Valerie is a singer, songwriter and rapper from Imo state, Nigeria. She started singing at age 11, recorded her first song in 2013 and dropped her first single titled “Wrong” in the summer of 2018. She is known for her rare and versatile sound, as well as her captivating vocals. Following her extended playlist “Gotta Make Mama Proud” released in early 2019, Valerie graces the scene with another extended playlist, “What Vibe You Want?” on October 6, 2020.
What Vibe You Want is a 3-track playlist—a multi-genre, or rather multi-faceted body of work—through which Valerie expresses the different sides to her art, person and creativity. In her own words during an interview with 49th Street, Valerie says, “What Vibe You Want is a combination of different genres so I’m trying to tell people that there are different sides of Valerie never seen before.” She goes on to express the growing demands for diversity in African music and how she sets out to deliver, saying, “Not everyone likes trap music or Afro pop, so I’m literally asking on the project, ‘What Vibe You Want?’ ”
WVYW opens with “Run” featuring Jutang. The opening instrumental is a great welcomer into the EP—it sets the mood; the uniqueness was glaring from the start. As Valeria begins to sing, one would experience something that feels like nostalgia, or déjà vu; this would happen if the listener is fond of Siaʼs sound. Yes, Sia—Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, the Australian singer, songwriter, voice actress and director. Valerie has such similar, entrancing flow in Run. Her voice is silvery and mesmerizing, reaching an impressive pitch that leaves you with a “wow”, and coming all the way back down to a midpoint. Her voice modulation and flow is indeed laudable. Jutangʼs singing is the icing on the cake in Run. At every point of this track, he is in sync with Valerie. It’s not put of place to say, that Valerie and Jutang had a rich “romance” going on here—they wrapped themselves around one another, cuddled, folded in, stretched out, and got entangled all over. The blend is beautiful. The lyrics of Run is also sensational and beautiful; this is another plus for this track.
The tempo heightens in the next track, Iny. Frenzy is on the high, vibes are on the move—the rhythm is out to take you to the dance floor, make you shake your waist, bop, cruise and just have a good time. Here, Valerie says, “Ayo, chill for a bit. Let me handle this one,” as she takes it on all by herself. She gives off the vibe which says, “I got this. No worries.” In contrast to the first track, here we see her rap. When Valerie asks, What Vibe You Want, she means it, because she will serve it to you in every way possible. Iny will be a favourite to many on this project. Valerie does not leave any room for her talent to be second guessed; in Iny, she is bold and bubbles with confidence, you can feel it through the song. The beat and rhythm of Iny scores some extra points for it.
Valerie switches up WVYW to a beautiful duo again on Loud, this time, with 54 Swagga. Loud has a trap flow. Here, Valerie gives us Nicki Minaj vibes. It’s no wonder this side of her jumped out on this body of work when it had the chance. In her interview, Valerie ascertains the influence of Nicki Minaj (Veteran, Trinidadian-American rapper and singer) on her style, saying, “I learnt how to balance my vocals, singing along to Toni Braxton and Whitney Houston songs. But then, I listened to Nicki Minaj, and I really loved her vibe so I started rapping her lyrics.” 54 Swagga blends in perfectly with his interesting rap verse—a successfully pulled off spice on this track. The chemistry is not as strong as that in the opening track, as 54 Swagga is sandwiched between Valerieʼs verses and not interwoven, as it is in Run. Nonetheless, they turned out to be an energetic duo.
