DAVE PATTEN
Artist, Musician & Videographer
As talented as Dave Patten is, you would never know from his humble demeanor. Not only is he a gifted videographer with three music videos in production and a feature film in pre-production, but he is also a musician who has recently released his sixth album entitled “Exposure” and working on his seventh. If that is not enough, several of his channels on YouTube have over 1 million hits. The 23-year-old is definitely focused and even though he says being a musician is his main concern, he is not quite ready to part with film. “I have always liked film and music. I don’t know. They are two separate things, but they go really well together,” said Patten. He is lucky that they do because it has given him the opportunity to do as he says what he loves full time. In the simplest form, he describes his music as pop, but his unique ability to draw from elements of other artists is what Patten thinks makes his sound so different.
Photography by André Wright Jr.
with raw sentiment, metaphors and quick wit, the lyrics go hand and hand with Jahlil Beats. (Jahlil is an up and coming producer from Chester, P.A. who is responsible for a few of Meek’s hits including, “So Fly”, “Hottest in the City”, and “Make Em’ Say”) The internet definitely played a big role in Meek’s journey from a local celebrity, to a rapper who appears on 106 & Park alongside Rick Ross and Wale to premiere a video featuring the trio. “I started off in the DVD scene, and then it transferred over to YouTube. People were watching from every city, explains Meek. “We were attacking that MySpace and that internet too. We picked up a buzz with the mixtape game and the next thing you know them mixtapes was doing numbers in the streets and on the internet with major downloads, and people started to catch on.” There’s something to say when an artist creates a strong fan base for himself without jumping into the game under the wing of his more famous label mate. “I did everything on my own except for one photo shoot that we did with Maybach music. I got my music to the radios on my own, put it on the internet on my own, my own studio time…everything,” explains Meek.
“I take a lot of elements from different artists and kind of combine it into something that is not really out there,” said Patten. In addition to being able to reinvent sounds, he also has an acoustic rock side, which many may familiarize with John Mayer or Jason Mraz. Patten is also a big fan of Hip Hop and loves working with Hip Hop artists. Because of this, he feels he will be able to combine both worlds and do something that is not really out there right now. He has accomplished this through his work with rapper Meek Mill. They have already released “Believe Me” and “How good,” which Patten worked on as both a videographer and musician. They are also working on other projects together. Ultimately, Patten would love to be recognized as an artist and musician. However, he believes that success brings more success and is hoping to use his music career success towards his film career. “If I can make it with music, then I will always have film to go to as well,” said Patten. -Yasmein James
Grand Hustle. Contrary to popular belief, and despite the fact that both Tip and Meek promoted Meek as a Grand Hustle artist, Meek was actually never officially signed to Grand Hustle. According to Meek, it was strictly an affiliation. “I was never signed to Grand Hustle. I wanted to deal with Tip and them but it was something between… it was business. I don’t know what happened at the end of the day.” Regardless of what happened and despite the fact that Meek doesn’t seem too sure to even know himself, there is no love lost between the newcomer and Grand Hustle captain. “Tip booked. He a gangsta first before all the rap stuff, so with any situation he’s gonna be behind me.” Although Meek hasn’t talked to T.I since he’s been locked up, with the exception of an occasional email, he is still working with T.I. as a spokesperson for T.I.’s clothing company, Akoo. A self made artist in every sense of the word, Meek’s future is looking bright these days, but he still knows there’s a lot of work to be done “I been waiting a long time to get in the game, so it ain’t no time to slow up or choke up now,” says Meek. From the sounds of things he is ready for all that is coming his way and the work that it will take to get where he wants to be. “I didn’t make a million dollars out the rap game yet. I’m in the process of getting my mom a house right now. I will feel like I made it when I did everything for everybody that came up with me - my mom, my sister, my nieces, my nephews. I don’t feel I’m at that point yet.”
Although he was already a star around his way, it wasn’t long before the buzz from his Flamerz mixtape series began to get attention from people that could potentially take Meek’s career to the next level. It was his Flamerz 2 mixtape, featuring standout tracks, “Hottest in the City” and “I’m so Fly”, that caught the attention of Charlie Mack, the founder and On May 24th, Meek will get his first taste of exposure on a national president of 215 Aphillyated Records, who signed Meek to his level. Meek, Rick Ross, Wale and newcomer from Atlanta, Pill will release Self Made Volume 1, a compilation album from management company. Maybach Music Group that will feature all four artists Around that same time, Meek met the “King of the South” and was flown out to Los Angeles to potentially sign a deal with
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