CUBAN TRANSITIONS

Scholar Sujatha Fernandes points out an interesting dichotomy between Cuban hip hop and the state. The lyrics of this popular local genre often criticize and challenge state policies and norms, yet the state recognizes the popularity of this musical movement and successfully uses hip hop as a way to reach out to a younger generation of Cubans.

What struck me most in Fernandes’ writing was the way the government was able to transform hip hop’s seemingly critical stance on government into a nuanced view that the state shared with these performers, creating unity between hip hop and the state. If an artist claimed Cuba’s poor were not allocated enough resources, the government transformed this criticism into an opportunity to affirm their own and hip hop’s commitment to the revolution; the state, like the rappers, supports better education and resources for the poor. The fact that the state is at fault for not supplying these resources is swept under the rug and instead the blame is laid on international capitalist governments who are guilty of these criticisms. If rappers sing about government corruption and inefficiency, the Cuban state manipulates this message to address outside governments and affirm their own Cuban state and peoples’ commitment to the revolution instead.

The state solidifies its role and influence in the Cuban hip hop world by providing funds and organizational structure to the movement, forcing underground hip hop artists to negotiate their values and messages to fit into government parameters. In this way the government has used hip hop’s popularity to further its own agenda of reaching out to a younger generation while controlling the dissidence expressed through its popular music.