Greetings, familia, and thanks for checking out my fundraiser page. By contributing to this project, you'll be helping me with the cost of recording, pressing and releasing my latest album, "And Still the Sun Rises". Any amount is greatly appreciated, but for your donation of $20 or more, you'll receive a download of the album plus a copy of the CD once it is pressed up. My goal is to raise $5,000 in 4 weeks and I believe we will!

It's been over 10 years since I've released a hip hop album and I'm excited to let you hear it. Lately, I've been busy raising my children, learning how to be a father and a better man, and in my spare time I've been writing a book, I've produced a few songs for other artists, and I've been writing music. I released my last album, "Todo Lo Que Soy", in 2013 and it was a mixture of many different genres of the music I love, it was mostly in Spanish and I did a lot of singing on it, so it was quite different than anything else that I've ever released. I had a lot of fun writing and recording it and it helped to expand my fan base and pushed my career to another level. (Not to mention, my Spanish got a hell of a lot better!) It also felt really good to dig deeper into my roots as a Boricua and to allow that side of me that loves to sing to spread it's wings a bit. By the time I was finished with that project, I was itching to write another hip hop album so I started right away. "And Still the Sun Rises", is the end result. It's my first hip hop album since becoming a father of three and I honestly feel as though I came back to my roots again. This time, as an emcee.

The very first song I wrote for the album is called "Father's Day". I wrote for my first  born child and for the wonderful fathers of the world who truly appreciate what fatherhood means. Press play to check it out:

Some of the other topics on the album deal with war, pollution, love, family, and how to have hope in desperate times. I wrote it with the desire and intention that it be a ray of light in the darkest of times. I wrote it as a historical document, as a snapshot of where we are as humans and I wrote it as a prayer to the Universe, that we might have the courage and strength to stand up against injustice, hatred and fear.

The song and lyric video below, "Been Too Long" will also be included on my album, "And Still the Sun Rises". I wrote, recorded and released it during the campaign to free Oscar López Rivera, one of the longest held political prisoners of the world. A small team of musicians conspired to make this song a reality. They are Jerry Medina of Batacumbele, Sandra Garcia Rivera, Camilo Landau, Ayla Davila, and Truco y Zaperoko provided the percussion. Just a few short months after releasing this song and video, Oscar was freed! The first words I wrote was the final chorus of the song, "Last night I dreamed about Oscar López again. I saw him at the beach in the sunshine, wetting his feet and smiling and, now I know why!"

Press play to check it out:

Those of you who know me, know that my art and activism are one in the same. I have long been committed to writing poems and songs with positive messages, and my hope has always been that those words would be drops of positivity in an ocean of hopelessness. Now, as a father, I teach my children that one pebble of love can cause ripples that form into tidal waves of change. My new album, "And Still the Sun Rises", is yet another pebble I offer the world and with your help, we can make a bigger splash than I ever could alone.

I produced the whole album and it includes some amazing musicians like Grammy nominated multi instrumentalist Camilo Landau, composer and multi instrumentalist Ayla Davila, master violinist Anthony Blea, the incomparable Maya Kronfeld, jazz vocalist virtuoso Kenny Washington, the awe inspiring Jerry Medina of Batacumbele, multi talented singer and poet Sandra García Rivera, the incredibly soulful Kimiko Joy, the one and only Darian Gray, the amazing Isaac Peña, and my long time collaborator and soul professor Luq Frank.

Please consider pre ordering the album, "And Still the Sun Rises", and if you feel so moved, please make a donation to help me get closer to reaching my goal of $5,000. 

I appreciate you all from the bottom of my heart and I only exist as an artist because of you. The people are my record label!

One blood, Rico Pabón