EIDI: being aware of the character you play

A new generation of artists is emerging on the music scene in Cuba, from very varied genres, making fusions, transforming the classic or propagandistic concept of what is usually considered Cuban music. With the motivation not only to follow closely the course of these emerging artists, but also to support them and contribute to the dissemination of their proposals, the Bonus Track platform was born. In collaboration with this project, you can discover in AMPM Magazine what it means to be an independent artist in the current context of the island, through the story of these musicians with whom we have had the pleasure of talking. Their careers are just beginning, but their contributions are already evident, as is the desire to create a much more heterogeneous and dynamic Cuban musical future.

EIDI: being aware of the character you play

Twenty-three years old and about to graduate in Philosophy, EIDI has a couple of things very clear: he wants to be part of the history of rap in Cuba and that the genre does not die. In the midst of a hip hop scene in decline due, in part, to the lack of support, institutional incompetence and prejudices that have marginalized this culture since its beginnings, the young rapper bets on unity among the exponents, on innovation, on the constant search for originality and aesthetic quality. 

At the beginning he was just a shy boy, although restless, going up to the stage of a contest, nervous and full of desire to express his ideas in rhymes that he ended up forgetting in the middle of the presentation. However, he managed -he laughs-; he came in second place and impressed more than one contestant with his flow and his concept of rap. On the one hand, he had the influence of his grandfather, who made tenths; on the other hand, the reminiscence of the break dance his father practiced. All this combined with the adolescent need to recognize himself and communicate his world: at the age of XX, Abel David Sardiña decided to become EIDI (the sound of the initial of his two names pronounced in English), a rapper with a different aesthetic that debuted on the platforms of streaming precisely by questioning the extent to which it is possible to be different from the rest. 

Since that first track, in collaboration with Elephanto, EIDI has been in charge of creating links with other artists of the scene. undergroundwho have quickly noticed his talent and the passion he puts into each bar. He has worked with Milton McDonald, Jotabarrioz, Chezca Zana, La Reina y La Real, Papá Humbertico, Tobías Alfonso, Rasiel Aldama, and others. He is not looking for rivalry, but cooperation, and his dream is to be able to position himself to support "his own", those who are just starting out. 

Cuban independent artists face a global industry moved at unsuspected speeds by digital platforms, and a local reality that limits them in many ways (practically non-existent national music industry; inaccessibility to payment gateways and high-impact platforms such as Spotify; lack of recognition by cultural institutions and spaces to present their music live). 

First of all, that's a disgrace, I don't recommend it to anyone," EIDI hastens to say when we touch on the subject. Being an emerging artist in Cuba is super bad, especially if it's not popular music. In the end, all of us who are doing this are doing it for the love of art and because we like it; knowing that most likely we will not be able to make a living from this music. In the end it is all for love". 

The context becomes even more demanding for them, as they must take the reins of their career with a lot of effort, learn about production, marketing, communication, design, management..., and exploit the space of social networks to the maximum. 

In EIDI there is a very evident awareness of all this; part of the success it has achieved so far is in its way of connecting with the audience, in the originality of its promotion, the resources of humor, self-criticism, the casual language and popular register. It is all about creating an image, for which it is often important to detach oneself from oneself and act according to the moment, to the beatto become an anti-hero. If anything impresses about EIDI, it is his ability to recognize the weight of this difference - "I am not the character I portray," he recalls in Out of place-Although in his themes he tries to be sincere and transparent about what he feels or thinks.

The message is the most important thing, he says, beyond worrying about achieving good productions. For EIDI, "many times in Latin rap, people forget that rap is rhythm. flow is very important, but the main course is always going to be the message, regardless of how lethal the productions are. And if you're a rapper and you don't have anything to say, you're very much on board." This, accompanied by a clear focus, self-preparation, study of technique, a bit of music theory and a lot of practice. But the essence is in the discursive, in what you are able to transmit between rhymes and silences, in the responsibility that implies that your ideas are heard and reproduced by a large number of people. 

Photo by Samu Llanes (@samullanes).

Although it does not escape from some recurring topics that have accompanied the genre, such as indifference to what people will say, self-confidence and the celebration of personal merits, EIDI is developing a different style, which shows more sensitive facets of the rapper; who questions his achievements, who perceives the complexity of life and represents it as it is and not as we would like to see it. From 06/01In his first album, autobiographical and introspective, we can appreciate the genesis of an artist who seeks to break stereotypes and create his own stamp within the Cuban hip hop scene.

The current Cuban environment particularly influences his compositions; the communicative codes of urban language, the phenomena and concerns that affect his generation. EIDI does not allow himself to be a passive entity, he does not want shortcuts; he knows that what he thinks today can change tomorrow, that we live in a process of constant evolution, that one cannot judge from privilege and that what he puts in bars must be consistent with his reality. This maturity -both at the level of thought and at the artistic level- is very noticeable in his last two EPs, The ship took off and See you at 4:20which feature the successful production of LoseMyName, Dos20, Jacob Janzen, and in which the experimentation is freer and more accurate (autotunesynthesizers, instrumentation, Caribbean lo-fi, traditional Cuban music). 

Such a short and yet so prolific trajectory leads one to wonder what will come next, what he wants for his future. EIDI hopes that with the effort now being made by the younger rappers together with more established figures, the Cuban hip hop scene will come alive, find new spaces and achieve greater recognition so that future generations will have a different experience. His claim is direct: "Right now we need to create a lot of focus around what is being done, because it is tremendous content, and no one is seeing it. [We are] super anonymous, orphans; and we have no support from institutions or anyone else, we are independent. 

He is also critical of his milieu: he does not fail to recognize that mediocrity is a problem that affects the movement and that exponents often lack an objective vision. "We have to focus on the fact that this is also a business, this is art first of all, but if we want to make a living from this, we have to make [art] a business, there have to be more collaborations, there have to be promoters. It's what Milton [McDonald] once told me: 'not everyone can be a rapper,' there has to [be] media outlets that promote rap, and there has to be people who want to invest."

Photo by Samu Llanes (@samullanes).

To discover EIDI is to feel part of a moment of mutation, of a generation that defends diversity and is not afraid to innovate, of an emerging scene that promises to be a before and after for Cuban music; it is now, when it is still taking shape, that we must follow it closely. Of her songs, I prefer those with more relaxed rhythms, in which her voice seems sharper and the words come with less haste to come out. But there is something for everyone, and there will surely be more. 

Almost at the end of our conversation, I proposed to him the exercise of trying in a few words to invite an audience that is not used to consuming the music of the emerging scene to do so. With a tremendous sharpness and a lot of confidence in "his own", he gave me an answer that is, at least, difficult to ignore: "For curious people [who] are a little more interested in music and not so much in 'postureo': if they approach the emerging scene, they will be interested in the music and not so much in the 'postureo': if they approach the emerging scene, they will be more interested in the music and not so much in the 'postureo'. underground Cuban will see that there are proposals from kids who are super tough, who are super interesting, who have a discourse. The most interesting thing is that they are touching themes of your reality, not the reality you would like to live. That is a very important thing in this scene and I think that people don't value it enough". 

If you are not very fond of hip hop, or if you had lost faith in the rap that is made in Cuba; if you think that the new Cuban music is in decline; I recommend that you stop your gaze and listen to what this restless boy is doing. EIDI, rapper and almost philosopher, guarantees you a good trip.

You can listen to EIDI's music on their channels at Youtube and Spotify.