The Social Science Library » Fear of a Black Nation: Local Rappers, Transnational Crossings, and State Power in Contemporary Cuba

Fear of a Black Nation: Local Rappers, Transnational Crossings, and State Power in Contemporary Cuba

Author(s)	Fernandes, Sujatha
Abstract	This essay analyzes the relationships between culture, power, and politics in contemporary Cuba through the lens of hip-hop. In particular, I look at the interactions between Cuban rappers, the Cuban socialist state, and diverse transnational networks in a moment of economic crisis, increasing racial disparities, and Cuba’s changing global position. The essay explores how the Cuban state has harnessed the energy of the growing hip-hop movement as a way of bolstering its popularity; I highlight forms of appropriation and collaboration between transnational cultural forms and the nation-state that have generally been absent from accounts of cultural globalization. But I also suggest that Cuban rappers’ participation in transnational networks allows these rappers some autonomy to continue promoting messages of racial egalitarianism and to develop alternative strategies in a moment of declining options for black youth.
IssueNo	4
Pages	575-608
Article	Access to Article
Source	Anthropological Quarterly
VolumeNo	76
PubDate	Fall 2003
ISBN_ISSN	0003-5491

Fear of a Black Nation: Local Rappers, Transnational Crossings, and State Power in Contemporary Cuba