How We Made This Segment
A friend who was a local rapper and worldwide underground superstar told me about his travels to Cuba and the strong progressive
hip-hop movement in and around Havana. Keen on going and experiencing socialist Cuba since I had read Assata Shakur's autobiography,
I began research on what will become my first feature-length documentary. Primarily done through the cyber realm, I met and
connected with several artists and activists working on subjects involving Cuban hip-hop and other activist movements. I realized
that though stories of the men in Cuban hip-hop were being produced, the strong female artists in the movement were being ignored.
And therein lies my story... but first, I had to get to Cuba and as an American citizen that was indeed a challenge. The US Blockade
of Cuba precludes all citizens from traveling to the island country 90 miles south of Florida without a license from the Office of
Foreign Assets Control or OFAC. The OFAC is a division of the Treasury Department. Though many US citizens travel illegally to the
island, I am a punk who must always follow the letter of the law-- besides the fact that I was responsible for bringing a crew to
assist in my documentary production. I wrote a letter to the OFAC and after the three months of going back and forth sending
additional documentation, my indie production company, nubian sisters productions was granted our first license to travel to Cuba.
From there, the project unfolded as we interviewed amazing female rappers, graffiti artists and poets as well organizers from the
FMC, the Federacion de Mujeres Cubanas and veteran of the New Afrikan independence struggle, Nehanda Abiodun. Check out my website
nubiansisters.com. Thanks for watching, please continue to support SmogTV! - Jamiah Adams
