Fudakochi to Honor Wynwood Artist Nobody Tonight at Gramps

Fudakochi met Nobody his first day on the job at Panther Coffee in Wynwood sometime in 2012. “Finally, we got a black man working here,” Scott “Nobody” Patterson said with a smile.

Patterson was a Panther regular and a familiar face to anyone who frequented Wynwood. 

To Fudakochi, though, he offered more than just friendship. When Patterson learned Fudakochi was a musician, he got excited. But when he learned that the Overtown native planned to abandon songwriting, he got mad. “If you give up on this now,” Patterson, a fellow father, told him, “your daughter will never forgive you.”

At first Fudakochi was angry, but then those words sank in and he started making music again. About a year later, Fudakochi released his first single, “U+Me=Us.” Patterson loved it and would play it on his laptop almost every day inside Panther. “You’re like a digital Jimi Hendrix,” he told Fudakochi.

When news broke this week that Patterson had been found dead inside his apartment — an apparent suicide — Fudakochi was shocked.

He hadn’t seen Patterson around Wynwood much at all lately, and his attempts to contact him had been unsuccessful. Patterson lived near one of Panther’s training facilities, and whenever Fudakochi would stop by to train employees, he’d knock on Patterson’s door and yell out his name. “Then I got the news earlier this week,” Fudakochi sighs. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”

Fudakochi has chosen to honor Patterson’s memory the best way he knows how: By sharing his art with as many people as possible.  

Fudakochi will be releasing a single from his new album earlier than anticipated. The song, “Black Love,” has been made available for free today. It’s a song that’s especially important to Fudakochi because Patterson created the art for the single, free of charge. 

When Fudakochi saw him briefly this month, he told Patterson about his upcoming album, set to drop October 7 during his set at III Points. Patterson was so excited, he went home and drew up some art for Fudakochi to use on his single before he even heard the song. 
When Fudakochi finally did send him the track the next day, Patterson loved it, telling Fuda that he had the song “on repeat.”

Fudakochi will play that track tonight at Gramps during a free show with fellow local artists (and Panther employees) Matty Slims and Motive Yaypes. If you plan on attending, Fudakochi has one request: “If you have any of his art, bring it,” he says. “We’re definitely going to celebrate his life.”

Fudakochi with Matty Slims and Motive Yaypes. 9 p.m. Friday, September 30, at Gramps, 176 NW 24th St., Miami; 305-699-2669; gramps.com. Admission is free.