Elbow's drummer Richard Jupp has been writing about the band's unsuccessful attempts to collaborate with two local rappers while touring Cuba.
Writing on the Steal-Life.com website Jupp said: "During the day our guy doing the documentary, Irshad, had wandered around Havana and stumbled on a sound system down a back street where people were jamming, singing, doing whatever and he met two rappers who did a bit on camera, it was amazing. These guys were so fucking good yet they had an almost too stark a perspective. They had saved for almost a year to record a CD, which they carried with them. We arranged to meet them the next day to get them on camera, which they were a bit apprehensive about, but as we were walking through old Havana they were picked up by the police who thought they were hustling us. We tried to explain but it didn't make a difference, a stark reminder that although Cuba was an incredible place to visit it was still a police state."
You can read Elbow's full tour diary at http://www.steal-life.com/features/56elbow.html