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Paul: A much more interesting rap report appears in today's New York Times, by Marc Lacey from Havana, where the government set up the Cuban Rap Agency four years ago. It hasn't exactly been successful in stemming Afro-Cuban interest in hip hop. Most interesting is the ex-American involved in this liberating activity. Reports Lacey:

One of those working behind the scenes to aid Cuba's rappers is Cheri Dalton, an American who goes by the name Nehanda Abiodun. She is a black militant who is wanted by the F.B.I. in connection with a string of robberies, including a 1981 holdup of an armored car near Nyack, N.Y. Now living in exile in Cuba, she has formed a Havana chapter of Black August, a grass-roots group that promotes hip-hop culture.

"There's always been a love for music from the States in Cuba," said Ms. Abiodun, who declined to discuss her own case. "You can go back to Nat King Cole, Earth Wind & Fire and Aretha Franklin."

Nat King Cole? Dalton/Abiodun must miss America a lot more than she likes rap.