Cuban hip-hop
Cuban hip-hop is a genre of hip-hop. Hip-hop arrived in Cuba via radio and TV broadcasts from Miami. During the 1980s, hip hop culture in Cuba was mainly centered on breakdancing. By the 1990s, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the onset of the Special Period, young rappers, exposed to foreign tourists whose wealth highlighted their struggle, turned to rapping to affirm their heritage and advocate for further revolutionary reforms.
Early days: Importation
The importation of Cuban rap is debated, but many argue that it was brought from Miami. Rap hit Cuba approximately a quarter century ago, gaining popularity in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union. However it existed among young moneros, who had a tremendous oral ability and linguistic creativity. At the beginning of establishing Rap in Cuba rap like rock was perceived as a foreign import and while it was never forbidden, neither was it promoted or encouraged"The Cuban government changed its perceptions about hip hop during 1999 when they declared it as an authentic expression of Cuban culture. In addition the government formed the Agencia Cubana de Rap that provides state-run record label and hip hop magazine, and began supporting the annual Cuban Hip Hop festival. Cuban rappers injected a renovating energy into Cuban music that was taken from hip hop culture. Rap in Cuba began to emerge precisely during the gangsta rap period in the United States which included artists like 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G, Ice-T, Snoop Dogg and many more influential gangster rappers.
Gradually this began to change as raperos began to express their own reality and make use of traditional Cuban culture. One sentiment expressed involved how Cuban politics were not keeping pace with social reality. All Cubans are discouraged from visiting government-designated 'tourist zones,' such as the fancy restaurants and night clubs in Old Havana, and police will ask most who show up there for ID. But statistics show that the police arrest Afrocubans all over the island more often than Whites. Many Afrocubans believed government assumes Blacks are more likely to be involved in criminal activity.
This exclusion from night life led to the importance of house parties where raperos were able to establish their own "underground" hip hop scene. The financial constraints of tourist geared night clubs that only accept dollars or venues that cost up to the equivalent of a standard monthly Cuban salary for entry also aided in the significance of house parties in the Cuban hip hop scene.
In the mid-1990s, the music scene was one of the most promising for Cubans to meet tourists and gain possible access to much needed hard currency. Hip-hop developed new dance moves involving the 'solo' female body: the despelote and tembleque and the subasta de la cintura. These moves define a solo female dance style which involves fast movement and turning/swirling of the area from below shoulders and chest to pelvis. Often accompanied by hand and body gestures mimicking self-pleasuring, it constituted a noticeable change in dance style, of women dancing to be 'looked at' both by their partners, by other prospective partners, and by other spectators, using their body as a major asset. This was in contrast to traditional dancing such as normative couple dancing.
Birth of a Cuban scene
American Influence
The change in both attitude towards hip hop and the move towards home grown expression was in part facilitated by the involvement of New Afrikan Revoluationay Nehanda Abiodun, a U.S. Black Liberation Army activist in political exile in Cuba. Upset with what she saw as blind imitation of commercial US rap culture with its depiction of thug life, violence, and misogyny, Abiodun began working with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement in the US to bring progressive US hip hop artists to Cuba. This led to the Black August benefit concerts held in New York City and Havana, which have featured artists such as Erykah Badu, David Banner, Common, dead prez, Fat Joe, the Roots, Jean Grae, Les Nubians, Chuck D, Gil Scott-Heron, Dave Chappelle, Tony Touch, Black Thought, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, La Bruha, and Imani Uzuri.The Black August Collective that was formed, and the concerts these progressive US artists gave in Cuba, played a key role in expanding and raising the profile of conscious, politicized rap within Cuba. Many Cuban rappers felt an affinity to the revolutionary aspects of the work these artists created. The Black August Hip Hop Collective Statement of Purpose offers that "Our goal is to bring culture and politics together and allow them to naturally evolve into a unique hip hop consciousness that informs our collective struggle for a more just, equitable and human world". Despite the movement's association with an identity other than Cuban, the government supported The Black August Collective and allowed the rappers to perform as they were supportive of the revolution. The youth of Cuba were fascinated not only by this style of music, but also by the Black Pride of the performers. This consciousness of struggle and achieving the goals of revolution are a key characteristic of a majority of Cuban hip hop today.
The Underground Scene
In the early stages of Cuban hip hop there was minimal technology to record their beloved hip hop. This made it virtually impossible to duplicate the exotic sounds in Cuba. This lack of technology led to the private gatherings of very devoted fans called, bonches. These bonches can be considered the seeds of today's Cuban rap community. Only the most dedicated fans would be in attendance and they would receive an understanding of raps evolvement and fame outside of Cuba. Eventually, the gatherings attracted too many people and they were forced out of private homes. In 1994, rap entrepreneur, Adalberto Jímenez was able to get a public space for these amazing hip hop gatherings. This public space was known as, el local de la Moña. This place would be a spot to find beautiful women, great drinks, and innovative Cuban hip hop. Moñas were so popular that it became the Cuban word for rap and Moñeros for rappers or rap enthusiasts. This is not a place for tourists, but mostly for young, black Cubans. La Moña moved around a great deal and became a sort of traveling party in Old Havana. La Moña charged a 5-peso admission charge, which would have translated to about 20 cents. In January 1999, La Moña moved to a tiny club called La Pampa and they had raised the price of admission to 20 pesos. This price is too high for a lot of the destitute Cubans in Havana. La Moña still remains the only place for moñeros to hear the latest underground rap in Cuba.In the underground scene of Cuba, freestyle becomes a manifestation of a communal establishment where those who are not rapping provide vocalized "backing track", opened for anyone to jump it for a freestyle. Cuban scholar Geoffrey Baker argues that those music-making circles "enable a community to generate a different social order and a distinct set of moral values."
Government Support
Hip-hop arrived in the public eye with the launch of the "Festival de Rap Cubano" in 1995, a joint effort by Grupo Uno and the state-run Asociación de Hermanos Sais. Despite poor promotion and the remote location, it became a huge success. Rap cubano emerged as a distinct genre when Amenaza incorporated Afro-Cuban bata percussion into their performance at the 1996 festival, winning them first place in the competition. The same year, Cuba's first all-female rap group, Instinto, secured second place for their energetically charged rap flow and performance. By 1999, through the aid of the Hip Hop Manifesto, rap cubano and rock music was declared "an authentic expression of Cuban culture" by Abel Prieto, Cuba's Minister of Culture. Fidel Castro deemed hip hop music to be at the "vanguard of the Revolution" because of its revolutionary message. This resulted in the formation of the Agencia Cubana de Rap, the state's organization that runs a record label and hip hop magazine, Movimiento.In 2002 the government formed the Agencia Cubana de Rap with its own record label and hip hop magazine to help promote the art form on the island. Weekly radio and TV shows were launched. With the creation of the Cuban Rap Agency by the Cuban government, this group encouraged and endorsed various rappers and created their albums. However, there was a down-side to this agency that affected the popularity of the CRA. Getting artists and bands radio time and fame, came at a slight price; there were limits as to how artists could express themselves. Thus, the CRA would only endorse groups that were willing to change their lyrics and music styles to those that were accepted by the government and community. As a result, not many groups or artists were willing to give into the CRA expectations.
However, that early support waned in the mid 2000s, drawing criticism from raperos who felt robbed of their platform to address social problems. In 2006, after ten years of hosting popular Cuban raperos, the AHS disbanded the "Festival Cubano de Rap." This inspired a renewed interest in independent concerts and festivals and a revival of the underground scene at events like Project Almendares in the Vedado district of Havana, hosted by prominent local DJ Alexis "D'Boys" Rodriguez and financed by international backers.