where was i?!...........
Rapper brings message of redemption
The beat is the same, but the message is different.
The first hard-core Chicano rapper, who once influenced a nation of youngsters into a notorious Norteños gang lifestyle, will be in Colusa Friday singing a different tune.
David Rocha, formerly known as the rap artist Sir Dyno, will bring a message of peace, love and redemption at a free Christian rap concert at the Colusa Theatre.
A.L.G. and Nate the Prophet will also perform.
"It takes a lot of courage to find God and change your life," said concert organizer Miguel Valladares, a member of New Life Apostolic Church in Colusa. "But if we can't help our youth stay out of gangs, then it will partially be our fault. They follow our footsteps."
As a teenager, Valladares said he was greatly influenced by "gangsta" rap, especially by artists like Rocha, who shared a similar Mexican-American background.
Rocha grew up in Tracy, Valladares in Arbuckle.
Sir Dyno, who debuted in 1996 alongside DarkRoom Familia, was a hero to many Northern California Hispanic youth like Valladares and was widely known for his introspective view of barrio life, especially the dark side of drugs and violence.
Rocha's music would preach a unification of the Norteños gang and was said to be funded by the Nuestra Familia, a ruthless prison gang.
"The rap industry and gang lifestyle became my personal prison," Rocha said Monday. "I was raised in a very Christian home, from my parents, aunts and uncles to my grandparents. There was no reason for me to sway to the wrong path, yet I did despite knowing better."
Rocha's message as the notorious gangster was a message Valladares and many local Hispanic youth took to heart.
"Life was all about the gang, especially in Arbuckle where I lived," Valladares said. "It was all about colors and getting blue (rival Sureños)."
But like many who fall into a gang lifestyle, Valladares eventually traded Norteños red for jailhouse orange, doing a term in prison for drug possession.
Rocha spent six years in prison on drug charges, but escaped serious conspiracy charges that could have put him away for life.
In 2000, Rocha was arrested by the FBI in Operation Black Widow, which was a major crackdown on the Nuestra Familia. The case was featured in Maxim magazine as well as an episode of the History Channel's "Gangland."
While on bail, Rocha was arrested and later convicted through a plea agreement for selling methamphetamine.
He said it was in a Sacramento jail that he began a transformation that changed the direction of his life.
"I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into my life and heart there in solitary confinement," Rocha said. "There was so much darkness in my heart and mind that it (seemed) impossible to be rehabilitated, yet almost instantly upon accepting Christ into my heart and begging for him to change me, I felt as if a light came on deep inside of me."
About two years into his sentence, Rocha began to preach in the prison yard.
He graduated from Bible college while in prison, became a licensed minister and continued his ministry after his release last year.
Rocha is working on his bachelor's degree while traveling to churches and cities with his powerful message.
Like his rap hero, Valladares would also transform his life.
Rocha found God while in prison. Valladares' salvation would come later — in church.
"Anyone who knew me thought it would be hard to get me in church," he said. "But I was sitting there with my wife and felt an overwhelming need to be saved. Even though the old me was saying to stay in (my lifestyle), I knew Jesus was telling me to get out."
Valladares gave up the gangster life, quit smoking and drugs, and now hopes to reach as many young people influenced by gangs or on the verge of being indoctrinated into a lifestyle of gang violence, drugs and prison.
Valladares said Friday's event, which includes powerful testimony by Rocha, is an opportunity for people of all ages to be inspired by the life Rocha now leads.
"It's all about God," Valladares said. "He put the stars and the moon in the sky. It's a new life."
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/entertainment/rapper-104523-message-different.html
Rapper brings message of redemption
The beat is the same, but the message is different.
The first hard-core Chicano rapper, who once influenced a nation of youngsters into a notorious Norteños gang lifestyle, will be in Colusa Friday singing a different tune.
David Rocha, formerly known as the rap artist Sir Dyno, will bring a message of peace, love and redemption at a free Christian rap concert at the Colusa Theatre.
A.L.G. and Nate the Prophet will also perform.
"It takes a lot of courage to find God and change your life," said concert organizer Miguel Valladares, a member of New Life Apostolic Church in Colusa. "But if we can't help our youth stay out of gangs, then it will partially be our fault. They follow our footsteps."
As a teenager, Valladares said he was greatly influenced by "gangsta" rap, especially by artists like Rocha, who shared a similar Mexican-American background.
Rocha grew up in Tracy, Valladares in Arbuckle.
Sir Dyno, who debuted in 1996 alongside DarkRoom Familia, was a hero to many Northern California Hispanic youth like Valladares and was widely known for his introspective view of barrio life, especially the dark side of drugs and violence.
Rocha's music would preach a unification of the Norteños gang and was said to be funded by the Nuestra Familia, a ruthless prison gang.
"The rap industry and gang lifestyle became my personal prison," Rocha said Monday. "I was raised in a very Christian home, from my parents, aunts and uncles to my grandparents. There was no reason for me to sway to the wrong path, yet I did despite knowing better."
Rocha's message as the notorious gangster was a message Valladares and many local Hispanic youth took to heart.
"Life was all about the gang, especially in Arbuckle where I lived," Valladares said. "It was all about colors and getting blue (rival Sureños)."
But like many who fall into a gang lifestyle, Valladares eventually traded Norteños red for jailhouse orange, doing a term in prison for drug possession.
Rocha spent six years in prison on drug charges, but escaped serious conspiracy charges that could have put him away for life.
In 2000, Rocha was arrested by the FBI in Operation Black Widow, which was a major crackdown on the Nuestra Familia. The case was featured in Maxim magazine as well as an episode of the History Channel's "Gangland."
While on bail, Rocha was arrested and later convicted through a plea agreement for selling methamphetamine.
He said it was in a Sacramento jail that he began a transformation that changed the direction of his life.
"I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into my life and heart there in solitary confinement," Rocha said. "There was so much darkness in my heart and mind that it (seemed) impossible to be rehabilitated, yet almost instantly upon accepting Christ into my heart and begging for him to change me, I felt as if a light came on deep inside of me."
About two years into his sentence, Rocha began to preach in the prison yard.
He graduated from Bible college while in prison, became a licensed minister and continued his ministry after his release last year.
Rocha is working on his bachelor's degree while traveling to churches and cities with his powerful message.
Like his rap hero, Valladares would also transform his life.
Rocha found God while in prison. Valladares' salvation would come later — in church.
"Anyone who knew me thought it would be hard to get me in church," he said. "But I was sitting there with my wife and felt an overwhelming need to be saved. Even though the old me was saying to stay in (my lifestyle), I knew Jesus was telling me to get out."
Valladares gave up the gangster life, quit smoking and drugs, and now hopes to reach as many young people influenced by gangs or on the verge of being indoctrinated into a lifestyle of gang violence, drugs and prison.
Valladares said Friday's event, which includes powerful testimony by Rocha, is an opportunity for people of all ages to be inspired by the life Rocha now leads.
"It's all about God," Valladares said. "He put the stars and the moon in the sky. It's a new life."
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/entertainment/rapper-104523-message-different.html