{"id":176430379,"date":"2014-01-04T01:58:12","date_gmt":"2014-01-04T07:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/?p=176430379"},"modified":"2014-01-04T01:59:05","modified_gmt":"2014-01-04T07:59:05","slug":"culture-cuban-artist-danay-suarez-responds-to-jay-zs-open-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/2014\/01\/04\/culture-cuban-artist-danay-suarez-responds-to-jay-zs-open-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"CULTURE: Cuban Artist Danay Suarez Responds To Jay Z’s “Open Letter”"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 18, 2013<\/p>\n

\"Roberto<\/a>

Roberto Fonseca, left, and Danay Suarez<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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CUBAN ARTIST DANAY SUAREZ<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

RESPONDS TO JAY Z\u2019S <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

\u201cOPEN LETTER\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

Posted by Morgan Greenstreet<\/strong><\/span> \"1365514191_beyonce-knowles-jay-z-cuba-467\"<\/div>\n

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Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) and Beyonc\u00e9 Knowles recently made waves when they traveled to the island of Cuba (which has been under U.S. trade embargo since it became a socialist\/communist country in 1960) to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. The initial reactions came from the most likely quarter: Cuban-American Republican politicians raised an uproar, demanding to know if the trip was legal, since U.S. citizens are restricted from visiting the island (or, more specifically, from engaging in economic transactions with Cuban citizens) unless they have a license or official clearance from the Treasury department.<\/span> Last Thursday, Jay-Z put out an \u201cOpen Letter\u201d in response, rapping over a dark track produced by Swizz Beats and Timbaland. Rather than elucidate, Jay-Z\u2019s lyrics added to the furor already surrounding his trip: he responded to the Republican outcry by threatening to commit \u201ca real crime,\u201d like \u201cflood the streets,\u201d (presumably not with water). In keeping with his overarching aesthetic, most of the verses feature unrelated boasts about Hov\u2019s cultural influence, his wealth, and his ownership of the Brooklyn Nets.<\/span> Then\u2026\u201dI\u2019m in Cuba, I love Cubans\/This communist talk is so confusing\/When it\u2019s from China\/The very mic that I\u2019m using.\u201d\u00a0These verses are fascinating, although the message is far from clear: is this a nuanced analysis of communism, globalization and political propaganda? Is Jay-Z asking, \u201cHow can the U.S. place an embargo on Cuba, while doing extensive business with China, another so-called communist country, which provides major financial support to Cuba?\u201d Or, is this a simple dismissal of the relevance of politics at all? Hov provides no further indications, switching back to swag mode, he boasts that he got \u201cWhite House clearance\u201d to travel to Cuba, and raps \u201cObama said chill, you gonna get me impeached.\u201d\u00a0Unsurprisingly\u00a0 on Wednesday, Obama denied that the White House was specifically involved, saying, \u201cWe\u2019ve got better things to do.\u201d Treasury department officials indicated that the celebrity couple went on an \u201ceducational exchange trip\u201d organized by an unnamed licensed group.<\/span>