VALRICO, Fla. (WFTS) — We all know how powerful music can be.
For Tres Whitlock, music gave him a voice to let out all the emotions he’d been bottled up for 19 years.
When you meet Tres Whitlock, his smile and laughter are immediately contagious. He has cerebral palsy, is non-speaking and communicates via an iPad.
“Tres’ nickname in the family was Smiley. He was always smiling. He was very, very happy. We thought he was very, very happy,” his mother, Tonia, said.
But his family found that wasn’t the case.
“One of his speech therapists noticed what was happening to him and encouraged him to start saying things,” she added.
So Torres took the advice a step further and turned his own feelings and thoughts into songs.
“One of the lyrics of the first song he wrote was, ‘I’ve been in a mental prison for 19 years, I’ve cried a lot of tears,’ so of course, as his mother, it was sad to hear him say that,” she said. “There were undertones of suicide and depression throughout the song. Basically, his lyrics gave us a glimpse into his inner self that we hadn’t had a chance to see before.”
Torres’ family was shocked when they heard about his mental illness. They asked him why he was always smiling and in high spirits, despite what he felt inside. Torres’ mother said it was all because he believed that’s what his family expected of him.
“It also made us realize that he was really battling depression. And now we realize that it’s very common for people with disabilities to go through what’s called ‘the cliff’ when they graduate from high school, which is basically a transitional period where they feel like they’re not part of society anymore. They’re kind of an outsider, they lose a lot of interaction with the community and they basically become isolated, which leads to depression and other mental illnesses. So his music kind of gave us a sense of where he was at. And we started putting him through system counseling and stuff, but at the same time, we really encouraged him to continue writing,” she said.
Torres told ABC Action News reporter Jada Williams that she was nervous about expressing her feelings at first.
“I had mixed emotions. I was nervous and he felt like a bit of a burden had been lifted. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still learning, but at the time my main concern was how my parents would react to my music,” he typed into his iPad.
In the 11 years since he wrote his first song, Torres has enlisted other artists to provide vocals on his songs, but the lyrics are all a direct expression of his heart and soul.
He is called the “Unknown Overcomer.”
“One day at school I thought, ‘There’s always someone who ignores me,’ so I came up with the name ‘Unknown Overcomer,'” he explained.
His lyrics are deep and touch on difficult topics like mental health and racial inequality.
“His music is very raw. You can hear how he’s feeling when he’s writing it, but he has no filter, so we try not to filter it. He’s just raw and he’s speaking from the heart about what’s on his mind,” his mother added. “The song ‘Black Trauma’ is about racism and what he’s going through, but all of his songs, I mean, I think there are some songs that are upbeat and sweet that he wrote to his friends, or ‘I Love You Mama’ that he wrote to me, which is a really sweet and upbeat song, but most of his songs are very real and raw and express how he’s feeling when he’s writing them.”
And his lyrics made a difference.
“I’m definitely listening to him in a different way than I was before, and I’m asking him the tough questions that I didn’t ask him much before I realized he had depression – ‘How are you feeling right now? How are you feeling about this moment?’ We know there are difficult moments for him, so we dig deep into those moments and talk about him. We’re listening to him a lot better than we used to – not just listening to what he’s saying, but also learning not to assume everything is OK just because he’s smiling,” she said.
And his words resonate with the hearts of those who hear them.
“When he started writing songs, and I realized this young man who couldn’t even speak had been through so much, I really felt like if he really started writing songs, he could be an inspiration to a lot of people,” she said. “I had a guy reach out to me recently who was struggling with alcoholism, and he said that just listening to Torres’ songs helped him get sober. Of course, that was amazing. I was blown away by that.”
Despite the heavy themes, all the songs are based on the same message.
“The common theme in all of his music is fighting and persevering, and I think no matter who you are or what your situation is, you can relate to that,” his mother said.
“If you need help, ask for help. Don’t let people or judgement be a barrier. I know people will judge me, but please ask for help,” Torres added.
This inspirational rapper shows no signs of slowing down.
“Actually, I’m looking for a mentor to help my son take it to the next level – someone who loves music and will write lyrics and work with him on creative projects. My son is very creative. He literally writes songs every day, thinking of ideas, so I think it would be fun for him to have someone to think about those things with him and give him guidance,” the boy’s mother said.