A while ago, around 2010, Milongo reached a level of fame that he had only dreamt of in his youth, the fame he had learned to covet because of the things he consumed on the internet and on tv. Milongo is an excellent drummer; with sticks, with his bare hands and on any surface, and he has the voice of an angel. He enjoys crooning to Cuban big band songs from the ‘50s, but he has made a name for himself as an R&B singer. He sounds something like Sam Cooke, but his sound is infused with the modern hip-hop sound and he often sings the hooks on popular rap songs.
The Cuban jazz he’d heard as a child inspired him to become a singer. He’d heard Benny More by chance on a music streaming website and he couldn’t get enough. Milongo didn’t know Spanish then, it wasn’t the words in More’s songs that had ensnared him, it was the cacophony of the band, the intricacies of the drum beat, and More’s clear tenor over top of it, riding it like a wave. It was Sam Cooke-esque, Milongo knew Cooke well because his father usually filled the house with it on Saturday afternoons and Milongo will always associate the sound of Cooke’s voice with the freedom of the weekend. Milongo’s favorite song is More’s Tu, Solo Tu, and as he has gained more acclaim, including multiple Grammy awards for his 2012 album, he has gained access to world class musicians who are honored to play with him, affording him the opportunity to record a studio album in Cuba with a full jazz band at the end of 2013. To date, this album has not been released in the US because Milongo’s label is afraid that it will do harm to his image as the hip-hop crooner (as though hip hop audiences are unable or unwilling to accept that hip hop artists enjoy different genres of music). The record label did some legal magic to prevent the album’s distribution in Cuba and other foreign markets. Milongo is not deterred, there is a part of him that can appreciate the label’s perspective; he is a commodity after all and sometimes consumers can be shallow and reject something when it swings to a beat that is unfamiliar. He continues to record Cuban music in his spare time, content to just enjoy the sensation that the music brings to him when he breathes life into it with a band.
As his star rises, Milongo requires more and more security. There was a computer hack before the release of his second album that resulted in pictures of him in compromising situations all over the internet. Milongo was unsettled to discover that he’d had a stalker for years who had hacked his computer and his phone. The stalker would copy things, private pictures meant for his various celebrity girlfriends and intimate emails and text message exchanges, and investigators explained to Milongo that it was likely the stalker only used them for their personal use.
“As far as we can tell, he never distributed anything. Didn’t have a TV in his house, must have spent all his time spying on you.”
When the private investigator reported that it was a male stalker, Milongo was even more disturbed. It was creepy enough that someone had access to him for so long undetected and that the people he thought he was paying to look out for it (namely his internet provider because Milongo had never thought to worry about his cyber security before the incident), were just as clueless as he was. The thought that it was man so fascinated by him, so attracted to him that he would spend all of his free time rummaging through his digital life, unsettled Milongo; his private life had been some creel’s entertainment for years.
As a result of the hack, Milongo recently hired his own security team that he pays for both physical and cyber protection. It’s a trusted firm that hires ex-military and former members local law enforcement, as well as Silicon Valley tech geeks with failed start ups and axes to grind. Milongo has a personal guard who follows him anytime he leaves his home. He also had a private server with extra encryption and all that technical stuff that he didn’t understand but paid extra for. Milongo had never felt so vulnerable in his life and he swore to never feel that way again.
A few years after the hack, Milongo is confident that he is protected and he feels like he has a personal life again. He also has a new best friend, his guard, Tommy, who travels with him everywhere he goes.
“How do you keep a marriage going with a job like this?” Milongo asks Tommy one day the two board a private jet after a private performance at the wedding of a billionaire. “I can’t even keep a girlfriend.”
“I’m married ’cause I know my wife better than I know myself,” Tommy says in his southern drawl. “She knows me too, and we couldn’t be together if we wasn’t honest about our relationship. She wanted me to stop being a police officer ’cause it was dangerous and this job was the compromise. She don’t mind me out on the road, she like coming to visit me. The distance ain’t nothing, the only thing that can kill a relationship is lying, to yourself and to each other. If you can’t be honest, ain’t no relationship there.”
Milongo is always honest and open with Tommy because he has proven himself to be dedicated to Milongo’s safety and his privacy.
“Every woman I meet,” Milongo says, “I assume they’re all playing a part. I want something real, like you got, but my life is too crazy. I can’t find anybody worth being honest with.”
Tommy shrugs and chuckles.
“Everywhere we go, women throw theyselves at you. You can have anything you want. Obviously you don’t want nothing honest or you would be honest. It’s fine, you young, Mil, don’t rush yourself to get somewhere you ain’t ready to be. Enjoy yourself, be careful, and keep your eyes open. Maybe you’ll meet that girl without even trying.”
The two of them have had a lot of conversations like this one and Milongo looks up to Tommy like an older brother because Tommy is only about ten years older.
Milongo is excited when they travel to Miami for a concert and one of his favorite contemporary Cuban musicians invites him to the studio for a recording session. Tommy watches him through the glass booth and he knows that he had never seen his friend so happy as he appears to be in the booth and singing over Cuban drums.
They spend most of a day in the studio and when Milongo leaves for a dinner break, Tommy eats with him at a nearby restaurant.
“Why have I never heard you sing in Spanish?” Tommy asked.
Milongo shrugged, “R&B ain’t usually in Spanish.”
“Your fans would love to hear what I heard today, you sounded so good. I would think you know Spanish after listening to you.”
“All my people, agent, manager, everybody say different. I recorded a whole album in Spanish and my label sued to bury it.”
Tommy shook his head and frowned.
“I feel for you man, this life you got is crazy. All these people around you making decisions that’s best for them. I wonder if they care at all about you. You need to put out that album. I’d been with you everyday for years now and that is the best you ever sounded. Do something for yourself, Mil.”
Milongo smiles at Tommy and then hugs him before he can stop himself. He cries without realizing that it’s happening. This man is the person in the world who knows him best, the one person who truly sees him.
“Thanks, bruh,” Milongo says when they return to their food. Milongo is embarrassed as he wiped tears from his face, but Tommy makes him feel ok about it when he notices the man catch a tear before it rolls down his cheek.
PRL Serials 