Unlike many new artists, Valentine co-wrote her entire album in just four months with her executive producer Deja, CEO of Subliminal Entertainment, an independent label and production company. Because of their around-the-clock work ethic, they were very selective when recruiting their dream team of producers. "It was important that this album was an accurate reflection of me,” she explains. “We worked with producers who didn't try to change that." Deja reached out to the industry's producing elite and before he knew it the collaborations developed with the speed of a real chain letter, with several producers and artists wanting to be involved with the project. "The vision for the album was to choose producers with versatility, but who could work without boundaries," says Deja, who has been producing since the tender age of 16. (His production work has been included on several albums that have collectively sold over six million copies.) "All the different musical styles make sense, like listening to a great film soundtrack."
CHAIN LETTER’s production henchmen include Soul Diggas (Destiny's Child, Missy Elliott), Heatmakers (Lil' Flip), BloodShy (Britney Spears, Christina Milian), Bink (Jay-Z) and Tricky (Britney, TLC). All their contributions produced an impressive archive of 200+ songs. Collectively, that catalogue reflected Valentine’s eclectic musical tastes and influences, which include artists as diverse as Janet and Michael Jackson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alanis Morrisette, Blondie, Pat Benatar, Sade, Angela Winbush, Anita Baker, Faith Hill, Shania Twain and Linkin Park.
As a youngster, Valentine, the eldest of three children, entertained herself by singing along with the radio. It was a fifth-grade solo debut during a schoolyard recess that inspired her to hone the talent she knew she possessed. A timid, 10-year-old Valentine mustered the courage to join her classmates as they sang a capella during recess, unleashing her surprising pipes upon her peers and teachers. Adding to the admiration she received at school, Valentine's grandmother acknowledged her God-given talent and began putting her grandbaby on the spot for impromptu solos at church. "I would sit in the back at church every Sunday trying to hide," she laughs. "And just when I thought I'd gotten through the service without her calling on me to sing ‘His Eye Is On The Sparrow,’ she'd always call me up."
Between school and church, Valentine began fine-tuning her instrument whenever she had a free moment. Just when her singing career seemed to be turning into a dream deferred, Valentine met Deja, the first person outside of the schoolyard that had taken time to really hear her voice. After an impromptu audition for the burgeoning producer, Deja teamed a 14-year-old Valentine with two other girls and called them BKS (Best Kept Secret); they began performing shows from state to state. After graduation, the girls forged ahead on different career paths, but Valentine remained committed to her craft. "I was so used to being in a group, I thought that's how it needed to be until Deja asked me to perform one night at a showcase. I realized that it felt very natural performing solo and we decided right there that’s how I'd continue to perform." In 2002, Valentine decided to follow her executive producer and mentor to Los Angeles, where she began the grueling process of her artist development – writing and performing locally in hopes of securing a record deal. That big break came in 2002 when Deja gave a demo to a Virgin executive; the rest is musical history.
Despite the music industry's saturation of carbon-copy soulsters, this southern belle's debut is sure to set a precedent among her peers and shepherd the new wave of artists into a utopia where originality and free creative spirit is the norm. Be on the lookout for Brooke Valentine and her brilliant CHAIN LETTER.
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