Ojibwe Hip Hop artist holding on to her roots through music

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Campbell is focussed on keeping her language alive and it’s her aim to learn both Cree and Ojibwe and incorporate both in her music. Her roots are in Shawanaga, Ontario and Sturgeon Lake, Alberta. Inspired by her kokum and the struggles her kokum had to go through in Residential School, Campbell has the chance now to learn her own language and pass it down to her own children and future generations.

Campbell says she was inspired by her late aunt Farrah along with another deceased friend Bretton, aka Beretta. They both inspired Valene to pick up the Mic at the age of 11.

“Music is so powerful,” Campbell tells Indigenous Times. She explains her lyrics coming from the heart and she feels the emotions when performing.

Campbell says she’s always loved all kinds of music and continues to incorporate different genres and sounds in her own compositions adding she’s not just “one style,” but “all sounds.”

With the help of an amazing director, models and features, Campbells says her latest music video, “U.I.Q. (by Valkyrie ft. T-Rhyme and Jamie Carriere) was literally like being in a movie. She says the music video honors the late Jamie Nicole Carriere also known as DJ Rebellion. “She was a quadruple threat in the music industry,” Campbell said about Jamie Nicole Carriere. “I hope to honour her with my music. Carriere was a singer and song writer, dancer and a DJ. She also recorded and mastered her own music, was a model and a great mom, Campbell is releasing a collaborative EP in early 2023 followed by a solo EP. It will feature a range of artists and sounds, but she plans on recording more traditional music too.

“I want people to know we’re still here,” Campbell says. “When I think of my culture I think of my Kokum not being able to speak our language and it inspires me to learn so I can teach my children and future generations.”