Valiant’s team upset about unfair criticism - Says artiste is dancehall’s next star

Aicha Jacas of Creed Music Global (CMG), which consults and handles international bookings on behalf of dancehall star Valiant, said that the artiste is poised to be the next big thing out of Jamaica, but his managers are concerned that negative opinions online and in the media could be a downfall.

"People have to understand that dancehall itself, as a genre of music, is highly critiqued ... but we are our own downfall, when we really need to try uplift the culture, and the next generation of entertainers like Valiant, who is doing well," Jacas said in letter that was published in The Gleaner recently, which spoke about the Dunce Cheque artiste being highlighted on The University of the West Indies, Mona campus.

Jacas expressed her disappointment with the way the student addressed concerns and thought the comparison being made with her artiste's lyrics and other ills of society was "misleading." She told THE STAR that in the age of digital technology, the concept of a 'search algorithm' can result in the spread of misinformation, and further lead to ruining an individual's reputation. In computer science, a search algorithm is defined as a sequence designed to retrieve information stored within particular data structure.

"Our artiste is currently applying for multiple visas in different countries, where the average layman working a nine-to-five has no understanding of our culture and, in carrying out their searches, see certain key words and want to associate them with his character. There needs to be some accountability, and it cannot be that persons are putting down, yet again, another dancehall artiste when media ... schools, and homes all have a part to play," she said. "Valiant is going to be the biggest dancehall artiste out of Jamaica. He is very young and his management team is comprised of young persons, and the country's main focus should be on championing the positive impact and impression they have been making. Opinions can either tear down or build and what we should all be trying to do is find other avenues and topics to uplift at this stage."

Jacas agreed that there have been ongoing debates and discussions around some of Valiant's songs like Dunce Cheque and recently Rasta, but opined that the music will always be open for interpretation. She said however that the deejay's character, "is not one that needs to be questioned".

"Everyone is rooting for him at every level, from the community where he is from, to schools, to members of the Jamaican government. I'm talking about what he and his team is doing for Jamaica, there are managers and artistes in their 50s and 60s who aren't doing what they're doing," she said. "What's more important to Valiant's team is to have persons follow his journey, where he's coming from, where he's at and where he's going, 'no beef, no passa'. It helps when everybody is championing that, and with him, it comes about naturally."