DKNO: A Cuban Rapper
Helson Hernández
HAVANA TIMES — Maikel Castillo, known as DKNO (“The Dean”) in the Cuban rap scene, tells us about his interest in the rap genre and about the “consequences of telling the truth without mincing one’s words.”
HT: Tell us about DKNO.
Maikel Castillo: I’ve been listening to Vico C’s music since I was a kid. His lyrics and music caught my attention. Sometimes, I would learn the lyrics and sing his songs around the neighborhood. I’m from Belen, which is where the rap get-together is held, in the Havana neighborhood’s cultural center (located at the intersection of Aguiar and Amargura streets at the time). I would go there regularly. I never went to music school, and I had never been in a band before. Rapping just comes to me naturally.
HT: Why this name, “DKNO”?
MC: I’ve been doing rap with that name for a very long time. I think the name refers to some of my experiences, to the older ones. I identify with the concept behind this name. Also, when you read it out loud, it inspires respect, gives you a sense of wisdom.
HT: What in particular drew you to Rap music?
MC: For me, rap is a way of singing freely. It allows you to express what you want and feel. Historically, it’s been a protest genre, a music made by the humblest sectors of society and even those who suffer discrimination. We mustn’t forget that rap was born as an instrument of protest.
HT: Is rap growing as a movement in Cuba today?
MC: I wouldn’t say so, exactly. Even though we now have the Cuban Rap Agency, very few artists are granted membership there, and let’s not forget that we have very few spaces on television that divulge the genre. We also have very few spaces devoted specifically to rap music, for a public that likes the music. Those of us at the bottom, what real options do we have in terms of promoting our work through the media? To mention a well-known example, are things easy for Los Aldeanos?
HT: What does DKNO rap about?
MC: Social issues, for the most part, problems around the world. Sometimes, I talk about feelings, like love, and write about environmental issues. I address a broad range of topics.
HT: Do you devote all of your time to rap music?
MC: No. If I did, I would probably starve. I don’t make a living out of rapping. There aren’t that many options out there, not so you can devote yourself entirely to the music and make a decent income, at least. Also, I am constantly being censored, and this closes many doors for me. Those are the consequences of telling the truth without mincing one’s words.
HT: You are one of the very few rappers who have sung next to Cuba’s folk music legend Silvio Rodriguez.
MC: It was of course an honor for me. At the time, I was in the province of Santa Clara. During Silvio’s nationwide tour, when he performed at different penitentiary centers, I was selected to share the stage with him. Silvio Rodriguez was, the voice of protest of his day, and he was punished and isolated on occasions because of this, while still a young musician. He is the greatest of Cuban songwriters, and I identify with him a lot.
HT: Is there any message you want to convey to people?
MC: The only thing that comes to mind right now is the title of the first song of my album: “redemption.”
I am not critical of Cuban music, Cuban literature or many other aspects of Cuban society, which I greatly admire. I am highly critical of the regime, and I have noticed most Cuban’s are, too.
You confuse and conflate the Castro regime with the Cuban people. These are not the same things at all.
I take the liberty of calling you anti-Cuban I guess because I’ve been labelled anti-American for expressing my opposition to the war in Iraq, the Contra terror campaign in Nicaragua, or even curiously, saying Cuba has the right to determine its own future, free of US pressure. I think most Cubans I know in Cuba would call someone so fiercely critical of their current society as you, anti-Cuban.
I compare the treatment of dissident artists in Cuba compared to the treatment of dissident artists in my country, Canada.
Writers like Margaret Attwood can publish essays condemning PM Steven Harper and she is lauded as brave and wise. If somebody tried that in Cuba, they would be tossed in prison.
Are there countries worse than Cuba? Certainly. But this is Havana Times, so we talk about Cuba here. To be clear: I am not a Cuba basher, as you label anybody who writes anything critical of the regime. I am pro-Cuba. Which is to say, I support freedom, democracy, human rights and independence for the Cuban people. For that reason, I am highly critical of Fidel & Raul Castro and the revolution they betrayed.
What I am trying to say is that “dissidents” in Cuba are treated with kid gloves compared what can happen to them in neighboring countries. Not that this justifies any repression by the Cuban government, its just that although the Cuba bashers routinely make those kind of statements about supporting human rights for everyone, they spend an inordinate amount of time putting Cuba under the microscope, all the while ignoring the exponentially worse violations everywhere else. Kind of like using your only quarter to call the cops over a retail theft rather than a homicide you are witnessing.
SInce this is an interview with a Cuban rapper, let’s have some Cuban rap music, shall we?
First, one from DKANO – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9c0IMlyRgs
from el Critico – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjUYImAxGy0
…Los Aldeanos – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAqnZvSUI8M
…Telmary Diaz – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JUT0niuOQ8
…Orishas – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2eV20UhkQk
and last but not least, Cuba’s youngest rapper – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjvYXkrLk6M
Enjoy! Disfrutar de esta música!
Are you saying that the persecution of Angel Yunier Remon is OK, because Victor Jara got worse?
I support freedom of speech for all people, in all countries.
I condemn the torture and murder of Victor Jara as well as the persecution of Cuban artists such as Angel Yunier Remon, Virgilio Piñera, Reinaldo Arenas, Angel Santestieban, Gorki Águila and countless others who have suffered in Castro’s prisons.
The barbarity of those Communists ! A dissident artist in prison?! Such an affront to freedom of expression would never occur in a capitalist, US supported” Free Nation”. Prison would be unthinkable. The most that would happen to a dissident artist in our sphere of influence might be that he’d get Victor Jara-ed. You know, brutally tortured, ridiculed, fingers each individually broken, then pumped up with 30 slugs. No big deal.
Maikel Castillo praises Silvio Rodriguez as a “protest singer”, a truly ironic label for a career propagandist of the Castro regime. It seems Castillo is auditioning for that role?
Perhaps Havana Times could interview a Cuban rap musician who actually has something interesting to say, such as Angel Yunier Remon — also known as “El Critico”.
But you will have to visit him in prison where he is being jailed for actually protesting.
#FreeElCritico