Liberator 4.4
La Fabri_K: Cuban Hip Hop Factory
words: Zora Lynum
 

Beat Street a king of the beat/ I see you rocking that beat from across the street/ and/ Beat Street is a lesson too/ because you can’t let the streets beat you.
(Beat Street Breakdown)

Well according to Ebony magazine Hip Hop turned thirty this year and as we all know in that time it has spanned the globe and made a lot of fat cats fatter and few skinny cats not so skinny. Most importantly though it made a way for millions when it seemed there was none. Way back then when the first turn tables were put together and the break boys came out to dance; did they know that they were changing the world forever? Saving lives? At any rate this seems an appropriate time to take a look back at where we have been as well as a look forward to the future. Beat Street provides us with a satisfying reminder of where we have been while "La Fabri_K/The Cuban Hip-Hop Factory" reveals that even if Hip Hop were to cease in America, it has a bright and vibrant future in countries around the world, specifically Cuba.

I first saw Beat Street in early summer of 84 at the Skyway Theater and loved it instantly. Since then I have seen it at least 15 times and it has easily stood the test of time. It tells the story of two friends trying to pursue their dreams of expressing themselves through their respective crafts of art and music while maintaining their integrity. Throughout this journey many themes are presented such as young vs. old, innovator vs. copycat, artist vs. the system, and player vs. hater as the two young men throw parties in the Bronx, look for jobs, support their families, and fall in love. The main theme, however, which stayed with me since the summer of 84 is that art is the salvation of the community. 

Beat Street can definitely be enjoyed by the whole family. In fact, some weekends when we have rented the movie we have watched it for 3-4 hours back to back upon the insistence of the my children. On top of all that the music in Beat Street is still the Bomb. This movie has the best the theme song ever, The Beat Street Breakdown. It is appropriately named because in it Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious 5 break down every topic imaginable from the nuclear arms race to poverty in Africa to the boring confinement of High School. I doubt that this sound track is available on CD so renting the movie is worth it just to hear the song at the finale.  

Now fast forward 21 years and we see this same theme, art is the salvation of the community, presented in Lisandro Perez-Rey’s film "La Fabri_K/The Cuban Hip Hop Factory." In his sixty two minute documentary Rey chronicles the rise of two Cuban Hip Hop groups and their momentous trip to America. With this film Rey introduces us to world few Americans will ever have the chance to see -- the world of Cuban Hip Hop. We learn that not only is Hip Hop in Cuba is vibrant and thriving but it is still decidedly political and reacting critically to the powers that be. At this point Hip Hop artists in Cuba are no longer simply mimicking what Americans do but have created a Hip Hop movement that is distinctly Cuban. This ability -- the ability to take something someone else gives you or leaves and make it distinctly your own -- is what Hip Hop is all about. Of course watching Hip Hop turned on it side is sure to make a few B-girls and boys smile.

The only problem with this movie is that it is edited in such a way that often it is hard to read all of the subtitles before they are gone. That being said I recommend this movie for both the quasi-anthropologist and the true head as well as everyone in between and remember…

You either play some ball or stand in the hall/ Cuz you gotta make something out of nothing at all.
(Beat Street Breakdown)