Valiant Says He Has “Much Work To Do” To Have “Flawess” Performances Like Beres Hammond

North Carolina artist Valiant says observing Beres Hammond’s “flawless” performance at the One Nation concert in Antigua has made him realize that he has a vast amount of work to do, to make his own onstage appearances even remotely good as that of the Lovers Rock Reggae icon.

During a recent interview on CVM at Sunrise, Valiant, 24, told host Adrian Atkinson, that he was amazed when Beres, 67, commandeered the stage like a champion from start to finish, never appearing tired, even to the very last note he sang.

 “Yuh si Antigua; Antigua wid Beres?  Mi si Beres deh pon di show fi bout a hour or odd enuh, a work e stage enuh.  Mi a young, young bwoy enuh.   Mi get what, around 40 minutes, an when me come off…,” Valiant said, as he began huffing and puffing to demonstrate how he, himself, ran out of breath towards the end of his own performance.

“Yuh si di same way yuh start yuh performance wid dah energy deh, Beres ends with it.  It’s like it’s flawless, so me as a younger artiste, me teck een dat fi know seh me need more work; work di stage.  Me check mi performance, wha mi need fi improve pan.   Master mi a master mi craft; mi know mi sound,” Valiant explained.

During the interview, the Red Hills native was also asked which artists are some of his biggest influences in music and listed some of Jamaica’s legends, both singers and deejays.

“RIP Bob Marley.  Bob, a one a dem, Beres, Barrington Levy, all di great singer dem you know.   Big up Shabba dem, Shaggy, mi have dem as greats too, weh bin do it.  Suh when me look pan myself, towards dem, me have nuff work fi do,” Valiant said.

As for the keys to his success, Valiant said that being prolific with recordings, unfettered by criticisms, and not becoming complacent was key.

“What meck me successful now is consistency and not getting comfortable, because everybaddy know dah one song yah.  It nuh get to mi, because as dem seh ‘dem love you today and hate you tomorrow’.  So yuh haffi always stay consistent, pray and just work.  Never stop recording; just work, work, work.  It a guh pay off,” he said.

His management team, he explained, also plays a key role in his continuous ascension in music, by keeping him on his toes and putting friendship aside when it came down to him carrying out his business.

“A mi fren dem… management team a mi family.  Diplomats… not becaw me an dem a fren, dem deal wid mi mi like fren.  From a work, a work.  More while me get up an seh ‘mi naw guh noweh! Mi tiad’, caw wi have show.  One time wi do one show an come back inna di mornin and mi have interview, an mi a seh ‘no’.  but den again yuh haffi look into yuhself an seh ‘yuh jus get it’ (stardom).  Weh yuh mean by?” he explained.

“Mi have di type a people round mi weh remind mi and seh ‘nuh get too comfortable. Work’… Di Diplomats dem now, nuh choo yuh hear people out deh (saying) ‘Fada Dipo’, ‘Raheem’. Nuttn nuh change.  Dem treat mi di same way and a more work.  A di same Raheem, Fada Dipo,” he added.

In January this year, iconic fashion magazine Vogue listed Valiant as one of “The 9 Musicians Set to Take Over in 2023,” with which its readers should familiarize themselves.

The magazine predicted that the nine, including Valiant, would “blow up in 2023”, while noting that 2022 was a standout one for new musicians and had also “brought breakout moments that no one could have predicted.”

In December, following his appearance at Sting, he was also endorsed by Professor Donna P. Hope, lecturer in Culture, Gender, and Society at the University of the West Indies, who described him as having a “brilliant career ahead”.

Bounty Killer had also rained praises on him, declaring him a “street hero”, whose stage presence and “vibes”, are reminiscent of the late Dancehall star Baby Wayne, who rose to national prominence following the release of his cautionary hit track, Mama, back in 1992.

In December, Valiant took the top five positions on YouTube’s Jamaica Music Charts with the controversial Dunce Cheque, St. Mary, Siance, North Carolina and C.A.L. (Cut all Losses).

The singer, whose given name is Raheem Bowes, attended St Marys College, Oberlin High School and the EXED Community College, is a native of Mannings Hill in the Stony Hill area.

Prior to pursuing music full-time, he worked in the Business Process Outsourcing sector.  He rose to prominence in October last year, after video footage of him engaging in a conversation at one of his music video shoots, where he casually uttered the words “kotch e hat, a lie” went viral, resulting in many music fans seeking him out after finding out that he was really a recording artist.