be useful to the listeners in Cuba, many people speak against the governments use of music to influence people. Politics is so deeply rooted in the hip hop scene in Cuba that the revolutionary image of Che Guevara is frequently seen, as the late figure represents the early stage in the Revolution and embodies youthful idealism. According to Geoffrey Baker, the history and legend of Che allows artists to practice “safe radicalism.” There are many ways in which Cuban hip hop artists achieve a sense of nationalism through their music. Many Cuban hip hop artists attempt through the musical backing track arrangements and sounds. Rhythms borrowing from traditional Cuban music style have been incorporated in hip hop music. Native instruments such as bata drums, maracas, and guaguanco have been part of the indigenization hip hop music in Cuba. In addition to musical instrumentation, language also plays a large part in the shaping and nationalization of Cuban hip hop. Language barriers between the US and Cuba allowed for Cuban hip hoppers to embrace the musical aesthetic of the music, but leave behind the lyrical content. This can be seen through similarity between Cuban and US hip hop beats; and the differences between lyrical content performed over the US songs and Cuban songs. Additionally, the distinct (Cuban) Spanish dialect used to deliver the lyrics contributes to the nationalistic value of Cuban hip hop, and is viewed as characteristic which sets it apart from other Spanish-speaking countries and the US alike. The lyrical content, in and of itself, also speaks to the struggles and hardships experienced by Cubans in impoverished inner city areas of Havana. The harsh Cuban reality, in this way, provides a lens into the unique inner-city experience of Cubans suffering from socio-economic hardships. According to Marc Ramirez, hip hop has acted as tool for youth in Cuba to speak out. Here, Ramirez pinpoints the importance of hip hop in Cuban culture—even more so than other native musical styles: “In Cuba, where teenagers and young adults see their world torn by social ills including street hustling and racism, there are worse things to worry about than power outages. And it's hip-hop - not salsa or rumba or the Buena Vista Social Club - that sustains the disillusioned” (Ramirez). Additionally, political and historical events are resonant in the music making, it a unique expression of Cuban culture. For instance, the group Instisto