Cambio / Danay Suárez

"This is not just another album; the album is alive, I had to die in many ways to give you this message. I hope that some in the music industry listen to it, also the artists, those who continue to fight for their soul and those who believe they have lost it; also every young person who has been hurt with so much mundanity from their favorite artists, and every adult who still believes in the communicative power of art. Life and death are sealed in this album and I know it will transcend my existence," said Danay Suarez a few weeks ago on her Facebook page.

This is also the origin of his music, sharp and sharp.

The driving force of the album is undeniably faith in God, even in the human being. Its purpose is to purify the ambiguity in the new scene, where artists often try to gain positioning -also prestige- with market strategies based on body image or fraud. Suarez wants to show us what life is like in the land of the Lord, free of "fanaticism" and laceration. We can witness how Christian music is not monolithic -as it is usually thought-; this album gathers subgenres that are reflected in different traditions and cultures: rap, guaguancó, bolero, club; all coffered by religion.

Back in January of last year, Suarez had already given a preview, with four songs in EP version. As a sign of respect for the artist's intentionality, these will go first, and we will continue in the logical order of the remaining six songs of the new album.

Bad Boys is first on the EP; in an early 2000's hip hop vibe, Suarez reiterates that he does not wish to continue with rap or show business. However, he makes references to the controversial "lawsuit" imposed on him in 2020 for offensive comparisons to the LGBTIQ+ community. The sound continues in the same line, so far there are no signs of "change" and his music seems to rise as a deaf war against the new scene.

On the other hand, Change is a refreshing sample of dance/club that departs, satisfactorily, from its repertoire. It could even seem like a remix of the original. This sonority is on the rise, and although in Cuba it has not yet managed to transcend the bars or spaces of the style, the artist has the recognition of international listeners that she has earned. It is therefore a bit ironic that she has left this track last on the album version.

follows him My treasurewhich is naturally novel. It has that angry influence that only reminds us of the experimental formulas of Frank Ocean and Labrinth. The lyrics are an ode to earthly love: "you will always be my treasure, and though the body is temporary, our love is written in eternity". Here the title of the project begins to make sense. Evidently, Suarez has drawn inspiration from the American school.

In interview with this magazine Four years ago, the artist confessed: "I was a product of Cuban hip hop, I liked to sing and make melodies, and I was influenced a little by the jazz and traditional Cuban music I listened to". In this philosophy she presents Don't play like thata bolero that is hopelessly reminiscent of Buena Vista Social Club's La Diva. However, Suárez abandons Omara early on -recalling that it is not her "time to make a bolero album"- and embraces rap with a jazz and piano base. Just when you think he's about to return to bolero, he takes up the bass of urban affluence. It is she who plays with the listener in a very successful experiment.

In the order of the album, the first song is I came toa convoluted monologue that stands out among violins. With references to Caravaggio and Bukowski in the same line, the Cuban demonstrates the sharp pen that characterizes her. She defends femininity with lines such as: "And so that sexually ill people go hungry, I'm going to give you lessons without undressing". She notes that she has no interest in competing, but there doesn't really seem to be a direct threat from the Cuban industry. She now belongs to a broader market.

The next song performs that beat that can easily evoke Canserbero; a bit gloomy and solid in terms of composition, Unburdening has the storytelling chronology that the Venezuelan would employ in It is epic. Her lyrics are a life lesson; the artist has accumulated a lot of knowledge over the years. Perhaps she owes it to her faith readings. She lets it be known when she sings: "To love the one who loves you is very easy, what merit is there in that? Tell me, where is the mastery and where is the effort?".

I will not fear is a renewal of the reggae/hip hop mix. Suarez turned his music into a spokesperson and messenger dove for Christianity and this title is a clear reference to this genre. "I will not be afraid to speak the truth, she made me free, her voice is louder than any empire where you will go". Its lyricism is steely, it gathers all the communicative experience of the early Yo aprendí. That's just how this album feels about writing, like learning about beautiful and, at times, harmful things.

The interlude The wheel is a sermon, recorded from the church the artist probably attends. The pastor raises his voice among the instrumental, but only a few phrases can be distinguished. This type of spoken bridge has become common in contemporary music, and being an eminently religious album, it justifies itself.

No one owns is an unexpected inclusion of rumba; it seems that sonorous syncretism is part of the project because the sound does not respond to the typical African cult lyrics, but to the Christian theme that is the protagonist of this album. The strength of the roots is evident, and the color of Suarez's voice accompanies it perfectly. It would be interesting to hear more of her in this genre.

An ode to his career closes this cycle: they say. The artist intones: "I don't forget where God took me from". And neither where she is at present. She remembers the famous incident in Viña del Mar; undoubtedly she still has that incipient rebelliousness that characterizes the Cuban music scene. "They say they were looking for me, sitting on the same bench. They say, with the same people, with the same dialogues. They say, they are not calculating that my mind prospered".

Danay Suarez is a poet in urban music, her years in this industry have proven it. The young woman who started in the wave of Los Aldeanos and demonstrated her talent in Havana Cultura Sessions has reached the pinnacle of Cuban song, the altar of Christian-contemporary rap. Those years of practice turned her into the excellent rapper she is today, and her "change" is both evident and dazzling.

*Listen to the complete album at Youtube.