Patrice Iteke Wilson, also known by his stage name Pato, is a Nigerian-American record producer, songwriter, and singer. He co-founded the independent record label ARK Music Factory with business partner Clarence Jey in 2010, which specialized in young artists. The label would sign pop singer Rebecca Black prior to the release of her 2011 debut single "Friday", which peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wilson and Jey wrote and produced most recordings performed by artists signed to the label, including "Friday".
Wilson's successor label, Pato Music Worldwide (PMW) would then sign Alison Gold and release her 2013 debut single, "Chinese Food", which would peak at number 29 on the Hot 100. Despite overwhelmingly negative reception from both songs, they would receive viral status and infamy through their music videos on YouTube. ARK and PMW would effectively shut down in 2011 and 2016 respectively.
Early life
Patrice Wilson was born in Nigeria, the son of a Nigerian father who worked as a chemical engineer and an English-Irish mother who was a church minister. In Nigeria, he studied at Wilson Prep School (a Christian school established by his mother), Zamani College, and Essence International School. Wilson's musical beginnings were when he sang in his mother's church and helped out with youth programs at school. Later, he attended school in Europe and trained in track and field events. He began touring as a backup singer with Malian-Slovak pop star Ibrahim Maiga. He toured in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and other European countries, and speaks fluent Slovak. He also performed on Slovak television and was an aspiring athlete, training under the supervision of a professional Russian coach for a possible qualification representing Nigeria in the track and field event at the Olympics.
Wilson moved to the U.S. in 1999, where he took his flavor of Nigerian music along with the style of music he had performed in Eastern Europe and combined it with new-age hip-hop. He studied at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, before moving to Los Angeles in 2007 to join the music business. Under the stage name Pato, he also did modelling for various brands. He worked for a while trying to promote his own musical career before deciding to produce for other potential artists instead. He got married in 2008 to a woman from Spokane who moved with him to California.
ARK Music Factory
In 2010, he co-founded ARK Music Factory in partnership with Clarence Jey, an Australian record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He chose the name "Ark" because of his Christian background. Jey left ARK Music Factory in May 2011 with Wilson remaining the CEO of the company. Wilson and Jey co-wrote and produced the song "Friday" performed by Rebecca Black, which became notable for its largely negative reception. Wilson would also perform an guest verse on the song heard near the songs bridge, although this was uncredited. Additionally, he and Jey would write most songs by performed by artists signed to ARK, and Wilson would often star in the music videos.
Following the mostly negative reception from "Friday", many speculated that he may have been exploiting young aspiring singers with wealthy parents. Wilson rebuffed such claims, saying that the label provided a "relatively inexpensive" way of entry into the pop market for artists:
I'm getting a lot of criticism saying I'm exploiting rich kids and their parents, but find me another company that would do all this at a cost this low. I don't promise anyone fame. In fact, if someone approaches me with their only goal to 'get famous,' I tell them they're not in this for the right reasons.
Wilson went public in a promotional interview tape explaining what was behind the company he had founded. He also released two musical responses based on this controversy: "Friday (Rap Remix)" in March 2011 (written and produced by Wilson and Clarence Jey) and "Say What You Wanna Say" (written by Wilson and Kustom) a month later. Both songs addressed and attempted to refute common grievances which arose from "Friday" and his overall public image. Both songs were received poorly.