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Island Paradise, Revolutionary Utopia or Hustler's Haven? Consumerism and Socialism in Contemporary Cuban Rap

Introduction The contemporary period of economic crisis in Cuba following the collapse of the Soviet Union, known as the ‘special period’, has seen the rise of consumerism, particularly as Cuba begins to open up to a global market. In comparison with the largely empty government ration stores, the new dollar-based shopping complexes such as La Epoca and Carlos III witness a steady stream of customers, particularly before events such as Mother's Day and Christmas. As dollars begin to flow into the economy once again through tourism, remittances and investments of foreign firms in Cuba, those with access to dollar incomes now have a disposable income and the desire to spend. This period has also seen the rise of rap music among young Afro-Cubans, a musical form that has been associated in the West with conspicuous consumption and commodity fetishism. Yet this turn to consumption is at odds with the continued focus of the Cuban political leadership on socialist ideology and practice. This essay looks at contemporary debates and struggles within Cuban rap to find out how the contradictions presented by consumer culture are being negotiated by Afro-Cuban youth within the subculture of hip-hop. In this essay, I argue that rap music is one of the crucial sites within Cuban society where young Afro-Cubans are reinventing contemporary political values and ideologies. Attracted by the music of certain politically engaged African-American rappers who have coined the term ‘underground’ or ‘conscious’ rap, Cuban ‘underground’ rappers offer strong criticisms of neoliberal globalization and they object to consumerism and the spread of market ideologies. In the lyrics of those groups who identify as ‘commercial’, consumerism and activities such as hustling are presented as strategies for black youth to survive in the special period. Different tendencies within the Cuban rap movement are engaged in a struggle over the political values that shape the culture of hip-hop, and an analysis of their debates can give us a window into changing utopias, desires and ideologies in a period of crisis and transformation in Cuban society.