139  Backers
$8,515.00 Raised of $8,000.00 Goal!
SUCCESS!! WE DID IT!!
DEADLINE AUGUST 31, 2013
0 DAYS LEFT
What do Hip Hop, Salsa, Reggae, Bomba and Son Jarocho music have in common? You'll hear them all on my latest, most diverse album yet.

***************** oprima aqui para Español *******************

Greetings friends and family, and thank you for taking the time to check out my fundraising page. By contributing to this campaign, as well as by sharing it with others, you will be helping me put out an album that I feel like I've been preparing for my entire life, hence the title "TODO LO QUE SOY/ ALL THAT I AM".

I have released a few hip hop albums over the course of my career, but I was raised in a family of salsa musicians, so I love and appreciate many different styles of music. My latest project, "Todo Lo Que Soy/All That I Am" is a reflection of that love, meaning I didn't limit myself to one language, subject, or genre of music on the album. You'll hear everything from Reggae, Hip Hop and Salsa, to Bolero, Dancehall and Bomba, which is a traditional style of music and dance developed by enslaved Africans on the plantations in Puerto Rico. I even had the blessing of recording a traditional Son Jarocho song, which is a regional Mexican folk style of music, and putting my own twist on it with a recently Grammy award winning group of incredible musicians from Vera Cruz, Mexico, Los Cojolites.

I was trying to think of how to give you a taste, so I put this teaser together for you to listen to. It's actually short clips of EACH of the songs on the album! I want you to be as excited as I am! Check it out!
There are many talented musicians who contributed to the album, including John Santos, Destani Wolf, Zoe Ellis, Camilo Landau, Sandra Garcia Rivera, Lina Torio, Héctor Lugo, Wayne Wallace, Anthony Blea, and John Calloway, to name a few.

At it's core, "Todo Lo Que Soy/All That I Am" is a collection of songs of pride, gratitude, history, freedom, hope, solidarity, empathy and love. All of the things that are important to me as an artist, father, husband and human being. It's been 3 years in the making and is truly dear to my heart, both because of the journey that it has taken me on, and because writing it has freed me from ever boxing myself into any one category again.

MY INTENTION AND GOAL
My intention is that this album be more than a collection of songs for everyone, of any age to enjoy, dance, celebrate life to and learn from, but I believe that music should be used as a tool to spread more of what's needed in the world; hope, gratitude, empathy, compassion and love. Of course this is where you all, my family, friends and community, come in. With your love and support, I can cover the costs of recording, pressing and releasing my new album, and we can turn my vision into a reality.

COST OF MAKING AN ALBUM:
The goal of my fundraising campaign is to bring my music and it's message to as many people as possible and for that, I need your help. There are the up front costs of:
• Recording: There are over 15 musicians who graciously contributed their talents to the recording of the album.
• Mixing: It's important to have it done right because you can mess up a good performance with a bad mix.
• Mastering:
Equally as important as the performance and the mix. It's not cheap, but it is an absolute must to have the music mastered by a professional.
• Artwork: For the CD cover, graphic design, etc.
•Pressing:
The higher number of CD's I can press, the cheaper it is and the more people I can reach.
• Shipping the CD's: Boy, them things get heavy when you start shipping off hundreds of CD's, and expensive too!
• Promotion!:
The foundation for the reach and longevity of any project. With your help, I'll be able to hire a publicist to help market and spread the word about the new album.
• Video: In this visual culture we live in, a video is necessary for the success or popularity of a song. With your love, I can shoot and release a couple of videos to further promote the project.
 
ALL OR NOTHING!
To make my fundraising campaign more exciting, it's ALL or NOTHING, meaning if we don't reach our goal, I'll refund your payment completely, and I don't get anything either.
It's pretty exciting, don't you think?!

My goal is to raise $8,000.00 in 33 days and I'm 100% confident that we can do it together!

There are a bunch of gifts I'm offering to all of you who can contribute, including everything from signed copies of the CD, tickets to shows, a limited edition poster signed by all of the artists involved, a limited edition Rico Pabón T-shirt, a creative writing workshop for you or your community of choice, a performance at your private party in the SF Bay Area and for those of you who don't know, I can cook me some delicious Puerto Rican food! Yes, all jokes aside, I use to own a restaurant, and I'll come cook dinner for you and your friends or family, and I'll sing to you while I do it, if you help me turn this dream into a reality!

EVERYONE CAN HELP:
Being a working musician with three small children, I am aware that not everyone can contribute financially, but if you'd like to help me reach my goal, you can share this campaign with anyone you think may be interested and I would be extremely grateful, not to mention the good karma you'd attract to yourself!

RISKS AND CHALLENGES:
I honestly believe that you attract what you think about, so I try to not put any mental energy into risks or challenges, but rather into solutions. You have my word that if there are any unexpected delays in the delivery of my project, I'll give you all the details of where I am with it, what's happening and how I'm pushing forward. You will have my personal e-mail address to contact me directly and I'll do everything in my power to satisfy my end of the deal on time.

Thank you in advance for supporting free, conscious, independent artists like myself and to check out more of what I've done and what I am up to, check out the other pages on my website.

Peace and blessings!

Sincerely, Rico Pabón

Musician and historian John Santos says, "Rico is exceptional in many ways, highly creative and motivated, and deeply dedicated to social change through the arts. I've also observed him extensively, performing and teaching folks of all ages. His enthusiasm is both remarkable and contagious as he engages his audiences and students with his obvious passion and abilities to communicate on multi-levels. He has truly earned the respect of his peers and has inspired countless observers and participants through his commitment to the development of art and self-expression in our neighborhoods. To those of us of Puerto Rican descent, he is especially an unsung hero and treasure whom we proudly hold up as the face and voice of our community. In addition to the above-mentioned facts and observations, Rico's most impressive trait is his demeanor and dignity. One of the finest human beings I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.