During this period, Timba emerged as a musical phenomenon that revolutionized Cuban music and marked a new era in its history. Timba is considered a new way of making salsa, a new form of salsa, and was conceived by maestro José Luis Cortés and his orchestra, NG la Banda. Timba is currently the foundation of contemporary Cuban dance music.

This musical form is characterized by the predominance of aggressive sounds, in addition to the exaggerated fragmentation of the classic tumbao, the counter-accentuation, and the combination of fragmentary elements and planes. The lyrics of the songs constitute social chronicles, addressing the aspects of everyday life and social events.

Other musical genres of foreign origins, such as rap and jazz, are also performed, which have been influenced by Cuban music and blended with its components.

Rap, of American origin, is conceived with a rhythmic base as a musical background and a textual discourse with a certain intonation. It began to be cultivated in Cuba during the 1990s. Initially, they used American backgrounds and later fused it with genres such as Son and Salsa. The songs feature dialogues between solo and chorus.

Among the Cuban rap groups we find several exponents such as Primera Base, Los Reyes de la Calle, SBS, Orishas.

Orishas achieved a combination by using percussion and bass effects created by drum machines or by sampling fragments of Cuban songs, through which they brought together Rap with Cuban musical genres.

Jazz, which has been present in Cuba’s musical scene since the 20th century, also played a fundamental role in Cuban music during these years. One of its greatest Cuban exponents, Bobby Carcassés, organized one of the most important events in this musical genre, the Jazz Plaza Festival, which has continued to this day. Each edition showcases talented young performers, as well as prominent Cuban and foreign figures. Another significant event is the International Young Jazz Competition, “Jojazz,” whose main objective is to discover new stars of the genre.