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Pato Loko - Shares his Street Therapy through Music
Street Therapy (It's a stress reliever). Lil Pato's recorded Sessions about his Life's Lessons..." I paint pictures with my scriptures, not on canvas but with my lyrical flows..." - Ese Pato Loko on Hip-Hop Humanity.
Portrait of Ese Pato Loko by Sal Rojas
David "PaTito" Cavazos, also known as Ese Pato Loko (and Tito, for short) was born and raised in Boyle Heights, California. He found his calling through music early in life and fell in love with rhyming. He had a nack for remembering songs he liked. They would stay scribed in his memory forever (Inside the Skull). This, and an ability to flip-his-own-words-over-beats put him in an elite crew in Los Angeles called the I.T.S. Circle (In This Sacred Circle) - Where it takes skillz to make a reputation for yourself, not violent acts of aggression. It's a different world where battles are competitions of talents, not gunshots over street names. "Putting in work" involves perfecting your craft and building your resume as an artist, not seeking to destroy other living-souls. This parallel-universe has co-existed in one of the most violent areas of the city for the past few decades... It has survived and thrived because it's based on ancient principles that music, the arts and knowledge reign supreme. In an area where the gangster paradigm of "fear = power" has been established for generations, Pato (along with his brother DjDub One) put out music that many could relate to. It catches the attention of everyday people that are familiar with the dire conditions of the streets, or knows somebody struggling with the same issues. It's no secret: members of the I.T.S. Circle started the Misol music movement which is on a mission to change these very conditions. With a productive inspiration that countered the dangerous gang subculture it was embedded in, and with a soundtrack quality that couldn't be matched - they shined and enlightened even some of the darkest souls in the gutter. Undoubtedly, the melodic messages of redemption spilled into the lives of countless persons and affected them in a good way. Puro positivo. Unfortunately, the wickedness of this system-of-things bled into Pato's world, and it grieves us to report that his life was taken in a senseless drive-by shooting.
He was buried by his family, friends and fans earlier this month. The Dolores Mission was filled with mourners, when Father Greg Boyle remembered David Cavazos as a true peacemaker he had the pleasure of working with at Homeboy Industries- of good character, easy-going and eager to avoid trouble (instead of a catalyst for problems). Anyone who was blessed to know him can say he had a cheerful countenance and was the type of guy that would beat-box for the kids. PaTito Lok's passion for hip-hop poetry and desire to help guide the youth down the right path is what motivated him to prepare this audio testimonial in the form of an album. "Music had always been a comfort in painful times and a guarantee to liven up the good ones. So we naturally took to that gift and created expressions of what we were feeling at the time. Even the way the songs are arranged on my album tells a story. It documents my personal progression of understanding that in the gang life- there's no future. The sad endings are perpetual. My representation to the younger generation is honest. Don't walk in those footsteps disillusioned with promises of fast women and easy cash. Nothing good comes out of it." This manner of counsel and street wisdom is what gave David an Uncle Pato aura about him. He truly tried to prevent others from making the same mistakes he had learned in Life and shared his experiences. In songs that he created as a form of his own therapy, the lyrics are built upon the Ideals That State - "Our lives have value, therefore we value other lives!" These good musical vibes permeate through the thick paradigms of the vida loca and encourage individuality. With the motto, "even sad songs make me feel good - when they're done right", PaTito came straight from the heart and expressed a soulful message of a lonely soldier that concentrated on saving lives, not taking them.
Ese Pato Loko - Street Therapy... Sessions For Life's Lessons
Please take a moment to listen to Ese Pato Loko's masterpiece. It's an awesome DubOne production. It is offered free to all. He gave his hearts-work for everyone to enjoy. Anybody can download it, even the guilty animals that shot him down. Hear his voice immortalized and his rhymes alive in the hearts of a distressed people, while the savages walk around with blood on their hands. But God knows... This one's for you, Tito-
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.- John 15:13"
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