Now here’s a rapper I can dig. Maybe.

by

From, believe it or not, CNN:

Cuban rapper: Fight the injustice
POSTED: 9:18 a.m. EDT, April 11, 2007

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) — Working on an old computer with a burned-out monitor, Cuban rapper Aldo Rodriguez painstakingly lays the tracks for his next song.

Sitting shirtless on the edge of his bed, tattoos up and down both arms, the 23-year-old says he’s not afraid to speak his mind in the communist country run by Fidel Castro for decades. His lyrics are punchy and edgy, tackling issues that the state would prefer not to be aired.

“I’ve pointed out the things that seem wrong to me, and the people like it,” he says. “They like to hear it because they identify with what they hear in the songs.

Check out the whole article, including a video, here.

Of course, just like everyone else in Cuba, he complains alot, but states he’s “not opposed to the government.”

Status quo.

H/T pototo.

9 thoughts on “Now here’s a rapper I can dig. Maybe.”

  1. I watched the video and had to turn it off inmmediately. this rapper was wearing a Che shirt..
    We should call Gloria to include him in the 90 miles album

  3. Abajo, yes, he’s wearing a che shirt, he’s a product of the education provided by the regime, but still his lyrics speak for themselves and you cannot discount them.

  5. Rap (or any music for that matter) is one medium where we should never expect for the truth about the regime to come out. All that reuires equipment, recording, an audience, making noise, etc.

    Journalists can pass out a paper and as long as they have eyes to see and fingers to write with, they can continue to operate (given they are not in jail).

    If you’re a rapper and the regime takes away your stage or your computer or whatever else, you’re done. Your life and your message and your existence as an artist are through.

  7. Sadly, for those born into and bred in a seriously sick system like Cuba’s, some degree of contamination is practically inevitable. It’s like being raised in a horrible environment by horrible people. Unfortunately, at least some of the damage may be irreversible, and that’s an unpleasant prospect that most people don’t want to face. It’s definitely going to affect what happens in a non-totalitarian Cuba, and I’m afraid the effects won’t be very pretty.

  8. I’m a little bit hestitant about this rapper. I would have to hear the rest of his lyrics to decide. What turned me off about him was the official Cuban promoter who sort of defended his right to sing rap as well as the Che T-Shirt that he was wearing and his statement that he is not against his government. As you know, a few years ago several rappers were arrested for really coming out against the system. What’s more, CNN had to show make the odious comparison between old Cuba and the present by showing that old footage that is not representive of Old Cuba and may not even be old Cuba for all that we know. It could have been filmed somewhere in Latin America.

    It’s hard to say, I don’t want to pass judgement, but….

    That much said, my favorite group inside Cuba is PORNO PARA RICARDO!!!! They rock! All of the Cuban bloggers should do some type of expose on this group to make them better known to the outside world! They are unbelievable!!!!

  9. I humbly offer my own blog post from a couple of weeks back on Porno. Follow the link on my name above.

    I got the two CDs and have been absorbing them, and will post a review in the next few days.

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