Valiant Channels Inner ‘Rasta’ In Latest Song

Dancehall artist Valiant has been in his bag lately, and Rasta – the comical and groovy roof-raiser he dropped recently – is another in a line of party-rockers by the Dunce Cheque artist.

Rasta draws obvious inspiration from the Rastafarian faith, which it caricaturizes for the bulk of its comedic charm. That element and its upbeat backing instrumentals see the track lending itself perfectly to Valiant’s characteristic delivery. Said delivery, often a mix of deejaying interspersed with looping and catchy melodies, gelled to create a compelling dance track hinged on light-hearted lyrics and good vibes.

In the track, produced jointly by Countree Hype Ent., Millaweek Ent. and Diplomats Records, Valiant jokes that he is living like a ‘Rasta’ – a contracted reference to Rastafarians, and that he needs “No beef no passa.” The double entendre highlights Rastafarians’ reluctance to indulge in certain foods (beef and pasta in this case), while also highlighting that group’s penchant for being conflict-avoidant (“No beef, no passa”). 

The song shines as a model for having unadulterated fun – a sentiment flawlessly captured in the song’s accompanying music video, directed by Kingcham.

Packed with a vibrant cast of local social media celebrities and other artists, the music video is littered with a few stereotypes and symbols often associated with Rastas. There is an abundance of mesh marinas – a charge led by Valiant throughout the video. There are also a few Maracas present, with both men and women donning the popular Rastafarian hats, complete with faux locs underneath.

Mixing those deeply traditional symbols with a few contemporary dances yielded an interesting – and admittedly funny contrast, which played well for the track’s light-heartedness. Contributing to that as well were Kraff, Pablo YG, Jahvillani, Deep Jahi, and Tik Tok influencers Kizzy Don and Nitro Immortal, who all brought their characteristic flair to the song.

Most of the nearly 400,000 people who have streamed the song on YouTube already may recognize Valiant’s name-dropping of Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange.

Valiant sings: “Bout dem wah ban me (Wa?), Yuh never know Babsy a mi aunty? /(Grange) wah me start baay antics and show some artist badness.”

While not directly saying it, the ‘ban’ Valiant may have been referencing is the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica’s directive in late 2022, which was aimed at banning certain music from being played on public radio.

Then, Executive Director of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica, Cordell Green, had expressed that “Airwaves have to be kept free of harmful content given the important role traditional media still plays as agents of socialization… that the use of the public airwaves to broadcast songs that promote/glorify illegal activity could give the wrong impression that criminality is an accepted feature of Jamaican culture and society.”

Under Green’s directive, a few of Valiant’s songs, including Sciance, among others, were deemed unfit for public play. Now, just a few months later, Valiant seems to be packaging a response to that in Rasta, while also implying that efforts to ban him wouldn’t be successful given his relationship with Grange.

Ultimately, the song is just a good time. Though Valiant seems to rhyme at points for rhyming’s sake, it all works together for good. The track does not take itself too seriously, and neither does Valiant this time around – as he seems more focused on just making music he enjoys, and that fans of his might too.

As a bonus, the track wraps up with a funny clip of Valiant and crew behind the camera attempting to get an actual Rasta man to sing the song’s hook. Though he blunders a few times, the man manages to get it, and the video fades to raucous laughter among those behind the scene.

Check the song out above.