By Anna Fischer
Alexey Rodriguez and Magia Lopez, the Cuban hip-hop duo known as Obsesion, performed at USC’s Ground Zero Performance Cafe on Oct. 9, as part of a nationwide tour.
The singers-writers-video artists already had a Trojan connection after having met with USC students who traveled to Cuba last summer as part of a course taught by Professor Roberto Suro, who holds a joint appointment at the Annenberg School for Communication and the Sol Price School of Public Policy. Students from both schools went to Cuba for classes at the University of Havana and for extensive fieldwork to learn first-hand about the economic, social, and political changes underway there.
Exploring the edges of acceptable cultural expression under the Castro regime, Obsesion’s performance provided not only entertainment but also insights on Cuba today. The event was hosted by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) and cosponsored by the Latino Association for Policy, Planning, & Development (LAPPD) student group.
Rodriguez and Lopez opened by talking about the early stages of hip-hop in Cuba and their own beginnings as hip-hop artists. They spoke of the influence of the United States’ hip-hop movement and the struggle to find their own voice. They laughed about how in the beginning they imitated the physical appearance of prominent U.S. hip-hop artists, having worn hooded sweatshirts under the Caribbean sun.
The event closed with a high-energy and dynamic performance by the duo.
Formed in 1996, Obsesion has been at the forefront of the changing music scene in Cuba. They have openly adopted musical forms common to U.S. popular culture — something that got musicians banned from public performance in the past. And they portray feelings of racial alienation among Afro-Cubans, something else that would cause trouble not so long ago.
Their music and lyrics offer a unique and often untold perspective of the Cuban experience through issues of race, gender, identity and life as young artists 50 years after the Revolution. Obsesion has had to navigate Cuba’s limits to freedom of speech, speaking out about issues that effect Cubans while largely remaining within the confines of what is deemed permissible by the Cuban government.
At USC, Obsesion discussed and performed pieces on issues of race, gender, identity and power — long-standing taboo topics that until recently were not a part of the mainstream discourse in Cuba.