Daddy'z Face / Star

“Singing has always been a part of me”. Valerie recalls. As she smiles remembering the stories of her mother would tell of her of her childhood and how she would always sing using the empty roll of tissue as a microphone. Like a lot of other artist Valerie began displaying her talent at a young age in her church choir.” I never realized how much of an outlet singing was for me until later in life when unfortunately, I was nearing the end of an eleven year marriage.” At which time she began to use her singing as a healing tool for her heart and soon realized it was actually a part of her being and could not be held in any longer. Soon she began to perform locally as well as nationwide, performing with various artists such as Kirk Franklin, Dottie Peoples, and Ricky Dillard, in which her desire to be on stage increased more and more with each performance. I t didn’t take long before she was in the studio and on her way to success. Valerie gives much praise to Tina Turner, admiring her strong will and ambition to use her pain as a tool in creating her success. Other artist she gives her admiration toward are Minnie Ripleton, Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan. Mary J , Jill Scott, Janet Jackson, and Angie Stone are just of the few of the many artist she gives high praise to. Some say that true art is born out of pain, that it is; the love child of those that have dealt with heartache and lived to tell about it. People know how it feels to be alone and to be rejected. Valerie has clearly mastered the art of forging pain into pleasure, turning something so painful into something that feels and sounds so good. This diva is in disguise delivers all the wrath and raw emotion of a woman too often scorned. “I honestly believe you can hear the pain in my voice,” she replies. A native of Palo Alto, California, Valerie was reared in several cities before settling and making a home in Little Rock, Arkansas. “My children are my reason for striving to reach the top, they are my support, my backbone, my reason for living,” Valerie says she thinks of her girls. In spite of being a single mom of three, Valerie’s determination and strong faith in God finally over powered her doubts and fears. It was always my dream to be an artist and prove to myself, as well as my daughters that I could succeed in anything I put my mind too. I want my girls to grow up knowing that they do not have to settle for anything less than the best they have inside of them.