Tikey Patterson, the hip hop artist who gave his voice to a Valley teen who could not speak for himself has died.
Tikey, also known by his hip hop name, Trap House, passed away Friday after battling pancreatic cancer.
He was well known in the Southwestern hip hop community, and his partnership with Isaiah Acosta, a teen born without a jaw, brought even more fans worldwide.
"My faith is helping me get through this. I am sad dub I know he's in a better place, not suffering," Acosta said, communicating through a computer.
Acosta had a lifelong dream to record one of the rap songs he had written.
"Trap came in, and not only was he his voice, but he helped him with the song structure. Isaiah writes poetry, but Trap helped him structure it into song," said Justus Samuel, owner of Tikey's record label, Respect the Underground.
Tikey and Isaiah met while working on Isaiah's song Oxygen to Fly, a song which now has more than a million views. Proceeds from the song benefit the Children's Miracle Network.
However, through working on the song, the two became very close.
"He gave me a voice to my words, but also gave me brother love. He was always by my side, any time I needed him," Acosta said.
Isaiah and Tikey went on to work together on several more songs.
Now Isaiah wants the world to know Tikey left behind a legacy of love with his music, and Isaiah will to his best to his memory alive.
"I'm going to keep his legacy alive, continuing to share our story, to share kindness," Acosta said.
To help Patterson's family, you can donate to his GoFundMe.