In director Yves Billion’s fine documentary about contemporary up-and-coming movements of hip-hop in Havana, Cuba, the particularly varied, hybrid musical form opposes the kind of bling-obsessed hip-hop style that’s currently in vogue in the States only 90 miles away. Havana Hip Hop Underground is recommended for dance and music education classes.
This political bent is of course not too surprising, considering the fact that revolution on this Caribbean island is still a palpable late 20th-century memory. The educational documentary covers a politically radical history that economically disenfranchised youngsters in Cuba are beginning to discover and explore through the medium of hip-hop. Their rhythmic and melodic infusions nod to their American progenitors but have a distinctly Cubano flavor.
The film focuses on both the young men and the women who are putting this new, grassroots Latino spin on rap music — the dynamic Papa Humbertico being one of the most prominently featured. The footage of these acts performing live in clubs and outdoor gatherings has much the same look and feel of the street scenes and ramshackle DIY beginnings of American hip-hop in the Bronx in the early 80s. The documentary captures the distinct flavor of Cuban hip-hop, emphasizing “Afro-Hispanic cultural mixing” and the so-called “dampness” of Cuban nature as opposed to the “dryness” of North American culture.
We see American rap style meeting Cuban rhythms of rhumba, and of course reggae proves to be a big influence on the Cubano form. The lyrical flights of the Cuban rappers featured here deal much more in sociopolitical themes than their American counterparts do nowadays, from sexual politics to more hardcore socioeconomic issues that still plague Cuban society.
After watching Havana Hip Hop Underground, the lingering question remains: will this underground movement eventually break ground for a wider acceptance for protest music in the mainstream? Or will Cubano rap stay a purist subterranean political phenomenon unfettered by the lure of American-style bling and braggadocio? This is a great documentary resource for educators specializing in Cuban history.