Cuban Rapper Marichal Premieres ‘Your Revolution’
‘A lot of slogans, but the stores are empty’
The singer and composer criticizes the 63 years of the Castro regime and denounces the situation that the Cuban people are experiencing.
By Pedro Manuel Gonzalez (Diario de Cuba)
HAVANA TIMES – Rapper Michael Marichal premiered his song “Tu Revolucion” (Your Revolution) on December 31st, denouncing the situation the Cuban people are experiencing after 63 years of the Castro regime.
The composer and singer, a native of Caibarien, Villa Clara, and a New York resident, recorded his single, produced by Asere Music, for the collective album La Resistencia Vol. 2.
Marichal told DIARIO DE CUBA that he was inspired by the failed experiment that is the Cuban Revolution and by those who try to survive it without hope or well-being.
Your revolution, asere, is crap
Based on envy, hatred and snitching
Your revolution is shouting and gossip
Lots of slogans, but the stores are empty.
“The Revolution against Batista was a historical event as was the one against Machado (…) In the case of the one of ’59, which is the one that my song addresses, I wanted to refresh the memory of those who were part of it or were born with it,” explained the rapper.
“Like many who did not enter the ‘New Man’ game, I realized that everything was a circus, and I used my art to tell them that their lie no longer works for them, and that it lost meaning from the moment they imposed it, and that the excuse of the ‘blockade’ does not justify how mediocre they are; in short, everything is a sham,” he added.
Regarding “committed artists” and “dissidents”, he stated: “There are creators who, despite living in a police state, have pointed out what is wrong, pointing their finger at the true cause from their various manifestations. They took on that pain and became public loudspeakers. “
“The corruption is not a secret to anyone, the audacity of the good life that the leaders give themselves, while the people struggle in long lines. However, few had the courage to say it while many were silent, out of fear or convenience. After the events of July 11th, there were some with a long history who decided to break with the abuse, because the rulers showed them their true face. They did an about face transforming themselves absolutely; even some who had benefitted a lot criticized on their platforms the attacks against a spontaneous mobilization that took to the streets to say ‘enough’ “.
“That day marked a before and after in the Cuban soul, including for artists. And it turned out that it backfired [for the leaders], because rather than strutting about their power, the master lost support even of some of his own. It was a consequence that some once unconditional artists decided to rise up in pursuit of that clamor, because they understood that among those who were being massacred was their audience,” noted Marichal.
“Even so, there are those who chose to give support to the repressor, and I do not doubt that among them were those that were blackmailed, because the regime knows something about them. Ah well, if they are not sponsored by the State, their careers will collapse.”
His career as a musician
Marichal recalled that he started “rapping” in 1998. “The bug was introduced to me by Vico C, the Puerto Rican, in addition to liking the US style that we could hear by pirating the FM signal with homemade antennas.”
“This is how the fury began in my little town, there the youth got to know me when there was no internet or social networks. At first I was doing a more commercial rap, but my encounters with the Cultural centers changed my position. I remember that I recorded my first protest song. at a friend’s house, and they even put it on a Miami station. That was the beginning of constant harassment from State Security because it reached their listeners,” he added.
“I decided to emigrate by raft to the United States, where for the first time I was able to shout that message on television. Then I retired to dedicate myself to working and I resumed it when I saw that in the Bahamas some friends were abused who, like me, tried to leave and were caught on the high seas. I wanted to say things and I understood that it was time, because by that time I had already woken up from ignorance, so my lyrics became cutting, that’s how people who identified immediately heard me,” said the rapper.
“Today, my work is not only heard in Cuba, but elsewhere. The support I receive is immense, because in addition to denouncing what happens to my people, I do it for others who also live under dictatorships,” concluded Marichal.
Imagine what would happen if young men like this one channeled that anger to action in the streets in Cuba instead of running away – the Castros would be toppled. Instead, young men like Marichal can look very angry and sing all they want about how bad the regime is but they cannot overcome the fear to take action in the streets. The great cancer in our Cuba is cowardice – we rather run away, sing, dance, rap and wait for the remittances rather than fight for the Cuba we always claim we love. Other people in Latin America have less and they are fighting the regimes – look at the people of Nicaragua – but we always run away.