Untytled: The Val Town Interview, Part II

The Val Town Interview, Part II — Volume 04.

This interview was released in May 2023.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

At this point, your threads across social media platforms have been viewed and engaged with by millions of people. What made you decide to switch to an episodic format?

For Rich In The Hood, I wanted to keep that story-telling aspect that people know me for. I wanted to keep my platform authentic as well. It wasn’t too much that went into it other than me working with my core team, editors, and designers to make sure that these episodes are high quality. Even the rollout of this documentary on all social media platforms was perfect. I just wanted to create stories, give details, and have my editors do what they do, while I narrate.

Rich In The Hood is the name of your new series. What were some of the mechanics behind this new venture?

It’s a really good thing for our culture because although you may have some people that think that those shows glorify a time where a lot of people suffered and lives were lost, it’s a part of our history. This is something I’ve been telling people since day one. Our history doesn’t end in the 60s. It continued in the 70s with The Black Panther Party and when that ceased, drugs came in the neighborhoods during the 80s and it became more about getting the dollar which also ushered in Hip Hop.

How do you feel about the emergence of these television shows and documentaries (Snowfall, BMF, Dear Mama: The Saga Of Afeni And Tupac Shakur) that center around black culture knowing this has been your focal point of reference for content since 2017?

Those shows are highlighting moments in history where we went through the most in this country. During those times, a lot of money was being made while lives were being lost. It’s important that the new generations know this stuff because this is their history. The 80s was 40 years ago so this is history that you must know. It’s a good thing because, for beginner filmmakers like myself and others in the industry, it’s a perfect time to tell our stories and be ourselves. These shows are helping us a lot.

What are a few other ideas you have planned for Rich In The Hood?

I want to continue to expand Rich In The Hood. Season 1 is going to be free on YouTube and for the next seasons, I want to take this to a network and get it distributed so it can reach a wider audience and get more coverage. Rich In The Hood is also going to have an interview series as well and more details for that are coming soon. This is the beginning of us as a culture telling our stories in a real, authentic way. It’s a lot more in store for Rich In The Hood and ValTown Entertainment as well.