La Otra Cara

In communist Cuba, the government-run record labels make it difficult to independently produce - and successfully market - one's music. No one knows this better than MC Mikiflow. He's been in the rap game for almost 10 years, but you'd never hear his rhymes on the Cuban airwaves.

Mikiflow, 30, moved to the United States six months ago to circumvent Cuba's communist regime - and to sell more records, if he's lucky. His crew, Explosion Suprema, is part of El Cartel, a 10-group Cuban collective which was formed in 2003. Now ready to embark on a solo career, his old-school flow - replete with thought-provoking lyrics and a raspy, almost-DMX sounding voice - are featured in the recent documentary East of Havana, which chronicles the lives of three young rappers as they prepare for the country's annual rap festival.

Like many rap groups in Cuba, Miki considers himself part of a different era in hip hop. Weaned on '70s and '80s hip hop, he says music - both American and Cuban - is supposed to be about an intellectual analysis. Not bling. That standard, he says, shouldn't just apply to Cuban rappers, but to American ones as well. "[The groups in El Cartel] are the people who've always stayed consistent in their message and their style," says Miki. "They're the ones who've never sold out."

Today, Miki is living with his wife in Washington, D.C., where he hopes to become a master of both the English language and the Latino hip hop market. Vibe.com talked to the MC about capitalism, communism, Castro and his preferred method of communication: music.