music reached Cuba through radio and TV broadcasts from Miami . During the 1980s , Cuban hip hop culture revolved mainly around break dancing . But with the 1990s , the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the special period , young rappers were looking for ways to express their disappointment.
Early days: import
Initially, hip-hop was viewed with skepticism, not just by the government, but also by society. As long as rappers adopted the aggressive attitudes and textual content of US rappers, hip-hop was seen as just another US cultural intervention that brought about the violence and problems of the ghettos .
This gradually changed as the rappers began to create their own reality, making use of traditional Cuban culture.
Both the change in attitudes towards hip-hop and the approach to down-to-earth language were partly facilitated by the involvement of Nehanda Abiodun , an American activist with the Black Liberation Army in exile in Cuban .
Annoyed by what she saw as a blind imitation of American commercial rap culture with its portrayal of gangster life, violence and misogyny, Abiodun began a collaboration with the Malcom X Grassroots Movement in the United States and brought alternative hip-hop artists to Cuba. This led to the Black August benefit concerts in New York and Havana .
The rock promoter Rodolfo Renzoli and Grupo Uno also made a contribution to the perception of hip-hop as authentic Cuban culture, a collective from a cultural center in East Havana. With the help of the Asociación Hermanos Saíz (AHS), the state organization for young artists, they launched an annual hip-hop festival in 1995 in the Havana district of Alamar , which is considered by many to be the birthplace of Cuban hip-hop. AHS's Ariel Fernández compares Cuban hip-hop to the Nueva Trova of the 1960s - a revolution during the revolution. In his words, "the social role he plays is very important. Cuban rap criticizes the shortcomings that exist in our society, but in a constructive way that creates youth images and the space to build a better society."
Cuban hip-hop takes place in the context of Fidel Castro's maxim "everything within the revolution", according to which critical debates are permitted as long as they are not viewed as counter-revolutionary. Inevitably, Cuban hip-hop as an art form based on individual expression of everyday life is often a borderline case for this distinction.
Rappers, for example, often find themselves harassed by the Cuban police, whose job it is to track down society against counterrevolutionary acts. What is counter-revolutionary and what is not, however, is a debate of its own.
To illustrate the dynamics of the situation: during a case where the police tried to end a hip-hop concert because it was subversive, the minister of culture appeared and emphasized that what was taking place was important for the revolution and to continue have.
Harry Belafonte is credited with explaining hip hop culture to Fidel Castro over dinner. Fidel was so impressed that he called hip-hop "the avant-garde of the revolution" and was seen rapping next to the Doble Filo group at the opening of a baseball game .
In 2000, the official Cuban labels BIS and EGREM began to release hip-hop, starting with Obsesión, Triangulo Oscuro and Sin Palabras. More recent rappers La Fres-k and Telmary Díaz (before going it alone a member of Free Hole Negro), the alternative hip- hoppers Hoyo Colorao and the reggaeton trio Bases Llenas should also be mentioned.
Current events
In 2002 the government founded the Agencia Cubana de Rap with its own record label and hip-hop magazine to support the art form on the island. Weekly radio and TV shows have started.
With official sanction and aid, the Alamar Rap Festival has been shaped into an annual International Hip-Hop Festival held in August. The event has attracted many international artists, including a. by the USA Mos Def , Talib Kweli , The Roots , Common and Dead Prez . Workshops, film screenings and talks will be held in conjunction with debates on culture and texts.
It is estimated that there are close to 500 hip-hop groups in Cuba. However, while there has been great interest from academia and the media, a few Cuban groups have managed to be heard outside the island.
The first group to make it internationally were Orishas , who are now based in France.
In 2002 the album Cuban Hip Hop Allstars , produced by Pablo Herrera , was released in the USA, featuring some of the best groups of the time.
Another group published internationally by Italy is Clan 537 , who achieved fame with "Quien Tiro La Tiza".
Many other groups fled to the free internet to be heard on MP3 .