We landed at Jose Marti, rainy day, misty scene….
Life in Cuba's never what it seems
The sky greeted us with thunder
We rushed our suitacass in a Lada 1600
The wipers' clearing up the windshield
Aguaceros dont last long, soon the streets
Black tobacoo, thick gasoline stream
Ocean breeze smoothed out like Vaseline cream
Caribbean giant, so much stigma
Standing on its own, a figment, enigma
New house, new life, new faces, new places
New latitude, new attitudes, new status that I'm faced with
Intense visual stimulation
Connecting dots with a continent I was raised on
My room facing broken buildings
Soviet union collapsed, economy rebuilding
No commercials, one TV station
Slogans of resistance, controlled information
Creative minds, frustration, innovation
Polarised, desperation or inspiration
New experience, diplomats, affiliates
Government officials take themselves very seriously
Expats, money, colonial mentality
My pops worked in culture and broke the formalities
Told be just be yourself, no matter your surroundings
We walked on the malecon the view was outstanding
Space and time, mind cosmicly expanding
Context, immersion, aiming for understanding

Me gusta la Habana por sus encantos
Por su espiritualidad, por su
Y incluso la velocidad de las calles
Si, me gustan sus barrios, el malecon
Me gusta su gente
«me gusta la musica y...»
El espiritu de La Habana que esta en mi...esta en mi
«me gusta la musica y me gusta la gente a quen mas o menos le entiendo las letras»

Speech is held back, freeschool & free healthcare
Children always smiling tho their parents’ dreams are elsewhere
How many crashed on the shores of opportunity?
Or drowned in the straights of disunity?
Yet life runs deep in the hearts of all
The seafront sings loudly when the night starts to fall
Over the skyline, the moon rises
Only these waves know what’s beyond the horizon
My soul embraced the elements
With every step, looking to feel settled in
Eyes in the clouds, ear to the streets
the rhythm of the drum as heavy as the sweltering heat
I once waited for the bus under snow flakes
Now I'm biking to school in the tropics with no breaks
Slow-motion, silent observation
First row seats to the workings of a nation
A musical spirit dominates this wild city
Kissing the ocean, her oblivious smile's so pretty
Unique, edgy, much more than a manequin
Havana sings in Spanish but her song is so Africana
Artistrty rising from the ashes of modesty
My heart was always taken away sonically
It the sound I heard digging in the crates of my father’s tapes
When I looped it to match the hardest breaks
At the library met this MC
His name was Pedrito and he easily convinced me
Took me to a parc where rappers use to meet
We cyphered and I kicked some Spanglish rhymes I used to keep
In the back of my head, case this would ever happen
Under the palm trees to the sounds of the hands clappin
Cats were rappin about positive social change
Hearts were full, pockets were empty, no change
Like a feeling you cant describe
Call it innocence, but where there was struggle there was pride
Affirmation of a revolution
Pointing out its shortcomings, seeking evolution
Musical innovation, exchange of information, endless conversations
Obsesion told me I should reach out and see them
Then they put me on stage in front of three thousand people
Brothers and sisters, Lenguas Locas was the crew though
Laughin', makin' mad noise on the M-1
But no pretention, it was clear to me
That I was blessed to be part of something that marked history
No mystery, I carry that vibe in everything I do today
Most left the island, some found it better to stay
To this day meditate on every lyrics that I heard
Every minute that I've earned
On the microphone I stayed