Project Emancipation was established in 2003 as an effort to unite the talents of Canadian producers and Cuban emcees in the production of a collaborative hip-hop album. The idea was inspired be Cuba's thriving grassroots hip-hop scene, that lacked the means, both technologically and financially to produce and record, a specifically needy area being the Eastern city of Santiago de Cuba.

Santiago hip-hop began manifested primarily in the art of rhyme. Because of the inability to make beats, emcees improvised and even performed over North-American songs with the volume turned down.

One interesting aspect about Cuban hip-hop is that "the movent" has been institutionalized, young artists, lyricists, and journalists who identify themselves with the genre form a community, meet regularly, and are mentored by government organizations that encourage the involvement of youth in the arts. Although many themes discussed throught hip-hop touch on the issues of Cuban reality such as identity, racism, discrimination, sexism and frustration, Hip-hop has been adopted as a part of the revolution.

Project Emancipation sought to team Canadian producers with five groups of Cuban emcees from Santiago de Cuba, not only to bridge hip-hop cross-culturally, but also to encourage understanding between two societies that share a love for the same music.

Fundraising events were held in Toronto in 2003 to facilitate the recording of the album.

In collaboration with the University of Toronto Dance Club, a dance party hosted by DJ Chico of Havana Nights (El Convento Rico) was held at St. Michaels College, University of Toronto.

At Toronto's Lula Lounge, a benefit hip-hop concert was held featuring the talents of Amir da Terrorist, Riskoshay, Rochester AKA Juice, Graph Nobel, Brassmunk, DJ Spot and DJ Grouch.

Special thanks also go out to Foudation Creative Group and The CyberKrib.

After raising after funds, submissions were accepted from Canadian producers across the country, which were all brought to Santiago to be selected by the recording artists.

Recording was done in summer of 2003 in Santiago de Cuba and additional tracks were done in Havana in 2004.

Project Emancipation is now preparing to showcase the project on http;//www.projectemancipation.com.

The website will feature fully mastered tracks, lyrics in translation as well as photos articles and supplementary information about the Canadian producers involved, Santiago de Cuba and the greater Cuban hip-hop community.

How Hip-Hop Came to Cuba
By: Isnay Rodriguez Agramonte

For a long time now, Cuban culture has been strongly influenced by the United States. This influence began during Cuba's period as an American Colony from 1895 (the end of the Spanish American War) until 1959 (the triumph of the revolution). For example, Jazz, Rock and Roll and among other musical genres popularized in our country at that time were of American origin. There are also Cuban genres that have developed as a result of North American influence such as trova which is Cuban alternative music mixing traditional instruments and techniques with North American pop/rock.

The short distances between our country and commercialism - as well as other factors - brought rap to Cuba in the mid 80s, as the "new" genre on the market. Movies like Beatstreet, Breakdance 1 and Breakdance 2 provoked the attention of Cuban youth, curious about the outside world. The first signs of hip-hop culture were demonstrated primarily in dance. In the late 80s early 90s dance groups started to appear, battling in the streets and in parks; traffic was stopped by kids dancing to hip-hop.

Later on in the 90s, kids were not only dancing but rhyming and singing in buses and on street corners.

That was when the hip-hop movement first appeared. Alamar, an area in Havana, was the first place that groups used meet, and over time, the popularity of the hip-hop movement gained more and more followers across the island. In 1995 the first national hip-hop festival was help in the Alamar theatre. The Asociación Hermanos Saíz (Saiz Brothers Association) noticed the overwhelming amount of attention the movement was gaining, and began to take part in the movement mentoring youth in their art: music, art, journalism and leadership.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that during the "special period" (period of most dire economic difficulty in Cuba), the American imposed economic blockade acted as a catalyst for Cuban rap, resulting in the explosive popularity of hip-hop in the 90s here in Cuba.

Today we are able to talk about and defend "CUBAN" rap with its own defining characteristics that set it apart from rap in other parts of the world. One well-known example of Cuban rap would be would be the group Orishas.

Influences

After the emergence of hip-hop, Cuban rap has become more and more Cuban, and its audience is increasingly able to identify with the music, and thus the movement continues to grow.

In the beginning, due to lack of means, knowledge and technology, emcees rhymed over any North American instrumentals they could get their hands on. Also, as if out of hope, Cuban rappers imitated American rappers in their flow and style of dress which was a real step backwards in the development of an authentic Cuban rap.

With time however, although many continue to follow the American example, many others have become especially conscious about developing "Cuban" rap that represents Cubans. Lack of means and equipment is still the biggest challenge that emcees face on the island, nonetheless, many groups are already working with Cuban produced beats, without abandoning the roots of the genre.

Examining the influence of rap in Cuba, it's important to acknowledge that hip-hop has spread across the country, From Western Havana to the Eastern province Santiago de Cuba. In the 90s, hip-hop became popular in dance parties in Santiago de Cuba (I was one of those kids dancing), and the first provincial hip-hop festival was held in 1997, just like the Havana festival but smaller and with its own distinct characteristics.

Santiago de Cuba is considered the "heart of the Caribbean" for its location: closer to Jamaica than Havana. Geography accounts for the difference in characteristics between rap from Havana and rap from Santiago. In Santiago we see the influence of reggae and reggaemurphy (reggaeton) setting it apart from the music coming out of the capital that is more influenced by the United States.

In my understanding, what makes Cuban rap authentically Cuban is the influence of rumba, son, guaguanco (derivative of rumba), bolero and other Cuban musical genres, and their fusion with hip-hop. However, there are those who prefer to use background that have little or no fusion with traditional Cuban music, and I would have to say that this should also be considered good "Cuban" rap, because it's made Cubans, discussing Cuba and the world from the Cuban perspective.

The Difference between Rap from Santiago de Cuba and La Habana.

The differences between rap "santiaguero" and "habanero" are not only a result of foreign influences there are also other factors that contribute to their distinct characteristics like the accent of spoken language. En Santiago the letter "r" is often pronounced as "l". The rhythm of speech also differs from that of Havana, as well, there are dialectical differences between the two cities for example the names fruits, materials etc (as in the difference between American and Canadian English).

In terms of musicality, it's difficult to make comparisons between Santiago and Havana because of the sad reality that in Santiago we don't have producers, methods, means or institutions concerned with the necessities and challenges faced by the young people that dedicate themselves to making hip-hop music. Conversely, Havana has significantly advanced in this aspect (thanks to the Havana hip-hop festival becoming an international venue). So, I think that the most important thing for Santiago MCs now, is to work on collaborative musical productions with the help of other institutions or individuals.

I also believe that the greatest differences in rap by different artists are exhibited in the content of material and the manner of relating it, whether commercial or underground.

Editor's Note: For more information about the movement please contact: Ashleigh@projectemancipation.com or visit http://www.projectemancipation.com