Krudas Cubensi
Krudas Cubensi | |
---|---|
Origin | rap |
Years active | 1999–present |
Members | Odaymara Cuesta (Pasa Kruda) Olivia Prendes (Pelusa Kruda) |
Website | Official website |
Krudas Cubensi, also known as Las Krudas, is an
History
Group formation (1996-1999)
The three original members of Krudas Cubensi began working together in Havana in the 1990s.[1] In 1996, before officially joining the Cuban hip hop scene, Odaymara Cuesta and Olivia Prendes started the street theatre group Tropazancos Cubensi in collaboration with other Cuban artists.[1] Odaymara's sister, Odalys Cuesta, joined the collective in 1998.[2] Mixing community theatre, rap, and visual arts, Tropazancos was an educational and experimental performance group.[3]
Early work as Krudas Cubensi (1999-2006)
After performing at the annual rap festival of Alamar, a Havana district known for its importance in the Cuban hip-hop movement, Odaymara, Olivia and Odalys decided to shift gear in their art activism.[3] Krudas Cubensi emerged in 1999 as a response to what the group considered a huge lack of representation of women in the movement: The three artists wished to “incorporate a feminist discourse to the unrestrained posture of the masculine majority.”[4][2]
Their first non-Tropazancos performance took place in 2000 at a Havana hip-hop festival.[2] Because of their artistic work in the previous years, the members of Krudas Cubensi were already known by influential artists and producers in the underground hip-hop movement when they started rapping as Las Krudas.[2]
In 2005, Krudas Cubensi participated in the birth of the female rap collective Omega Kilay with artists such as
As their popularity grew, Krudas Cubensi members started receiving invitations to perform at music festivals abroad but their travel requests were always rejected by the
Immigration to the United States and touring (2006-present)
Wishing to share with
Since 2006, Krudas Cubensi has toured the U.S. and
Odaymara and Olivia live in Oakland, California.
Musical style and activism
The artists explain the name of the group by saying it means “the raw ones native from Cuba and the Caribbean representing in the world.” [4] The trio formed with the goal of adding “rawness” to Cuban hip-hop, inspired by natural sounds more than refined and harmonious beats.[5]
From the onset, Krudas Cubensi has tied
First in Cuba and now as part of the Cuban diaspora in the United States, the group puts social issues at the heart of all lyrics and performances, speaking of
Their work centers on music but is also about sharing knowledge with the different audiences, groups and individuals they encounter while touring, for example regarding the acceptance of body and
Members
- Odaymara Cuesta (Pasa Kruda) — (1999–present)
- Olivia Prendes (Pelusa Kruda) — (1999–present)
- Odalys Cuesta (Wanda Kruda) — (1999–2010)
Discography
- Krudas Cubensi albums
- Cubensi Hip Hop (2003)
- Kandela (2005)
- Resistiendo (2007)
- Krudas Compilación (2009)
- Levántate (2012)
- Poderosxs (2014)
- Highly Addictive (2016)
- "“They/them, les elles” (2023)
- Outerspaces Crew
- Power in the Margins (2014)
Other project: OREMI
In 2005, the Cuban National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX) asked the group members to be co-founders of the first lesbian group supported by the state, Grupo OREMI. They were approached because of their activism for LGBT rights in Cuba.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Rivera-Velázquez, Celiany (2008). "Brincando bordes, cuestionando el poder: Cuban Las Krudas' Migration Experience and Their Rearticulation of Sacred Kinships and Hip Hop Feminism". Letras Femeninas. 34 (1): 97–123.
- ^ a b c d e f g Saunders, Tanya (2009). "La Lucha Mujerista: Krudas CUBENSI and Black Feminist Sexual Politics in Cuba". Caribbean Review of Gender Studies (3).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Flores, Nancy (July 4, 2012). "New Beat Rising: Krudas Cubensi's Revolutionary Sound Reaches Austin and Beyond". Austin 360.
- ^ a b c d e Krudas Cubensi. "Bio". Krudas Cubensi. Archived from the original on 2015-10-26. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
- ^ Cano, Regina (November 16, 2014). "Krudas Cubensi in Havana - 2014". Havana Times: Open-Minded Writing from Cuba.
- ^ Cano, Regina (November 16, 2014). "Krudas Cubensi in Havana - 2014". Havana Times: Open-Minded Writing from Cuba.