Skift Take
The Cuba travel ban -- like all travel bans -- is just plain silly, but not nearly as silly as the grandstanding Florida politicians who have no other skills other than complaining about how bad Castro is.
Just days after his trip to Cuba with wife Beyonce, rapper Jay-Z released Open Letter, a song about the controversy surrounding the trip. TMZ reported Thursday that Jay-Z’s song includes an implication that President Barack Obama bent the rules to allow the trip, which some criticized as being illegal.
Among the lyrics: “Politicians never did s— for me … except lie to me, distort history.”
“Obama said chill, ‘You gonna get me impeached,’ … We don’t need this s— anyway, chill with me on the beach.
“I’m in Cuba. I love Cubans. This Communist talk is so confusing.”
The power couple created a buzz recently after spending several days in Havana touring the streets and also watching young artists perform. Travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens is prohibited without special licenses or as part of a policy that allows cultural and people-to-people exchanges. As it turns out, the Office of Assets Control, which issues travel licenses, said that the couple did not violate travel restrictions.
The track, developed on the spur of the moment in response to the flak over the trip, was posted early Thursday on Jay-Z’s Life + Times site.
Among the strongest response in his song: “Wanna give me jail time and a fine/ Fine, let me commit a real crime.”
(c)2013 The Miami Herald. Distributed by MCT Information Services. 
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Photo credit: U.S. singer Beyonce and her husband rapper Jay-Z walk as they leave their Hotel in Havana. Enrique De La Osa / Reuters