LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- Hip hop is one U.S. commodity that has made it past the trade embargo to Cuba . Cuban rap duo `` Doble Filo '' say hip hop allows them to embrace social issues . Cuba has developed a homegrown rap movement , inspired by the sounds and fashions of U.S. hip hop . But what makes Cuban rappers different is that rather than celebrating bling , girls and guns , their lyrics address social issues in a country where free speech is tightly controlled . Cuban rap began to surface in the 1990s , a grassroots affair , with songs recorded in rappers ' bedrooms and distributed on cassette tapes . The island 's fledgling hip hop scene was given a boost in 1999 , when it was endorsed by the government as `` an authentic expression of Cuban Culture . '' In the following years the government set up the Cuban Rap Agency ( CRA ) to promote the scene , as well as a record label , `` Asere Productions , '' and a rap magazine called `` Movimiento . '' Government approval helped Cuban hip hop emerge from the underground , but some see that endorsement as a gilded cage . Formed in 1996 , rap duo `` Doble Filo '' ( `` Double Edged '' ) have been part of the Havana scene since the beginning and work with the Cuban Rap Agency . But rapper Irak Saenz admits there are contradictions in being part of the system . `` It does limit our creative freedom , '' he told CNN . `` The CRA has an agenda that goes with the government 's agenda . It does n't limit me but it does force me to be creative in how I express my ideas . '' Along with fellow Cuban rap duo `` Los Aldeanos '' ( `` The Villagers '' ) `` Doble Filo '' work with U.S. hip hop audio/visual label , Emetrece Productions . But `` Los Aldeanos '' , who formed in 2003 , are part of a younger generation of Cuban rappers . They do n't belong the CRA , and nor do they want to . They are defiantly underground and outspoken . `` Hip hop is an art form speaks the truth about how people are living , '' says Aldo Rodriguez , one half of Los Aldeanos . Their track `` Niñito Cubano '' is about a young boy growing up during Cuba 's `` special period '' , when the fall of the Soviet Union brought hardship to the island . Their forthright lyrics about life in Cuba do n't make them any friends among Cuba 's authorities , and that limits their opportunities on the island . `` Our lyrics do n't always go with the standard Cuban rhetoric and often that wo n't get airplay , '' says Rodriguez . `` I can be famous in other countries , but here they wo n't let me play a concert in a theater . '' Listen to Doble Filo and Los Aldeanos here » . Doble Filo 's Saenz has performed the U.S. with fellow Cubans `` Obsesion '' , a tour that included playing on the same bill as U.S. rap stars Kanye West and The Roots . He says that where his generation of rappers was forced to limit the way it talked about the realities of daily life , the new generation is bolder with its lyrics . Bian Rodriguez , also known as El B , the other member of `` Los Aldeanos , '' says hip hop gives voice to the concerns of ordinary Cubans . `` People tell me they need this music , not just because they can identify with what we are saying , but because they feel that maybe we can say things they might be afraid to say publicly , '' he told CNN . Like most other Cuban rap groups , `` Los Aldeanos '' are n't yet in a position to make a living from their music . El B has won Cuba 's Red Bull freestyle rapping championship three years in a row , but he still has a day job as a primary school teacher . A lack of funds and equipment means the island 's hip hop producers have to use a certain amount of ingenuity when it comes to recording their music . Doble Filo 's producer Edgaro explains that in the group 's early days , he would make tracks by looping the last few bars of songs on cassette tapes . These days , Edgaro produces songs on his PC , but the software is pirated from copies brought into the country and circulated on the streets . It simply is n't available in the stores . More about Cuba 's arts : Carlos Acosta takes CNN on a tour of Havana . » . As the scene develops the groups are getting more ambitious . Doble Filo are now incorporating live musicians into their sound , weaving in elements of traditional Cuban music , and they are set to release their debut album `` Despierta '' ( `` Wake up '' ) through Emetrece Productions . Emetrece is run by Melisa Riviere , a Ph.D. candidate in the Anthropology Department at the University of Minnesota . More than just promoting good music , she says Emetrece is trying to educate , and to challenge the U.S. embargo on Cuba . Like Cuba 's rappers , she sees hip hop as a tool for social change . As El B puts it , `` I think one of the things people take from the music is the idea that we can do anything , we can change anything , we can be anything we want . ''
Cuba 's homegrown rap scene is known for its socially conscious lyrics . Rap groups `` Doble Filo '' and `` Los Aldeanos '' speak out about life in Cuba . They say hip hop lets them talk about issues ordinary Cubans can not .