As an archivist / librarian, T-Kay brings an eye and ear for the historical, unique, and transnational to her musical curation. The Archive of Feelings is a celebration of sounds and struggles of everyday life across linguistic and geographic boundaries gathered through serendipitous findings from around the world. T-Kay joined the dublab family as an intern in 2006 and hosted her first show “The Afternoon Love-In” in early 2007. Prior to dublab, T-Kay hosted “Hooray for Everything!” from 2001-2005 on KSPC Radio (Claremont, CA) and “Hip Hop Hooray” from 2009-2015 on KOOP Radio (Austin, TX).

This week, T-Kay welcomes DJ Lino (Cuba) to the Archive of Feelings to share a special mix of his signature Cuban party rock sound which blends hip hip, r&b, reggaeton, timba, and afrobeats, and other afro-diasporic flavors.

For over a decade, DJ Lino has been rocking stages and moving dance floors in Havana and across the island of Cuba. His style is firmly rooted in hip hop culture and brings in elements of Cuban reggaeton, timba, as well as sounds from across the African diaspora.

He kicked off his DJ career as the official DJ for the Cuban Rap Agency’s national tour in 2009 and has since worked with Cuban hip hop heavyweights Obsesion, Hermanazos, and Etian Brebaje Man. He has also backed rap fusion group Ondalivre, reggaeton artists Yulien Oviedo and Mariana y la Maquinaria, as well as jazz virtuoso Michel Herrera.

A creative force on and off the stage, DJ Lino also served on the Technical Commission of the Cuban Rap Agency, the governmental institution for rap music, where he has helped shape the national scene by signing new talent, producing events, and advising on the future of Cuban urban music.

His accolades include being named one of the best alternative music acts at Festival Rotilla in 2010, two honorable mentions in 2011 from the Cuban hip hop awards Puños Arriba for his music production work with the spoken word artist Luz de Cuba, the Cuerva Viva award for Best New Artist for his production work with Ronald Hernandez (2016), and the champion of the Havana DJ Battle in 2024. DJ Lino doesn’t just play music, he moves the culture.