Hip Hop Culture in Cuba
By: Christine Vinluan, Tom Dempsey, Tori Young,
& Ashley Kelly
Political Context
● Governed by a single-party Communist
regime
● Oppressive government
o FreedomHouse’s freedom rankings:
1-7 scale
o Freedom Rating: 6.5
o Political Rights: 7
o Civil Liberties: 6
● Relatively high human development
● Proximity to United States allows for
cultural influence
● Recent diplomatic changes will increase
cultural connections
"The Cuban Revolution and the Caribbean: Civil Society, Culture
and International Relations" by Rafael Hernandez
Question: What effect will improved diplomatic relations between Cuba and
the United States have on Cuban culture and society?
Quote: "For never in the last half-century has the island – its leadership, but
also its society and political culture – been so exposed to the outside world.
More than 2 million tourists visited Cuba in 2006, a presence whose effect
would be difficult to exaggerate."
Cuba’s Relation with Hip Hop
● In 1998 - Woman's presence in hip-hop barely existed
● Over the years women with the genre feel empowered
● 1996 first all-women’s rap group Instinto performed
● In the first years of the 21st century small number of disc were produced
and lack of airplay was predominant for Cuban rap on state-controlled
radio stations
Artist: Las Krudas
Who is Las Krudas?
● Odaymara Cuesta, Olivia Prendes, &
Odalys Cuesta
● Cuban Hip Hop MCs
● Independent Musicians
○ representing: women, immigrants
queer and People of Color Action
● Fight against:
○ Oppression, for justice, balance,
and our rights to celebrate life
Question: Even though women Hip-Hop artists rap about different topics than they
do in the U.S do you think they are still objectified by men regardless?
Quote: “Women rappers, given their experiences in racially-defined transnational
networks of hip-hop, identify with the ideas and principles of black feminism as it
emerged from third-wave feminism in the U.S. These ideas, as defined in the Black
Feminist statement by the Combahee River Collective, consist of a recognition that
race, class and sex oppression are intertwined; women must struggle with black
men against racism and with black men about sexism; black women face
psychological obstacles and minimal access to resources and they must pursue a
revolutionary politics.” - Sujatha Fernandes
Las Krudas in Relation
to Power
● Consequences of
the Revolution
● Oppression of AfroCubans
● Sexuality,
Prostitution, and
Machismo Culture
in Cuba
Quote
“In both Cuba and in the United States, women as fans, advocates and artists in
hip hop are virtually ignored in discussions of the phenomenon. Both in the
United States and in Cuba, male artists have been touted for the political
awareness and resistant nature of their rap lyrics. For example, male rappers
in both the United States and Cuba protest and criticize the multiple ways the
black male body and masculinity is policed and surveilled. By contrast, many
themes dominant in black female rappers' lyrics in both the United States and
Cuba articulate and-or question hegemonic notions of femininity and black
female sexuality.”
-Fari Nzinga (2013)
How can you fight against racism, sexism, classism, and
privilege in a system that claims none of those things
exist?
● Las Krudas fights
invisibility in the
industry
● Seek to politicize the
social and economic
reality of being black
and female in Cuba
bject Positionality
Vantage point towards agencyy
Las Krudas performing in front of a female audience.
Quote
“Las Krudas: Those Quasi-Paradigmatic Black Cuban Rappers” by Maria I. Faguaga Iglesias
“They arrived on the scene to unplug ears
and stimulate neurons, by singing about the
truth of Cuban women forced to remain in
their subalternity.” (Iglesias, p. 52)
Question
“Las Krudas: Those Quasi-Paradigmatic Black Cuban Rappers” by Maria I. Faguaga Iglesias
What does it mean to exercise one's
own basic rights?
How does this apply to women in the
Hip Hop industry in other countries?
Bibliography
Cubensi, Krudas. "Krudas Cubensi | Bio." Krudas Cubensi. 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.krudascubensi.com/bio/>.
"CULTURE VIDEO AUDIO: Cuban Hip Hop Metroactive Music - "Cuba Represent!"" NEOâ€
¢GRIOT. Web. 20
Apr. 2015. <http://kalamu.posthaven.com/culture-cuban-hip-hop-metroactive-music>.
"Freedom in the World." Freedom House. N.p., 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Faguaga Iglesias, María I. "Las Krudas: Those Quasi-Paradigmatic Black Cuban Rappers." Islas 7.21 (2012):
50-57. Web. June 2012. <http://www.angelfire.com/planet/islas/Islas21/English/50-57.pdf>
Hernandez, Rafael. "THE CUBAN REVOLUTION AND THE CARIBBEAN Civil Society, Culture and International
Relations." Taylor and Francis Online. N.p., 18 Mar. 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Nzinga, Fari. "Cuban Hip-Hop Group Las Krudas Embraces Feminism." Womens E News. N.p., 17 Feb. 2013.