Steve the iPod: Emerging Spotlight. Issue # 01
Yusa
There’s a certain kind of artist who doesn’t chase the spotlight — they radiate it. Yusa, the Havana-born multi-instrumentalist reshaping contemporary Cuban sound, is exactly that kind of force. She’s one of those rare musicians who can hold an entire room in a quiet spell, not because she’s loud, but because she’s true.
The Bio Behind the Pulse
Raised in Havana’s Alamar district — a neighborhood known for both creative resistance and raw artistic fusion — Yusa grew up inside the heartbeat of Afro-Cuban tradition. But instead of choosing one lane, she absorbed everything around her: trova, funk, bolero, jazz, rumba, soul, and the experimental underground scenes floating through the island’s informal music circuits.
Before stepping into the global radar, Yusa spent years mastering instruments: bass, guitar, tres, percussion. That multi-instrument versatility shows up in her songwriting — she doesn’t write around rhythm; she writes inside it.
The Sound — A Personal Earthquake
Yusa’s music feels like the moment when the sun hits a peeling Havana wall at 4 p.m. — warm, nostalgic, soft, but undeniably alive.
Her sonic palette blends:
- the intimacy of nueva trova
- the grit of Cuban street percussion
- the smooth melancholy of neo-soul
- the harmonic curiosity of jazz
- the confessional poetry of a singer who has lived her lyrics
Her voice is husky, close, and emotional — almost like she’s singing from the next room but somehow inside your chest.
Why She Matters Right Now
At a time when the global Latin market is dominated by loud beats and algorithm-friendly repetition, Yusa stands out as a reminder that Latin music is far deeper than playlists suggest. She’s proof that the Caribbean isn’t just rhythm — it’s introspection, rebellion, and tenderness.
She represents a new wave of Cuban musicians reclaiming the narrative beyond clichés. Artists not here to fit into genres or be the “next version” of someone else, but to redefine what Cuban contemporary music sounds like.
The Story at Her Core
Yusa carries Havana with her — not as nostalgia, but as lived experience. Her songs speak about displacement, connection, longing, survival, and finding joy despite the cracks in the world around you. Every lyric feels like a conversation overheard, every chord a memory that refuses to fade.
She’s the type of artist you stumble on once and never forget — the kind Steve the iPod exists to spotlight.
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