Rebellion Politik: A Tale of Critical Resistance Through Hip-Hop From St. Paul to Havana

• In Event: Reimagining Youth, Identity, and the Social World: Global Hip-Hop Intellectuals as a Site of Resistance and Transformation

Abstract

Objectives or purposes
The purpose of this paper is to use the experiences of a political/activist hip-hop band from St. Paul, MN (Junkyard Empire) to analyze many of the ways hip-hop music and culture have been an effective medium through which a sociopolitical consciousness can be fostered for a mass audience. In addition, I provide examples of the ways in which hip-hop culture continues to resist the totalizing impact of global capitalism in small, but vital spaces. Specifically, I devote significant attention to how this work led to and influenced Junkyard Empire’s 2009 research excursion to Havana, Cuba; where I present an analysis of how hip-hop affords Cuban youth an opportunity to navigate the complex terrain of U.S./Cuba relations, global capitalism, race, and agency.
Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
I use a neo-Marxist framework to address the ways in which hip-hop confronts inequalities created by capitalism, racism, sexism, and heteronormativity. In addition, I draw from critical pedagogues and critical scholars such as Gramsci, Bakhtin, Ladson-Billings, and Raymond Williams to describe the complexity of hip-hop as a cultural formation with the potential to be a transformational force.
Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
The paper is a practitioner reflection drawing from a reflexive analysis of my own experiences as an MC, educator, doctoral student, and video documentarian in Cuba.
Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials
In the writing of this paper I used my own journal reflections and video recordings from my time in Cuba. I also collected cultural documents from my experiences in the Twin Cities, around the country, and in Havana, Cuba. I documented correspondences with national organizers in the U.S. and members of the Cuban hip-hop community. In addition, I used theoretical and empirical studies connecting hip-hop, education, and activism both nationally and internationally.
Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/point of view
While there are many ways that hip-hop can be used to resist the hegemony of U.S. capitalism, it is often a difficult process for those interested in radical hip-hop pedagogy in the U.S. The Cuban government has taken an interest in the nurturing of progressive hip-hop culture through the state run Cuban Rap Agency. Still many Cuban MCs, or raperos, and others involved in the development of hip-hop in Cuba are in the complicated position of having to walk a fine line between critiquing racism and sexism in Cuba while continuing to support its revolutionary ideals.
Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work
The significance of this work is twofold. First the work contributes to the small amount of scholarship specifically addressing the development of hip-hop culture in Cuba. Cuba is an important location for progressive hip-hop due to its symbolic resistance to U.S. imperialism. Second, it is important for hip-hop activists in the U.S. to expand and

Author

• Brian Lozenski, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities