Check out the new beat tape from Agent of Change, released today to mark the 60th anniversary of the start of the Cuban Revolution. The 18 hip-hop instrumentals (with a couple of feature verses from Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela!) celebrate Cuban culture, drawing influence and samples from Cuba’s diverse musical heritage.

Why Cuba? Here’s an article detailing some of the things that make Cuba worthy of support.

Commercial hip-hop bears strange fruit: on Kanye West, Rebel Diaz, Billie Holliday and Troy Davis.

‘Strange Fruit’, originally recorded by the legendary jazz singer Billie Holliday, is about the lynching of black Americans by racist paramilitaries. You could argue that, to sample this song in a track about, well, nothing in particular, is a bit disrespectful. Here’s ‘Blood on the Leaves’, from Kanye’s new album ‘Yeezus’:

You can read the lyrics here.

A year and a half ago, Rebel Diaz also recorded over a beat that sampled ‘Strange Fruit’. Their track addresses the modern lynching of Troy Davis.

Lyrics here.

Which song does the sample justice?