RESPECT. Premiere: Chris Valentine – “R2D” + Interview

Jasmina Cuevas — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 15:55:47 +0000

They say keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer and for Chris Valentine, he had no choice. In his newest visual for his track, “R2D,” Valentine gets double crossed by what he thought were his real friends. And when things start to look real grim, one of his old friends come through to help him out. A tough pill to swallow but the message is honest: be careful who you trust.

The track flows perfectly alongside the visual and you can hear Valentine’s lyrical potential.

Check out “R2D” below and make sure to read the interview RESPECT. had with Valentine as well. You’ll learn about his music, his fave artists and more! Keep up with Chris Valentine on Twitter.

RESPECT.: What would you say has had the biggest influence on your music, especially in recent times?

The emergence of hip-hop and R&B has definitely helped me a lot. The union of melodic tones with actual rapping was the best thing for me. When you start off as a rapper and then converge into singing that used to be frowned upon. The fact that it became the criteria for relevant music these days was right up my alley. I always could hold a note since I was younger so I decided why not put that in effect as well.

RESPECT.: How do you think these influences will affect what we see from you?

Now in the majority of my records I incorporate more melodies in my hooks and bridges or whenever I just feel the need to. It’s certainly a factor in terms of gravitating towards growing more of a female fan base. And that’s clearly a good thing. My name alone shows that appealing to women is definetely part of my forte.

RESPECT.: How did you develop your own style of performing? Is there anyone you would credit as a definitive influence?

It’s funny cuz my cup of tea is hardcore rap. As a kid the top tiers were 2pac, Biggie, Jay-Z, and Nas. They are still in my top 5 to this day but my music doesn’t sound like them. Everybody has a different story so I try to stray away from imitations because to me it’s like your stealing another persons story in a sense and I NEVER was a fan of plagiarism.

RESPECT.: What is it that you want your listeners to take away from your music?

People need to know that it’s ok to still have a message in your music. Now a days I hear a lot of swag rap and thats cool too I’m not knocking them cuz you may hear a song or two turn up styles from me as well. The difference is you still going to hear me SAY SOMETHING! I can never be content with lack of vocabulary. There are 171,476 different words in the English language. So I try to use more than just “Litt” and “Turnt.”

RESPECT.: What are you most looking forward to showing us in the future?

Going back to the R&B thing. I started working with a vocal coach and recently just finished up my first full blown R&B record. Straight vocals no rapping. I surprised myself with it and when the time is right who knows Y’all might just get a whole Chris Valentine Ep. Maybe even self titled.

The post RESPECT. Premiere: Chris Valentine – “R2D” + Interview appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Chris Valentine Archives - RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture

RESPECT. Premiere: Chris Valentine – “R2D” + Interview