….And the band played on. It has literally been several weeks since Jay-Z and Beyonce celebrated their fifth anniversary in Cuba and even after Hov released his infamous ‘Open Letter’ to silence critics, the ridicule and the criticism continues on. It seems as though Junior Florida State Senator Marco Rubio (R), who is a Cuban American, will not let down on this controversial trip.

Last week, Rubio voiced his opinion by releasing a statement to the Miami Herald demanding the President give him an explanation for the trip, now during a broadcast of ‘CNN’s State Of The Union,’ he continued to chastise the couple’s Cuba trip, now deeming it ‘hypocritical.’

These were his comments:

“Quite frankly, I think it’s hypocritical of the people who took that trip, because they didn’t go down there and meet with some of the people that are actually in trouble today.”

Rubio stated that the first couple of Hip-Hop didn’t actually take any time to visit those in the country who are “suffering.” He even criticized Jay-Z’s lyrical praise of Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevara.

“There’s a Hip-Hop artist in Cuba who is on a hunger strike and has been persecuted because he has political lyrics in his songs. If they really wanted to know what was going on in Cuba, they should have met with some of the people that are suffering there, not simply smoke cigars and take a stroll down the street…One of [Jay-Z’s] heroes is Che Guevara. Che Guevara was a racist that wrote extensively about the superiority of white Europeans over people of African descent, so he should inform himself on the guy that he’s propping up.

He continued:

“Secondly, I think if Jay-Z was truly interested in the true state of affairs in Cuba, he would have met people that are being oppressed, including a hip-hop artist in Cuba who is right now being oppressed and persecuted and is undergoing a hunger strike because of his political lyrics,” Rubio added. “And I think he missed an opportunity. But that’s Jay-Z’s issue.”

“The bigger point is the travel policies. The travel policies need to be tightened because they are being abused,” Rubio said. “These are tourist trips, and they are – what they’re doing is providing hard currency and funding so that a tyrannical regime can maintain its grip on the island of Cuba, and I think that’s wrong.”

Recently Miami-based rapper Pitbull, who is also a Cuban American, came to the couple’s aid by releasing his own rendition of Jay-Z’s ‘Open Letter’ addressing issues of his own and took shots back at the Congressmen, including Rubio.

Keep posted to 24HourHipHop.com more updated news as this story continues to develop.

-Zenn Lee

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