Modesto Reyes New Orleans’ Fallen Beloved
[Disclaimer: This article includes language that some may find offensive. Discretion advised.]
“Modesto Reyes will not be reduced to a hashtag. Not on my watch!”
Going beyond the headlines of an alleged assassination connected to the recent scrutiny New Orleans city officials and contractors have received due to the October 12th collapse of Hard Rock Hotel (where Madesto worked at the time and barely escaped)…or his untimely death at the hands of Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office police, which is slowly beginning to be recognized nationally…
Modesto was a man, a beautiful man.
I heard him say, in a clip recorded at his studio in February 2020, “To be great, you’ve got to make other niggas great.” He lived by that. He worked with several artists in the community and always lent a hand to help others where he could. He cared about his community and the black community at large and would often talk about how he planned to do more.
Going by the name of Desto, he was a New Orleans rapper beloved by those who knew him. As a true creative, he was also a tattoo artist and a contractor having designed his own studio doing everything from sound proofing, to color schemes to laying down floors with a personalized design. He put intention into the energy of his studio. He said he wanted to set the tone for creativity. In the clip mentioned above, you can see how proud he was of his studio. He was able to express multiple elements of his creativity there having a tattoo parlor just across the hall from his studio. The way he talked about it, you could tell it was heaven for him.
He was passionate. His rapping style and delivery was fiery, and if you heard his music or saw him perform, you felt him because he put his all into every aspect of his art. One of his last performances that I witnessed, he was handcuffed with his co-performer symbolizing how they met in prison. We call that artistic expression.
He was a man of peace and love.
Because he was a dear friend to me, I confided in him about an issue I was having that had me feeling some kind of way. He smacked his lips and said “I’ll take care of it, don’t worry ‘bout that.” After encouraging me and building me up, he reminded me of who I am and implored me to never compromise myself by giving validity to the anger and negativity. He then proceeded to mediate the situation but the way he did it was so funny and quintessentially Desto. He was like, and I’m paraphrasing, “I rock with both of y’all, fuck that shit, let’s work. Now y'all go figure out how y’all can work together.” Lo! Like there’s nothing else to talk about. That’s how he was. He wasn’t for the drama at all. He didn’t do negativity. When I initially brought it up to him, he wouldn’t even let me finish, like, yeah, no, flip that.
His heart was pure.
I met him as a youth over 20 years ago and he was always that way. You know how you meet people and they automatically become family? That was Desto. He kept the same energy always.
He was a son, a brother, a cousin, a boyfriend, a friend.
He was known for being positive and uplifting. Not just to me, but for everyone who knew him. His music carried themes of inspiration and tales of overcoming the streets which he himself did. He was adored.
This is why there is such disbelief in JPSO’s official account of what led to his death. This is why the echo is resounding among the community, “That’s not Desto.” His sister, Librada Turner stated “I do believe he would never point a gun at someone. He’s not violent like that.” No one believes it. There is reportedly an 8 second video clip sent to local new stations by JPSO confirming him pointing a gun at the officers.
Their reason for not releasing it to the public is said to be due to it being too graphic. This is not surprising to anyone and leaves our suspicions intact. They said he had two guns and had drugs in his backpack. Law enforcement never hesitate to villainize a “criminal”. They plaster his records, video footage, interviews from elementary school teachers, the whole 9 all over the news before families can even identify their bodies. It is very interesting that it had taken JPSO so long to release their “evidence”. There were taser cameras, officer body cameras, street cameras and oh yeah, Modesto’s cellphone, which witnesses state he was holding, however, the media was only given an 8 second clip from one angle. The African American community knows the power of recording police violence.
Police don’t usually sit on incriminating evidence, being all but too intent on fabricating stories to support their narratives, so considering that they wouldn’t be fumbling over themselves to show the footage of Desto with the gun, is suspect.
What if he started recording before he even got out of his vehicle? There is too much to remain skeptical about and little being done to provide transparency in this pursuit for justice. This is why we all marched. This is why the voices of the people will not be silent.
Despite what is being said in the media, Modesto was a beloved member of our community. He wasn’t just some ‘thug.”
He was ours. We loved him and he was taken away from us.
We will not allow them to taint his legacy nor will his death be in vain. The people of New Orleans have been protesting for reform in his name and there are no signs of a let up until a change has come.
Rest in paradise beautiful king. You live forever within us.