fear of a black nation fernades

8/20/2019 Fear of a Black Nation Fernades

1/35

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Fear of a Black Nation: Local Rappers, Transnational Crossings, and State Power inContemporary CubaAuthor(s): Sujatha FernandesSource: Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Autumn, 2003), pp. 575-608

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2/35

e a r

o

l a c k

N a t i o n

L o c a l

Rapper s

Transnational

Cross ings

a n d S t a t e

P o w e r

n

ontemporary

u b a

Sujatha

Fernandes

Princeton

University

Abstract:This

essayanalyzes

he

relationships

etween

culture,

power,

and

poli-

tics in

contemporary

Cuba

hrough

he lens of

hip-hop.

n

particular,

look

at

the

interactions

etween

Cuban

appers,

he Cuban ocialist

tate,

and diverse

ransna-

tional

networks n a moment of

economic

crisis,

ncreasing

acial

disparities,

nd

Cuba's

hanging

global

position.

The

essayexplores

how the

Cuban tate has har-

nessed he

energy

of the

growing

hip-hop

movementas a

way

of

bolstering

ts

pop-

ularity;

highlight

ormsof

appropriation

nd

collaboration etween

ransnational

cultural orms

and the nation-state hat

have

generally

been absent from

ac-

counts of

cultural

globalization.

But

I also

suggest

hat

Cuban

rappers'

articipa-

tion

in

transnational

etworks

llows

these

rappers

ome

autonomy

o

continue

promoting

messages

of racial

egalitarianism

nd to

develop

alternative trate-

gies

in

a moment of

declining

options

for black

youth.

[Keywords:

ace,

hip-hop,

Cuban

rappers,

ransnational

etworks,

tate

power,

cultural

resistance]

This

rticle

explores

he

ways

in

which

young

Afro-Cubans

ppropriate

ransna-

tional

imaginaries

n

order

to frame

local

political

demands and

strategies.

Transnational

ap

networks

onstitute

a

vehicle

through

which

Afro-Cuban

outh

575


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3/35

Fear of a Black

Nation

negotiate

with

the

state and

build

strategies

or survival

n

the difficult ircum-

stancesof the contemporary specialperiod" of crisis.Attracted ythe blackna-

tionalist

politics

of

certain

African-American

appers

who

have

coined the

term

"underground"

r

"conscious"

ap,2

Cuban

rappers

offer

strong

criticisms f

ne-

oliberal

globalization

nd

they propose

he notionof Cuba

s a

black

nation

strug-

gling

for

justice

n an

inegalitarian

world

order.

But

rappers

lso

highlight

auses

of racial

ustice

withinCubaand

make

demands

forthe inclusion f

marginalized

sectors in

processes

of economic and

political

change.

Moreover,

iven

the

op-

portunitiespresentedbyincreased ourismanda limitedmarket conomy,some

rap

groups uggest

trategies

uch as

hustling

nd

consumerism hat

constitute

l-

ternative

ptions

or

black

youth

n a

period

of

crisis.

n

his

essay,

I

analyze

he re-

lationship

between

the diverse strands

of

the

Cuban

hip-hop3

movement,

transnational

orces,

and

the socialist

tate,

looking

at how

global

lowsof

culture

provide

a

means

for

contestationover

local

discourses

f

power

and race.

Scholars

of

culturalresistanceand

globalization

have

analyzed

he

potential

forpopularcultureand transnational ultural xchanges o challengedominant

formsof

power

by

building

and

sustaining

critical

pposition

Scott

1985, 1990;

Gilroy

987,

1996).

For

nstance,

Paul

Gilroy

ees the

contemporary

musical orms

of the

African

diaspora

as

building

paces

that can "meetthe

oppressivepower

of racial

capitalism"

Gilroy 996:365)

and

maintain"control

f

a

field

of

auton-

omy

or

independence

from the

system"

Gilroy

996:366).

But how can we un-

derstand he role of black

cultural

orms in a

context

where the

state has taken

on the projectof securing he autonomyof expressive ultures rom the market

(Garcia-Canclini

995),

and

where

popular

culture

producers

work from within

state

institutions? ome

anthropologists

Verdery

991,

Abu-Lughod

991,

Berdahl

1999)

have

begun

to

explore

the

ways

in which

culturalresistance s

enmeshed

in

historically

hanging

relationsof

power.

These theorists have

provided

so-

phisticated

accountsof the

many

levels

of

criticalresistance hat

exist

and

their

relationship

o formsof

power.By

addressing

he roleof

rap

music n

Cuba,

build

on the workof these scholars,demonstratinghow culturalproducersnegotiate,

subvert,

and

reproduce

spects

of

state

power

n the

contextof

a

socialist

ystem.

In

this

essay,

I

seek to trace the

complex

and

contradictory

orms

of

negoti-

ation,

accommodation,

and alliance between

rappers

and

the

state

in

the

spe-

cial

period.

On the

one

hand,

I

argue

that diverse

transnational

rap

networks

facilitate the

efforts

of

Afro-Cuban

outh

to

contest

emerging

racial hierar-

chies,

frame their demands

for social

justice,

and create alternative

strategies

for survival uch as hustlingand consumerism.Onthe otherhand,Isuggest hat

the

Cuban tate has

harnessed

he

oppositional

orce of

rap

music to maintain

576




4/35

SUJATHA

FERNANDES

its

hegemony

in

the

face

of

growing

racial

and economic

disparities

uring

a

pe-

riodof crisis.But,Iarguethatrappershavealso been ableto resist ome aspects

of state

cooptation

because

of their

participation

n

transnational

ap

networks

of African-American

ap

and

the

global

music

industry.

In

the firstsection of the

paper,

I

outline

the

dynamics

of race

in

Cuba,

he

changing

contours

of race relations

n

the contextof the

special

period,

and the

related

emergence

of

Cuban

rap

music.

I

look at

the

evolution of

distinct en-

dencies

in

Cuban

rap

that are

generally

associated

with the

US-derived ichoto-

myof "underground"nd "commercial"nd Iexplorehow these categoriesare

complicated

n

the contextof

Cuba.

The next section

explores

different

trategies

of culturalcontestation

in the

special

period.

These

strategies roughly

corre-

spond

to the blocs of

"underground"

nd "commercial"

ap:

hose

rappers

who

identify

as

underground

enerally

seek to

negotiate

with

the

state,

demanding

that it

fulfill ocialist dealsof racial

galitarianism,

while

rappers

who

identify

as

commercial

predominantly

voke alternativemeans of survival uch as

hustling

andconsumerism.n he third ection,I lookattheways nwhich he Cuban tate

appropriates

Cuban

rappers'

ounter-dominant

xpressions

o

fortify

ts

position

in a

new

global

context.

By

dentifying

he

interdependencies

between transna-

tional cultural orms

and

the

nation-state

Ong1999),

I

provide

new

insights

or

globalization

heory,

which has

tended

to

focus

exclusively

n the

ways

in which

nation-states re

receding

as

points

of

identification

Appadurai

990).

In

the

fi-

nal

section,

I

look

at

the

contradictory pace

of

Cuban

hip-hop,

which is both

shaped by,as it resists,capitalist onsumerism. show how a militantblackna-

tionalism oexistswith

strategies

f consumerism nd

I

argue

hat the

options

pro-

vided

by multiple

ransnationalnetworksallow

rappers

a

degree

of

autonomy

that was not

possible

or earlier

musical

nnovations.

Inthe

absence of

any

organized

political

movementsor formsof

association

among

Afro-Cuban

outh,

Cuban

rap

provides

an

avenue

of

expression

and

cul-

tural resistance

n

Cuban

ociety.

In

this

historical,

thnographic,

and

semiotic

studyof Cubanrapmusic, I seek to examine how rapmusicianshave opened

dialogue

with

the state about

issues of race

during

he

special period

and how

the state in

turn

has

exerted

influence over

the

direction,

strategies,

and

poli-

tics of the

Cuban

hip-hop

movement.

The

Context

and

Emergence

of Cuban

Rap

Cubanrap,as a uniquemusicaland poeticgenre,distinct rom bothCubanoral

traditions4

and American

rap,

began

to

develop

in the

mid-ninetiesand cur-

577




5/35

Fear of

a

Black Nation

rentlycomprises

a

fairly

broad

and diverse movement

that

spans

from the ur-

banareas of Havana o the easterntowns of Santiagode Cuba.For he first ive

years

of its

evolution

in

Cuba

up

until

1991,

hip-hop

culture was

produced

and consumed

within the

specific

social

context of the local

community

or

neighborhood.

At

parties,

people

would

play

music

rom

compact

discsthat had

been

brought

from the

US,

or music recorded

from Miami

radio,

and

they

would

pass

on

recorded

cassettes from

hand to

hand. The

period

from 1991 to

the

present

has

involved the institutionalization

and commercialization

of

Cubanhip-hopculture n severaldifferentways.Asthe art form hasdeveloped

its

own Cuban

tyle,

as

it has become

distinctly

more

complex,

and as it has

be-

gun

to

garner large

levels of

support among

Cuban

youth, rap

music has

si-

multaneously

become intertwined

with

Cuban

tate

institutions,

ransnational

record

companies,

and

hip-hop

movements

in the

US.

Here

I

explore

the

con-

ditions

that have

given

riseto

the

"rapper"

s a social

category

and I

identify

he

ways

in which Cuban

rap

musicians

nterpret

and recontextualize

ategories

of

"underground"nd "commercial"hat derive from the context of American

hip-hop.

Fromcertain

social,

historical,

and institutional

ocations

emerge

the

commitments and

solidarities

hat are crucial

to the

framing

of

political

de-

mands and the articulationof desire

in

Cuban

rap.

Rap

music

in

Cuba

s

shaped

by

a

highly

specific

set of social and econom-

ic

conditions,

including

he

demographic

restructuring

f the urban

metropo-

lis and

increasing

racial

inequalities

in the

special period. Rap

music and

hip-hopculturegrewrapidly n relocativehousingprojects uch as Alamarand

other areas of

high

density

housing,

occupied by mainly

black,

working

class

communities such as

Old

Havana,

Central

Havana,

Sancto

Suarez,

and

Playa.

Until he

collapse

of the

Soviet

Union,

blackand

working

class communities

in

Cubawere

relatively

protected

from neoliberal

processes

of economic restruc-

turing.

However,

he

crisis

of

the

special

period

forced

the

Cuban

government

to

adopt policies

of

austerity

in

order to increase the

competitiveness

of the

Cubaneconomy in the global economy. Althoughpoliciesof austerityand re-

structuring

have

affected Cuban

society

as

a

whole,

Alejandro

de

la

Fuente

(2001) argues

that

there have also been various

racially

differentiatedeffects.

The

legalization

of dollars has

divided

Cuban

society

according

o those who

have access

to

dollars

and

those who do not.

Family

remittancesare the most

important

source

of hard

currency

or most

Cubans,

and since the

majority

of

Cubans

n the

diaspora

tend to be

white,

it

is

white

Cuban

amilies

who bene-

fit most fromremittances Dela Fuente2001:319).Otheroptionsof survival n

the

special

period,

such as

opening paladares,

or

family-run

estaurants,

re

al-

578




6/35

SUJATHA

FERNANDES

so

less available

to

blacks

who tend to

be based

in more

densely populated

housingand do not have the space to carryout entrepreneurialactivities(De

la

Fuente

2001:321).

De

la

Fuente

(2001:326)

also

argues

that racial

prejudice

has become

increasingly

isible and

acceptable

in the

special period.

It

is not within the

scope

of this

article

to

give

a

detailed historicalaccount

of race relations n Cuba.

However,

ome

background

s

necessary

o

understand

the

changes

in the

contemporary

period.

Race relations

n

Cubadiffer

consid-

erably

from

experiences

of race in the

NorthAmericancontext.

In his work

on

race inColumbia,PeterWade 1993)points o two processes hatdefinerace re-

lations in

LatinAmerican

and Caribbeancountries. On the one

hand,

Latin

American nationalist

and

revolutionary

eaders

in

countries

with

significant

black

populations,

such as

Colombia,Cuba,

and

Brazil,

have

held

up

an

image

of

the mestizo

or

mixed

race

nation,

where nation

subsumes

race as

the main

form of identification.

To

talk

of "Blacks"

r

"race"

n

LatinAmerica s

prob-

lematic

because race relationshave

not

been

historically

perceived

as

primary

markersof identity.Onthe other hand, blacksin LatinAmericahave not be-

come

dispersed

nto

the

largercommunity,

but

they

maintaindistinct

practices

of

congregation

and

cultural

orms.

According

o Wade

(1993:3),

race in Latin

America s

characterized

by

a

complex

interweaving

of

patterns

of

discrimina-

tion and

tolerance,

which cannot be

understood

by

reference o forms

of racial

identity

in

the North

Americancontext.

De

la

Fuente

(2001:335)

corroborates

this

account of the

contradictory

natureof race relations

n

Cuba,

arguing

hat

while discoursesof racial raternityminimizedclaims forjustice by blackpop-

ulations,

the

more

fluid

understanding

of race that such

discoursesmade

pos-

sible also

opened

avenues

for

the

participation

f blacks n

mainstream

ultural

life.

But,

it

is

particularly

n

contexts of

crisissuch as

special period

Cuba

hat

racial

nequalities,

stereotypes,

and

prejudices

reemerge

in

ways

that

promote

racial

onflictand restrict

he

optionsopen

to blacks or

work

and advancement.

In

a

period

of

increasing

racial ensions

and racial

nequalities,

Afro-Cubans

find themselves deprivedof a politicalvoice. Drawingon discoursesof racial

democracy,

he

Cuban

revolutionaryeadershipattempted

to

eliminate racism

by

creating

a

color-blind

society,

where

equality

between blacks and whites

would render he need for racial

dentifications

obsolete. While

desegregating

schools,

parks,

and recreational

acilities,

and

offeringhousing,

education,

and

health care

to the black

population,

he

revolutionaryeadership

imultaneously

closed down

Afro-Cubanlubs and the

black

press

(De

la

Fuente

2001:280).

De

la Fuente(2001:329)sees the possibility or raciallybased mobilizationemerg-

ing

fromthe

contradictions

f the current

pecialperiod:

"The

revival

of

racism

579




7/35

Fear of a Black

Nation

and

raciallydiscriminatory

ractices

under the

special period

has led to

grow-

ing resentmentand resistance nthe blackpopulation,whichsuddenlyfinds it-

self in a hostileenvironment

without

he

political

nd

organization

ools

needed

to

fight against

it." Afro-Cuban

eligious

forms such

as

santerra

and

abacud

have

begun

to

gain

popularsupport

n

this

period,

but

rap

music

has taken

on

a more

politically

assertive

and

radical stance as

the

voice

of black

Cuban

youth.

Although

some older black Cubanscannot relate to the militantasser-

tion of black

identity

in

Cuban

rap,

it is

becoming increasingly

relevant to

Cuba'syouth, who did not live throughthe early periodof revolutionaryri-

umph

and are

hardest

hit

by

the

failureof

the institutions

stablished

under

he

revolution o

provide

racial

equality

in

the

special

period.

Cuban

rap

has

emerged

from a

local,

grass

roots

phenomenon

to a state-

sponsored

genre

with

multiple

transnationalconnections.

During

he

1990s,

the

Cubanstate

began

to

provide

nstitutionalresources or the

promotion

of

Cuban

rap.

In

1991,

there were

organized

concerts

or

pehfas

n

the

Casasde

la

CulturaCultural enters) f M6nacoand 10 de Octubre.Aradioprogram alled

La

Esquina

de

Rap

(Rap

Corner) egan

on Radio

Metropolitana

nd there was a

space

on televisionwhich

started

promoting

nternational

ap

artists

Fernandez

2000a).

In

summer

1992,

the

Asociacidn

Hermanos

Saiz

(Brothers

Saiz

Organization,AHS),

he

youth

cultural

wing

of the

official mass

organization

of

Cuban

youth,

Union

dejovenes

Cubanos

Union

of Cuban

Youth,

UJC)

reateda

space

for

rap

in La

Piragua,

large

open

air

stage

by

the

Malecon.

In

1994 this

space ceased to existand the movementbeganto dissipate,untilDJAdalberto

created

a

space

in

the

"local"

of Carlos

III

and

Infanta.

Rap producer,

Ariel

Fernandez

2000a),

says

that

up

until this moment

there was no real move-

ment of

rappers,only

individuals

mprovising

or

"freestyling."

rom

he local

emerged

the

pioneers

of

Cuban

rap:

SBS,

Primera

Base,

Triple

A,

Al

Corte,

and

Amenaza.

An

association

of

rappers

alled

Grupo

Uno

(GroupOne),

relatively

u-

tonomous from

AHS,

was

created

by

a

promoter

knownas

Redolfo

Rensoli,

and

this networkwent on to organize he first estivalof rapinJune1995.

North American

rap

music

is

the

original

source of

Cuban

rap

music,

and

from

the

early days

Cuban

rappers

have

maintained close ties with

rappers

n

the

US. Whilethe

early

waves of

hip-hop

music to

come to

Cubawere

more

commercial,

by

the time of the

first

rap

festival in

1995,

Cubans

were

hearing

African-American

conscious"

ap

music. The

visits of these

African-American

rappers

were crucial o

the

formationof

Cuban

hip-hop,

particularly

hrough

a

networkknown as the "BlackAugust Hip-HopCollective."BlackAugustwas a

network

established

during

the 1970s in

the California

rison

system

as a

way

580




8/35

SUJATHA

FERNANDES

of

linking

up

movements

for resistance

n

the Americasand the

hip-hop

col-

lective seeks to drawconnections between radicalblackactivismand hip-hop

culture.

In

their statement

of

purpose,

the

collective

defines

their

goals

as

"to

support

he

global

development

of

hip-hop

culture

by

facilitating

xchanges

be-

tween international ommunities

where

hip-hop

s a vital

part

of

youth

culture,

and

by promoting

awareness about the

social and

political

ssues

that effect

[sic]

hese

youth

communities."Black

August

concerts

held

in New York

aised

money

for the

Cuban

hip-hop

movement,

including unding

for

an

annual

hip-

hop concert,attended byAmericanrappers.

Like

he African-Americanctivistswho visited Cuba

during

the 1960s

and

1970s

from

Stokely

Carmichael

hrough

to

Angela

Davis and

Assata

Shakur,

who is

currently

in

exile

in

Cuba,

African-American

appers

such as

Paris,

Common

Sense,

Mos

Def and

TalibKweli

poke

a

language

of black

militancy

that was

appealing

o Cuban

youth.

While

a

black

radical

uch

as Marcus

Garvey

enjoyed

little

support

among

Afro-Cubans

n the

1920s

(Fernandez

Robaina

1998:125),the black nationalistaspirationsof African-Americanappershave

been received with

considerably

more enthusiasm

by

a

population

of

Afro-

Cuban

youth

increasingly eeling

the

effects

of racialdiscrimination n Cuba's

special

period.

An

analysis

of the

ways

in

which

"underground"

ip-hop

music

promotes

and

extends identificationsbased

on race has been

mostly

absent

from

important

scholarly

attempts

to

address

global

hip-hop.

In his

introduc-

tion to

a

volume

on

rap

and

hip-hop

outside the

US,

Tony

Mitchell

2001:2)

ar-

gues that global hip-hop movements are disconnected from what he

homogeneously

describes

as an

"increasinglytrophied,

cliched,

and

repetitive"

African-American

ip-hop

culture

and most of the cases in the volume

focus on

non-Black

appropriations

of

hip-hop.5

But in countries such as

Cuba, Brazil,

Columbia,

and

Venezuela,

as well as

in

several African

countries,

such as

Senegal,

South

Africa,

nd

Mali,

African

nd

Afro-Diasporic

ommunities draw

on

African-American

ap

music to address local

issues

of race and

marginality,

howeverdifferently hose relationshipsmaybe constituted.Theimportanceof

transnational

lows

based

on

race,

particularly

s

promoted

by

the more black

nationalist African-American

appers,

must be viewed somewhat

independ-

ently

of

global

cultural

lows relatedto the

popular

music

industry.

Nevertheless,

he

global

market,

via multinational

ecord

companies,

has al-

so

been

an

important

avenue of transnational

participation

n Cuban

hip-hop.

While

hip-hop

n the

USstartedas

an

urban

underground

movement,

it

is

now

a majorcommercialproduct,distributedbyfive of the largestmultinationalmu-

sic labels

ncluding

Universal,

ony,

BMG, MI,

nd

WEA

Valdds002).

Records

re

581




9/35

Fear of

a

Black Nation

judged

by

their Sound-Scan

umbers,

or the numberof records

hey

sell in

the

firstweek, and in terms of the industry,t is sales that count more than artistic

quality,

reativity,

r

political

message.

According

o

Mimi

Valdes

2002),

n

North

American

hip-hop,rappers

who are

getting

the

airplay,

ideos,

and record

ales

are those

who

have embraced he

"bling-bling

ormula,"

sing

he

imagery

f

ex-

pensive

cars,

clothes and exorbitant

ifestyles

as

a

demonstration

of the new

wealth

of

the

hip-hop

generation.

Inthe Cuban

ontext,

he

multinational abels

with

their

promises

of

videos, discs,

and

large

contracts

are

tempting

to

Cuban

rapperswhose resources re scarce.At imessigninga dealmaymeanleavinghe

country,

uch as

happened

with

the Cuban

rap

group

Orishas,

who

signed

with

the

transnational

ecord

company

EMI

nd

currently

eside

n

France.

Cuban

rap

has

been influenced

by

these

diverse

networks of African-

American

rap

and transnational record

companies.

Fernandez

(2002:43)

ar-

gues

that

the movement

of Cuban

hip-hop

is

divided

by

a

major polemic

between those who see

themselves

as

"underground"

nd those who see them-

selvesas "commercial." e describes"underground"roupsas having wo main

qualities:

irst,

"they

maintainan

orthodoxand

radical tance

along

the

lines

of

the

origins

of the

genre

and

they

distance themselves

from

whatever

possibil-

ity

of fusion for its

commercialization;"

nd

second,

"they

ocus much more on

an

integration

f

politically

ommitted

yrics

with the social context"

Fernandez

2002:43).

"Commercial"

roups

are those

who,

"incorporate

popular

Cuban

rhythms

n

orderto be more

accepted,

achieve

authenticity,

nd become com-

mercially iable" Fernandez 002:43).Inthe contextof Cuba,"commercial"ap

groups

are

defined

somewhat

by

their

ability

to reach

larger

audiences. While

most

"underground"

ap

music is limitedto small

pehfas

nd

shows,

the

biggest

gathering being

the annual

rap

festival

attended

by

up

to

5,000

youth

in

the

large

stadium

at

Alamar,

a "commercial"

roup

such as Orishas

have reached

the

broader

Cuban

public,

and the

sounds

of their

latest disc

entitled

A

Lo

Cubano

can

be heard in

discos,

private

homes,

and

parties,

as well as

blaring

from carsand on the street.

Categories

of

"underground"

nd "commercial"have

some resonance

in

the

context of

Cubabecause

they

reflect real

contests

over

access to

resources

and

diverging deologicalpositions.

Forsome

Cuban

rap groups

who

self-iden-

tify

as

"underground,"

here is

hostility

owards hose

groups

who

attract

oreign

funding

and

attention because

they

are

willing

to dilute

their

political

stance.

In

their

song

El

Barco

TheBoat),

Los

Paisanos riticize

he more

commercial

ap-

perswho are funded becausethey have compromised heir politicsand dedi-

cation to the

purity

of

rap:

"thosewithout shame

who

say

they

are

rappers,

but

582




10/35

SUJATHA

FERNANDES

who

are

patronized

because of

their mixture

of

rhythm."

The

rapper

vents his

anger againstthose who choose the commercialpath:"I hoot wordsat them,

I

don't kill

them,

but

I

detest them and

I

don't silence the

truth,

but

I

bring

it

to the text."The

group

Los

Paisanos,

which

started

off with three

members,

ost

one member who left the

group

for a

foreign

deal

to make more

commercial

sounding

rap

mixed

with

salsa,

forsaking

both

the

group

and

his

participation

in the

hip-hop

movement.

Groups

uch as

Orishas,

now

generally

seen

as

commercialbecause of

their

mainstreamsuccess both in Cubaand abroad,and because of the natureof

their

lyrics,

were

previouslypart

of

a

group

called Amenaza hat was central o

the

evolution

of the

Cuban

hip-hop

movement

and

which

did address

local is-

sues

of

race.

Although

Orishasmaintain close ties

with

Cuban

rappers,

and

have

spoken

about

returning

o Cuba

o work

with

the

hip-hop

movement,

they

are also

viewed

with

a

degree

of

contempt by

some Cuban

appers

who feel that

Orishas

have abandoned

their earlier

political

tance and "soldout."Cuban"un-

derground" appersarecriticalof the unqualifiedcelebrationof consumerism

in the

lyrics

of commercial

rap

groups

such

as Orishas

because

of what

they per-

ceive as

interventions nto Cuban

hip-hop by

foreign

music labels

who

seek

to

sell Cuba o western

audiences

through

stereotypical

mages

of

rum, tobacco,

and mulattawomen. Some Cuban

rappers

who

identify

as

"underground"

eel

that

those

groups

who

relinquish

heir hard

core

politics

and

purity

of

form

to

attain commercial

success are

compromising

he values and the orientationof

the movement.

But even

though

some

Cuban

rappersmay self-identify

as

"underground"

or

"commercial,"

hese labels

cannot be

applied unproblematically

in the

Cubancontext. Whilethe

distinction between

"underground"

nd "commer-

cial"

n

the

USderives from a

perception

of

authenticity

and commercial

suc-

cess

as

diametric

opposites,

Cubancultural

producers

are often attributedan

automatic

authenticity

or

"underground"

tatus

by

their American

counter-

parts,particularlyivenCuba'smageas a successfulrevolutionary overnment

among

sections of the African-American

ommunity

Gosse

1998:266).

At

times,

Cuban

rappers

hemselves

acknowledge

that

the

distinction is somewhat

less

relevant

in

Cuba han in the

US.

In a

song

called

"I

don't

criticize

what

is com-

mercial,"

apperPapo

Record

uggests

that

underground

and commercialare

all

the same in

Cubabecause there is no market.The

label of

"commercial"

s

also somewhat of a

misnomer

because

not all

groups

that

mix

salsa

and oth-

er instrumental orms withraparefunded byrecordcompanies,some justen-

joy

those

styles.

In

Cuba,

he

dichotomy

between

authenticity

and success is

583




11/35

Fear of a

Black Nation

further

complicated by

state

promotion

of

"underground"

ap.

Due

to

the

structureof culturalproductionwithinCuba,Cubanrapperswho maintain a

political

orientation

are more

likely

o receivestate

sponsorship

han the com-

mercial

rappers,disrupting

he association of

"underground"

ith

exclusion

from the

mainstream.

Despite

the

problems

associatedwith

applying

he

labels of

"underground"

and

"commercial"n the context of

Cuba,

it

remains that Cuban

rappers

do

identify

with

these.

In

the

following

section,

I

suggest

that

strategies

of

cultur-

al resistance oughly orrespondo these different endencieswithinCubanrap,

although,

as

argued

in the last

section

of the

essay,

the boundaries between

them remain

permeable.

Strategies

of Cultural

Contestation

in

Cuban

Rap

RacialEgalitarianismn the SpecialPeriod

Afro-Cuban

outh

have used

rap

music

as a means of

contesting

acialhierarchies

and

demanding

social

ustice.Gilroy

1993:83)

ees

the

transference

f

blackcul-

tural

orms

such

as

hip-hop

as

related

partly

o its

"inescapably olitical

anguage

of

citizenship,

racial

ustice,

and

equality,"

discourse hat

speaks

to the reali-

ties

and

aspirations

of black

youth

globally.Through

heir

texts,

performances,

and

styles,

Cuban

rappers

demand

the

inclusion

of

young

Afro-Cubansnto the

polityand they appeal to the state to liveup to the value of egalitarianism n-

shrined in

traditional ocialist

ideology.

Cuban

rappers,particularly

hose who

identify

as

"underground,"

oint

out the race blindnessof

officialdiscourse

and

the

invisibility

f the

experiences

and

problems

of

marginalized

ommunities n

a

society

hat has

supposedly

"solved"

uestions

of race.Given he lack

of forums

for

young

Afro-Cubanso

voice their

concerns,

rap

music

provides

an

avenue for

contestation

and

negotiation

within

Cuban

ociety.

Rapperscriticizethe politicalleadershipfor ignoringquestions of race in

Cuban

ociety by

declaring

he eradication f

racism.As De

la

Fuente

2001:266)

explains,

while in the

early years

after

the

revolution

Fidel Castro

alled

for a

public

debate

about racism

involving

several

specially organized

conferences

and

targeted

campaigns,

by

1962 all

discussionof the

race

question

had been

silenced,

except

to

praise

Cuba's

achievements.

Because

the

revolution

had

supposedly

resolved all

questions

of

institutional

discrimination,

t

was

con-

sideredunpatriotico speakof race,or to identifyoneself in racial erms,rather

than as

just

a

Cuban.In

their

song

entitled

Mambi,

an

identificationwith the

584




12/35

SUJATHA

FERNANDES

mambises

or Afro-Cuban

ighters

in

the

war of

independence

with

Spain,

Obsesi6nrefer o the rhetoricwhich masksthe silencingof questionsof race:

Those

winds

brought

hese

storms,

It

resultedhis

way

suddenly)

my

race

had

a mountain f

qualities,

and

many

went

n

masses

o

pass

a

coursenhownot o beracist,

they

graduated

ith

high

honors,

and

up

until

oday hey

remain

idden

behind his

phrase:

WEARE LL

QUAL,

WEARE LL

UMANEINGS

Aqullos

vientos

rajeron

stas

empestades,

resulta

'

asf

depronto)

un

mont6n e cualidades

ayo

encima e

mi

raza,

y muchosfueron

n masa

a

pasar

un

curso ec6mono serracistas

se

graduaron

onhonores

fiestas

y

hasta

l

sol

de

hoypermanecen

scondidos

en

la

frase

sta:

SOMOS

GUALES

TODOSOSERES

UMANOS

Obsesi6nsuggestthat blackswent frombeingat the bottom of the socialhi-

erarchy

n

pre-revolutionary

Cuba

o

having

"a

mountain

of

qualities"

due to

their role

as the new social

subjects

of

the revolution.

However,

Obsesi6n

sug-

gest

that white

revolutionaries

paid

lip

service

to

anti-racist

deals,

going

"in

masses

to

pass

a course

in

how

not

to be

racist,"

ather

han

engaging

with the

reality

of racism

in

Cuban

society.

The

song

depicts

the

self-congratulatory

manner of

revolutionaries

who

proclaim

the eradication of racism even as

racial ensions and hierarchies ontinueto exist.

The

resurgence

of

racism

n the

special period

is

presented

in

striking

con-

trast

to

the

post-revolutionary uphoria

of Afro-Cubans

ho

saw

in

the Cuban

revolution he

possibilities

of an

end

to racial

discrimination.

n

a

poem

writ-

ten

in

1964

by

celebrated Afro-Cuban

oet

Nicolas Guillen entitled

Tengo

(I

have),

the

poet

lists the

changes

that

the

revolution

has

brought

or

blacks:

Ihave, et'ssee,

that

I

have

earnt

o

read,

to

count,

I

have hat

I

have

earnt

o

write

and to think

and

to

laugh.

I

have

hat

I

have

a place owork

and earn

Tengo,amos ver,

que

ya

aprendf

leer,

a

contar,

tengoqueya

aprendf

escribir

y

a

pensar

y

a

reir.

Tengo ueya tengo

donde rabajar

y

ganar

585




13/35

Fear of a

Black Nation

what

I

need

to

eat.

Ihave, et'ssee,

I have

what

was

coming

o me.

lo

que

me

tengoque

comer.

Tengo,amos ver,

tengo

o

que

ten(a

que

tener

Borrowing

he title and format of

the

Guillen

poem,

Hermanosde Causade-

scribe

the situation or

young

Afro-Cubans

n the

contemporary pecial period:

I

havea dark nddiscriminated

ace,

Ihavea workday hatdemands nd

givesnothing

I have

o

many hings

hatI

cannot

even ouch

I

have o

many

esourceshat

I

cannot

even

step

on

I

have

iberty

etween

parentheses

f iron

Ihave o manybenefitswithout ights

that I

imprison

myself

I

have o

many

hings

without

having

what

I

had.

Tengo

naraza

oscura,

discriminada

tengouna ornada, uemeexige o da

nada

tengo

antas osas

que

no

puedo

ni

tocarlas

tengo

nstalaciones

ue

no

puedo

ni

pisarlas

tengo

ibertadntre

arentesis

e hierro

tengoantos rovechosinderechos'a mf

encierro

tengo

antas osas intener

o

que

he

tenido.

When

they

state

that

"I

have so

many

things"

and

"I

have so

many

resources,"

Hermanos

de Causaare

referring

o the claims of the

political

eadership

hat

the revolutionhas providedso much for Afro-Cubansn terms of health,edu-

cation

and

welfare,

but

yet

the

rapper

doesn't

see them. The revolution has

fought

for a nation

liberated

rom

American

neo-colonialism,

et

this

liberty

an

only

be

exercised

within

severe

constraints,

or

"parentheses

f

iron."While he

revolution has

given

so

many

benefits to

young

Afro-Cubans,

hese

are be-

stowed

patronizingly,

without

any

recognition

of their

rights.

In

contrast to

Guillen's

ptimism,

"I

have

what was

coming

to

me,"

Hermanos

de Causa tate

that "Ihave what I have without havingwhat I had:"while the revolutionhas

brought

material

benefits and

opportunities

o

young,

black

people

it has tak-

en

away

their

rights

o

speak

out an a

minority.

As the

group

Junior

Clan

pose

the

question:

"For

blacks

I

keep

asking

the

question,

where is

your

voice?"

Cuban

rap

musicians

use their

lyrics,style,

and

performance

o

play

with

stereotypes

of blacksas

delinquents

and

criminals.

According

o

de

la

Fuente

(1998:5),

racialized

notions of

proper

conduct have

continued to be

enforced

bythe law,withpeligrosidadocial or "socialdangerousness"tillpunishableby

law.

Rappers

appropriate

hese

dominant

stereotypes,

employing

a

posture

of

586




14/35

SUJATHA

FERNANDES

aggression

o

turn

fears

of

the "urbanblack hreat"back

upon

those who have

created such mythsand stereotypes.Fernandezdescribedin a personalinter-

view

how the militant

pose

of the

rapper

s a

part

of their

performance:

You can see a

rapperscreaming

with an

ugly,

bad

face,

but this is their

artistic

pose

for

singing.

If

you

are

singing

about

something

that

is

not

good,

you

don't

sing

with a

smile,

in no

part

of

the world.

Inthe moment

of

performance,rappers project

this

strong,

serious,

energetic,

violent,

and machistic mage.

This

posture

s

also a

mechanism

of

defense

against

he

reality

of life in

mar-

ginalized

communities. As

TrishaRose

(1994:12)argues,

"the

ghetto

badman

posture-performance

s

a

protective

hell

against

real

unyielding

and harshso-

cial

policies

and

physical

environments."

Although

he kind of harsh environ-

ment

of the NorthAmerican

ghettoes

as

described

by

Rose

does

not

exist

in

Cuba,Afro-Cubanommunitieshave been subjectto forms of policing hat be-

come more severe in

times

of

crisis.The

adoption

of

aggressive

postures

serves

as

a

form

of

self-defense,

particularly

when

young

blackCubansare

being

con-

stantly

harassed

by police,

and

when

they

are viewed

by

broaderCuban ocie-

ty

as criminalsand

drug

dealers.

Rap

musicians

employ

a

direct

style

that addresses he

authorities,

he

state,

or those in

positions

of

power.

Cuban

"underground"

appers challenge

as-

pects of police harassmentand the silencingof dissent bythe Cubanstate. In

the

song

A Veces

AtTimes),

Anonimo

Consejo

draw

a

picture

of

corruption,

l-

licit

drug trading

and

prostitution.

However,

reversing

tereotypes

about mar-

ginalized

communities,

he

rapper

ocates

the

sourcesof these

problems

n the

government:

Guys

with

money

are

trafficking

n

their

offices,

they

shout"We

esist,"

nd

they

drive

around

n

fancy

cars

day

and

night,

robbing

he

public

ike he

scorpion

er

brood

Los

ipos

on

"money"rafican

n sus

oficinas,

gritan

"resistimos"

andan

en carro

oche

y

dia,

robdndole

l

pueblo

omo

el alacrdn su

cria

The

rapper

rendersthe

police

and the

officials

criminals,

n

an

attempt

to

destabilize their moralauthority.Whilethe police targetpoor,blackcommu-

nities for crimes

such as

drug dealing

and

theft,

the

rapper

shows that

they

587




15/35

Fear of a Black

Nation

themselves are

engaged

in

these activities.He

points

to

the

hypocrisy

of

gov-

ernment officialswho use revolutionaryrhetoric of resistance,but actually

separate

themselves off from the

public

in their

fancy

offices

and cars.

Cliente

Supremo

challenge

the

futile

practice

of

asking

or

identity

cards,

asking,

"In

re-

ality

what will become of

me

when

my youth

is

gone?

Will

I

have to be

worried

about

my personal

documents

like

you

all? What

ID?Forwhat?"Los

Paisanos

also talk about

police

harassment

of

young,

blackCubans

n their

song

El

Barco

(The

Boat),

and the

ways

in which

they

are

constantlyquestioned by

the

police

and asked to producean identitycard.When he policethreatenthe rapper,he

shouts "seremos omo el Che"

we

will be like

Che).

The

rapperrepeats

this

slo-

gan,

recited

daily

by

children

n

daycare

centers

and

schools,

partly

as a

way

of

invoking

he

youthful

rebelliousness

of the

revolution's

ounding martyr

and

partly

as

a

way

of

inoculating

himself

against

reprisal.

An6nimo Consejo

draw links between a

history

of

exploitation

and

a

pres-

ent

of

racial

nequality.

According

o

Gilroy

1996:363),

one of the

core

themes

of African iasporicmusical orms shistory, concernwhich"demands hatthe

experience

of

slavery

is

also

recovered and rendered vivid

and immediate."

Slavery

becomes a

metaphor

for

contemporary

njustice

and

exploitation.

InA

Veces,

Anonimo

Consejo

connect the

history

of Cuban

laves

with the

situation

of

contemporary

Afro-Cubans.

he

rapper

begins

with his

geographical

ocation,

he

identifies himself as "el

Cubano del

Oriente,"

s a

Cuban from

the

East,

which is

a

province

considered less

cultured

than

Havana. He is

lying

in his

"poorbed" hinkingaboutslaveryand the struggleof blackpeople in hiscoun-

try,

when the

similaritiesof the

present

situation occur to

him:

You hink

t'snot the same

today,

an

official ells

me,

'You an't

go

there,

much ess leave his

place'

In

contrast

hey

treat

ourists

ifferently,

People,s itpossiblehat inmycountry

I

don't

count?

Hoy

parece ue

no

es

as,

el

oficial

me

dice

a

mi,

'No

puede

estar

lld,

muchomenos

salir

de

aqu,'

En

cambio

l

turista e

la

trata

diferente,

Serdposible entequeenmipatsyono

cuente?

The

rapper

uses the

critique

of racial

hierarchies n the

past

as a

way

of iden-

tifyingcontemporary

acial

ssuessuch as

police

harassment f

young

black

peo-

ple

and

the

preferential

reatment

given

to tourists

over

Cubans

by

officials.He

identifies

himselfas

"thedescendentof

an

African,"

s a

cimarron

esobediente,

or disobedient,runaway lave,drawinghis links o an ancestralpast,rooted in

a

history

of

slavery

and

oppression.

588




16/35

SUJATHA

FERNANDES

The

open

treatmentof issues

of

race

in

Cuban

"underground"

ap

music

pro-

vides a challengeto the race blindnessof official discourseand claimsbythe

political leadership

hat racismno

longer

exists

in

Cuban

society.

In an

article

appearing

in

an

official

organ

of

the

state,

El

Habanero,

columnist

Tony

Pita

(1999)

cautioned,

"beware,

he

songs

that deal

with race could turn

into

a dou-

ble

edged

sword,

and we

will

start

encouraging

he recurrent

bsession of cre-

ating

a small

'ghetto'

when

actually

the road is

free

of

obstacles."

Just

as the

early post-revolutionary

eadership

was worried

about what it considered

the

"divisive"ffectsof racialpolitics Moore1988:259),one of the officialresponses

to

rap

music

has also been

a

concern with its

racially

based identifications nd

the

potential

for mobilization

along

race

lines. Afro-Cuban

outh

use

rap

mu-

sic as

a

way

of

asserting

their

voice and

presence,

in contrastto

attempts by

state

officials o

play

down the salience of race in Cuban

ociety.

Hustling,

Consumerism,

nd

Morality

Whilesome rappers,mainlythose who identifyas "underground,"ppropriate

hip-hop

as a

way

of

framing

heir demands

for

racial

equality

and social

justice,

challenging

acial

tereotypes,

and

exploring

he

effects

of

slavery,

ther

rappers

promote

alternative

strategies

for

survival

and

resistance based on

hustling

and

consumerism,

particularly

n

a context of

declining

employment opportu-

nitiesfor black

youth

and

increasing

ccessto

a

market

conomy.

In

this

section,

I

explore

how

these latter

groups, generally

identified as

"commercial,"

hal-

lenge conventional moral standards and create new spaces for expression

based

on

hustling

and consumerism.

Within

more

commercially

oriented

rap

music,

the

practice

of

hustling

has

been

presented

as a

political

strategy

to

get

by

in

the

special period.

Hustling

has become

particularly opular

among

unemployed

black

youth,

who havethe

time to

devote

to

the

task

and are also

being

pushed

into such activities

by

eco-

nomic need.

In

the difficulties

f

the

special period,

hose with

access

to

dollars

are usuallyCubanswho havefamilyin Miamiand receiveremittances,gener-

ally

white Cubans nd those who have been able to receivework n the new dol-

lar

economy,

such

as

party

members

with

good

revolutionary

redentialswho

are

given

employment

in the mixed

firms

or the

tourist

industry.

For

young,

black

youth

who

fit

neither

of these

categories,

and are even

on

the

margins

of

the

regular

workforce,

survivalcan be difficult.The

special period

has seen

the

reemergence

of activities such as

hustling,

one of the main

ones

being

jineterismo.This s a practicewhereby ineteros translates s "jockeys"utused

to referredto street

hustlers)

earn

an

income

and

acquire

consumer

goods

589




17/35

Fear

of

a Black Nation

through

their

contact

with

foreigners,

either

befriending

hem or

engaging

in

a romanticor sexual relationshipwith them.7 In contrastto the $7 - $15 per

month

possible by

working

ull-time

in a

government

ob,

a

jinetero

can

make

between

$40

and

$80

per day by

helping

out

a

tourists. Robin

Kelley

1997:75)

has

explored

the

ways

in which

marginalized

African-American

outh,

facing

high

rates

of

joblessness

or

the

prospect

of

low-wage

service

work,

remake

he

realmof

consumption

nto a

site

of

production,blurring

he

distinction

between

"play"

and

"work" hat is characteristicof

wage

work under late

capitalism.

Similarly, or some Afro-Cuban outh faced with decliningopportunitiesfor

earning

an

income

in

socialist

Cuba,

play

becomes

a

creative

trategy

of

survival.

One of the main

rap

groups

that addresses

practices

of

jineterismo

and

con-

sumerism

s

Orishas.

n

the

song

Atrevido

Daring),

Orishas

ell

the

story

of a

cou-

ple

who

manage

to take

advantage

of touristsas

a

way

of

bringing

hemselves

out

of

rural

poverty.

The

song

begins by describing

he situationof the

poor

cou-

ple

in

the

countryside:

Once

upon

a timea

deprivedouple

without

money

were

hinking

f a

chronic

tonic o

live,

to leave he

black

mud n

which

hey

drowned,

lotting.

Habiaunavezuna

pareja

esprovista

poca

vista indinero

ensaban

6nico

t6nico

cr6nico

dmo

ivir,

salir

del

negro

ango

que

a

ahogaba,

tramaba.

Thecouple leave the countrysideand come to the city,where the husband,

acting

as a

pimp,

sets his wife

up

with a tourist and she

begins

to work the

tourist for

money

and

gifts.

The

song parodies

the

clueless

tourist,

who thinks

that he is the one

taking

advantage

of

the

woman. The

rapper portrays

he

woman

as the

agent

and the touristas her

helpless

victim.The

song

continues

with

the

following

chorus:

Everythinghatshe asked or, he idiot

paid

out,

a

pretty

oom n

the

Cohiba,

he

idiot

paid

out,

A

dress or

her,

and a

shirt or

me,

the

idiot

paid

out,

If

she

wanted o

go

to

the

beach,

he

idiotpaidout,

Hewas

running

ut of

money,

but

the

Todooque epedia,elpunto ela

gastaba,

una linda

habitaci6n

n el

Cohiba,

l

punto

e

la

gastaba,

un

vestido

a'

ella,

y

una

camisa

pa'

mi

el

punto

e

la

gastaba,

si

querfa

r

a

la

playa,

el

punto

e

la

gastaba,

ya

lacuenta

no

le

daba,

no

le

daba,

y

el

590




18/35

SUJATHA

FERNANDES

idiot

paid

out,

to danceata concertwithOrishas,

the

idiot

paid

out.

punto

e

la

gastaba,

al conciertoonOrishas, bailar, el

punto

e

la

gastaba.

Inthe

Orishas

ong,

ineterismo

s

presented

as

a

vacation or

the woman who

is taken to

the

beach,

receives new

clothes,

and has a

fancy

room

in

the hotel

Cohiba.The Orishas

ven

write

hemselves

nto the

song, saying

hat

the

woman

gets

the

tourist

to

take

him for an

Orisha's

oncert,

but also

suggesting

hat the

Orishasare somehow themselves ineteros,producing uitablyexotic music for

an

international market.

The

woman tricks the tourist into

buying

her

new

clothes

and

giving

her

money.

She and her husband

use

the

money

for

them-

selves and

finally

the husband

comes

to

take

the

jinetera

from the hotel

room

and

on his

way

out

they

rob the tourist of all that he has. The

song

concludes

with the

victory

of the

couple

who

have come out of

poverty,

and it is the

tourist

who has lost out. Orishascelebrate

jineterismo

as a

practice

hat

puts

agency and control in the hands of the women and men who use it to rob

tourists

in

order

to

support

themselves.

Jineterismo

becomes

a

strategy

by

which to raise oneself

up.

ForOrishas t is a

practice

hat resists he

objectify-

ing

intent of the tourist and

turns

his

voyeuristic

designs

back

on

himself

by

making

him an

object

of ridicule.

In

contrast o the

traditionalvalues

of

work

and

study

put

forwardas a

way

of

improving

one's

conditions,

Orishas

uggest

that

tricking

and

robbing

ourists is a worthwhile

means

to

rise from

poverty.

The relativeautonomy of commercialgroupssuch as Orishas,which de-

rives from

being

based outside of

Cubaand funded

by

a transnational

record

label,

allows

them

scope

to broach

topics

such as

jineterismo

hat are threat-

ening

to the Cuban ocialist

government

n

several

ways.

The

ability

of

jineteros

to hustle for

dollars

rom

tourists

challenges

he

regimes

of labor

discipline

he

socialist state seeks to

impose.

The Worker's

Center

of

Cuba

(Central

de

Trabajadores

e

Cuba,

CTC)

ut

out documents

stating

hat

practices

uch as

ine-

terismo ncouragea declineinthe laborethic(cited nSuarezSalazar 000:345).

Many

oreign

construction

companies,

foreignagencies

contracted

o

do infra-

structural

work,

and even

the smaller"free rade zones"

opening

up

in

various

regions

of

Havana,

require

ocal

labor.

The

foreign companies pay

the

Cuban

government

about

$US

8-10

per

hour for each of the

laborers

and

the labor-

ers are

paid

200

pesos

($US9.50)

a month

by

the state

(Corbett

002:125).

But

through

hustling, ineteros

can

bypass

official avenues for

earning

an

income.

Thevaluesofjineterismo ontradict ocialist deology,and disrupt he attempts

of

the state to

justify

new forms of labor

discipline

related to Cuba's

nsertion

591




19/35

Fear of a Black Nation

into a

global

economy.

As

the

Cuban tate

seeks to

regulate

oreign

currency

o-

wards a centralized state bureaucracy,blackand mulatto youth siphon off

some of the

dollarsthat have

begun

to enter

Cuba.

Moreover,

n a social

level the

lifestyles

and

values of consumerismand

sex-

ual

licentiousness

represented

by

thejineteros

are

an

affront

o the

high

moral-

ism

espoused

by

the

revolutionary

eadership.

LuisSuArezSalazar

2000:344)

quotes

Fidel

Castroas

saying

that tourism

has "lead

to various

types

of re-

proachable

social behavior

(such

as

prostitution)

and

an increase

in delin-

quency...these acts point to a significanterosion in the ethical values and

moralsthat

have been

promoted

in the diverse

formaland informaleducative

and

ideological

nstitutions f Cuban

ocialism."

hrough

heir

open

celebration

of

consumption, sexuality,

and

desire

in narratives

dealing

with

jineterismo,

commercial

rappers

are

subverting

onventional

tandards

of

morality.

n

some

ways,

Cuban commercial

rap

shares affinities

with

Jamaican

cultural forms

such as

reggae

and

dancehall,

which

Carolyn

Cooper

1995:141)

argues,

"rep-

resent in parta radical,underground onfrontationwiththe patriarchal ender

ideology

and

the

pious

morality

of

fundamentalist

Jamaican

society."Groups

such as

Orishas,

by promoting trategies

of

hustling

and

jineterismo

s viable

op-

tions for black

youth,

challenge

and mock the conservative

deologies

upon

which Cuban

revolutionarymorality

s based.

The

gendered

nature

of contestations

over

consumption

and

morality

are

particularly

notable

in

Cuban

rap.

As

Gina

Ulysse

(1999:158)

observes

in her

studyof Jamaicandancehall,the black emale bodybecomes a primary ite of

exhibitionand

commentary

within

black

popular

culture. For he Cuban

tate,

the female

body represents

he

moral

purity

of the revolution hat must be

de-

fended

against

consumerismas a form of

spiritual

disease that is

infecting

he

body politic.

In

the Orisha's

ong

the

jinetera

is

objectifiedby

the

pimp

who us-

es her to

revenge

himself

against

he

tourist;

he female

body

constitutesa form

of what

Ulysse

(1999:159)

refers o as

"the

ultimate cultural

capital."

Given

he

historicalconceptionof women as objectsthat are traded between men as a

way

of

constructing

heir

masculinity Rubin

1975),

it is not

surprising

hat the

female

body

would

again

become

a

site

of

contestation,

means

by

which black

working

class males assert

their

masculinity

n a context where

they

are in-

creasingly

being

disempowered.

Rap

music facilitates

varying

trategies

of cultural

resistance

or

Afro-Cuban

youth.

Thosewho

generally

dentify

as

"underground"

tilize

rap

music

as a

ve-

hicle to criticize he silencingof race issues in post-revolutionaryociety.Cuban

"underground"

appers

alk about

increasing

acial

nequalities

n

the

special

pe-

592




20/35

SUJATHA

FERNANDES

riod,

hey

challenge

stereotypes

of

blacksas

criminals nd

delinquents,

and

they

talk about the repercussionsof slavery in the contemporaryperiod. Others

who are

usually

identified as "commercial"

raw

on

rap

as a

means of

pro-

moting

alternative

strategies

of

survivalsuch as

consumerism

and

hustling,

thereby

challenging

new

regimes

of labor

discipline

and standards

of

revolu-

tionary morality.

Both "commercial" nd

"underground"appers

use

rap

as

a

means of

culturalcontestation

in

a

period

of

increasing

racial

nequalities

and

declining opportunities

or black

youth.

Rap

Musicians and the Cuban

State

Building

on the

culturalresistance

iterature,

he

previous

ections

have

looked

at

the

opportunities

that black

expressive

forms

offer for

a

renegotiation

of

racial

politics

in

Cuba. But

while Cuban

rap

may

play

a

contestatory

role

in

Cuban

society,

various sectors of the

movement have also been

harnessed

by

the Cubanstate as a wayof recapturingpopularsupportin the special period.

Some

recent

anthropological

accounts have demonstratedthe

ways

in

which

cultural

politics

can

be

drawn into

hegemonic strategies

by political

elites.

Katherine

Verdery

1991:314),

in her

study

of

Romanian ntellectuals under

Ceausescu's

ule,

describeshow the

discourse

of

the

nation,

deployed

in

count-

er-hegemonic

ways by

intellectuals,

was

adopted by

the socialiststate "in

order

to

overcome

it,

incorporate

t,

and

profit

rom

its

strength."

Following

Verdery,

Iarguethat the discoursesandstrategies hat mayprovideopportunitiesorthe

voicing

of

a critical

resistancecan also

become absorbed

by

dominant

groups.

This

account of

alliancesand

interpenetrations

etween Cuban

rappers

and the

state

also contributes o

the literature n

globalization,

by

suggesting

new

ways

of

conceptualizing

he

relationships

between transnational

nd national

orces.

I

propose

that we

need to theorize the

ways

in

which transnational

practices

such

as

rap may actually

reinforce he

hegemony

of

postcolonial

nation-states

in the contemporaryperiod.

The Cuban

state has

had an ambivalent

relationship

o

the different ten-

dencies of

Cuban

rap,

as

certain sectors in

different levels of

state

institutions

build

allegiances

to

distinct networks

and as those in

official

positions

seek to

appropriate

various

transnational

agencies

towards

different

political

ends.

In

the

early days,

state disc

enterprises

such as EGREM

hose to

promote

com-

mercial

sounding

rap

music as

representative

of the

movement.

According

o

Fernandez 2000a),whilethe discs of the more politically ngaged groupssuch

as Obsesi6nand

PrimeraBase

laygathering

duston the shelves of

music

stores,

593




21/35

Fear of a Black Nation

without

airplay,

he more commercial

disc of SBS

with its

dance oriented

salsa-

rap mixturewas heavily marketed. He argues that the SBSdisc was "much

more

promoted

because

of its

popular

and commercial

character,

because it

had

nothing dangerous

in its texts and it made

the

people

dance"

(Fernandez

2000a).

Initially,

ommercially

oriented

rap

was

promoted by

the Cuban

tate

as a

way

of

diluting

he radical

potential

of

the

genre.

The

global marketing

of

the disc

brought

in a

large

wave of

foreign

producers

who "came

with

money

in

hand

trying

o

buy

Cuban alent with their low

prices,

suggesting

he

fusion

of rap with Afro-Cubanmusic, with son, with salsa and timba"(Fernandez

2000a).

The more commercial

rap

was also

exploited by

the Cuban tate for its

revenue-earningpotential,

as

part

of

a

larger

push

to

attract

foreign funding

through

Cubanmusic and arts. The

promises

of

money

and

promotion by

the

foreign

producers

did

cause severalCuban

rap

groups

o

change

their

musicand

become more

commercial,

or to break

up

as members

disagreed

over whether

or not to "sellout."

Thoserap groups hatdid not signdeals or changetheir music continuedto

build

the

Cuban

hip-hop

movement,

through

the

help

of

producers

Ariel

Fernandez nd PabloHerrerawho

broughtrapgroups

rom the

US

and from all

over the world or the festivals.

Particularly

n

the last

few

years,

he

Cuba

fear of a black nation fernades

Documents