Valiant motivated by IRAWMA win
Artiste awarded Best New Entertainer at 40th award show
Published:Friday | May 12, 2023 | 1:09 AMAaliyah Cunningham/ Gleaner Writer
Dancehall deejay Valiant is still blazing a trail since going viral in late 2022. The artiste who was recently signed as a brand ambassador for Digicel’s 40-in-40 campaign, is the recipient of the 40th International Reggae and World Music Award (IRAWMA) for Best New Entertainer. The ceremony was held last Sunday at The Jamaica Pegasus.
Speaking during a tour of the telecommunications company on Thursday afternoon, he shared that the honour is among the first set of awards that he has ever received.
“It motivated me to say this is not it, but it is a milestone. I really appreciate it because me a come from this far because mi never yet get an award from school days. That motivates me more fi just do more not just for awards but to show that there is no limit,” Valiant told The Gleaner.
Last December he received the inaugural Marketplace Entertainment Centre For The Arts (MECA) Award for Breakout Celebrity and Best New Artiste. He was nominated in eight categories for the Irie FM Music Awards and walked away with four in the categories Male DJ of the Year, Singjay of the Year, New Artiste of the Year and Slang of the Year for his viral saying ‘Kotch E Hat’.
It was the popular TikTok that catapulted the Stony Hill native to stardom, but according to him, as the world paid attention to his humour, it was the perfect time for him to showcase his musical talent.
“I have been doing music from age 13 or so. Been in a lot of label deals but they didn’t really work out. I got viral by ‘Kotch E Hat’, but I never really focused on ‘Kotch E Hat’ because if you focus too much on gimmicks then they will have you as a gimmick. So I started to push out myself more musically so people could see my talent. From dere so the blessing just flowing,” he explained.
Valiant also kicked off his overseas performances this year and recently signed with Romeich Entertainment as his official booking agent. For him, the synergy between his original team and Romeich is the formula for taking his career to the next level.
“It has been a great experience [working with Romeich], but I knew it would be great still. It’s just the energy. We have the same personality. We want good for each other. Most people feel like a as me buss [him interested] but him been a show interest inna the ting and yuh done yuh have the diplomats inna the ting and a my day one team that. Steco, Jah Jah, Lewis, everybody wah deh deh. So we merge it and a try mek the ting global and be an example for the younger generation and give out more positive music,” the artiste said.
As he aims to continue his winning streak with hopes of getting into the dancehall ‘Hall of Fame’, he believes that this new partnership with Digicel is proof that he is moving into the right direction and he has the ability to make his dreams a reality. He shared that though he is unable to give advice to other artistes based on the fact that he is still at the beginning of his most successful run thus far, he has been enjoying the ride.
“Mi just step inna it suh me nuh really have no big advice, and mi nuh wah sound like a know it all or mi a try hype. But I just want to continue do good music and show say dancehall can be corporate as well and be more international. For me, [signing with Digicel] has been a great experience and it give you a good look internationally and everything so me just a try fi just focus on my thing,” Valiant said.