If one word could describe Lady Valy, it would be VERSATILITY. This versatility simultaneously helped and interfered with Lady Valy’s multiple careers.
Born on the shore of the Black Sea, this mixed race (Russian, Ukrainian and partially Italian and Polish) girl displayed her main character trait at the age of 6 – she was always in a rush to do everything. Many criticized her mother for enrolling her in school ahead of time and filling her schedule with piano, ballet, gymnastics, ballroom dancing and karate lessons, but the few that knew that this was truly the little girl’s desire supported her mother’s dedication to Valy’s success.
Growing up in 3 different countries, Valy was not the typical teenager when she entered the prestigious International Baccalaureate Program at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary in Vancouver. The young girl had already been a multiple time recipient of the Premier’s Athletic Award for winning the Canadian National Karate Champions and the Cyprus National Championships several times. She wrote, rapped and sang hip hop songs in four different languages, performed karate moves in commercials and movies, danced at concerts, won beauty pageants and still found time to take 4 Higher Level courses in a program that normally advised advanced students to take only 3. At the age of 16, this insanely busy schedule helped Valy survive when she lost her loving father to cancer. On the outside, Valy continued to be a dedicated athlete and student, but deep down she released her anger at the world in her poetry and hip hop songs. It was not until the age of 19 that Valy’s song topics took a positive turn under the influence of reggae artists Garret Silk and Bob Marley.
By the age of 20, Valy had already finished a double major Bachelor’s Degree in French and Spanish at the University of British Columbia, performed her songs at local night clubs and continued traveling the world with the Canadian Karate Team. Valy also wrote lyrics for other artists and even flew to Los Angeles to work with World Music artist Bardia (Taraneh Records). After graduating from University, Valy made the difficult decision of turning down a job in Paris to continue representing the Canadian and British Columbian Karate Teams and began a Bachelor in Education (Teacher’s Training Program) at the University of British Columbia. Regardless of her sacrifices and passion for karate, Valy was in for a surprise at the age of 21. While following her dream of a music career, many critics did not like the idea of the 6 time consecutive Athlete of the Year releasing hip hop music videos. Many complaints about Valy’s music videos and songs were expressed and several powerful individuals tried very hard to stop Valy from becoming the Senior Canadian Karate Champion. Despite the multiple attempts to stop this, Valy won the 2008 National Senior Championships with an injured ankle and brought her province 3 gold medals and the Senior Grand Champion Award. She also won the Wado-Ryu World Championships in the month to follow. Valy continued working hard, but bad news caught up with her at the Pan-American Tournament in Santiago, Chile. She was informed that she will be suspended for a medication that her doctor prescribed for her ankle injury earlier that year.
The 2 year suspension ripped out a piece of Valy’s heart, but having previously overcome her father’s death with the help of her passions, Valy knew that she must move on and focus on her love for music and the book that she had began working on at the time. After completing her teaching practicum, Valy flew to Jamaica to shoot a video for her single “I Don’t Want To Leave”. During her stay in Jamaica, another life turning event happened - Valy met the love of her life who became her husband in May 2009. After spending the beginning of their marriage in Jamaica, the young couple went on an adventure to the United Arab Emirates. They wanted to get a better glimpse at the Middle Eastern music market and traveled between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where Valy conducted research for her book.
A year later, Valy and her husband returned to Canada to give life to their son in Vancouver. On their way back, they visited Toronto, where they recorded several Reggae and Hip Hop songs with the talented Smokey at Smokeshop Studios in Brampton, Ontario. Valy also worked on the electronic/dance song "Diamond Eyes" with a skilled Vancouver producer, Rob Fillo. Now, in her early twenties, Lady Valy is already a wife and a mother with 3 Bachelor Degrees, an entrepreneur, an author and the the most versatile female artist and song-writer.
