“Forever In a Year” – guest blog post written by Vince “The Prince” Eyma of Valholla Entertainment

The following guest blog post is written by Vince “The Prince” Eyma, Chairman and CEO of South Florida based record label Valholla Entertainment.

Imagine you’re the creator of an innovative, life-altering, Great invention that changes the way the world lives and functions on a day to day basis. It’s easy to think of how such a creation becomes a regular part of our daily lives once it’s put into existence, but consider the feeling its creator felt when faced with the challenge of how to make their idea a reality and how instinctively sure they were of the inventions future success. A gut-feeling of the invention’s deeply positive impact and important influence over society.

All Great things have a starting point, where the process begins, followed by the breakout point, the time right before something big happens. Over 10 years ago I knew my future would be in the entertainment industry, but I also knew it wouldn’t happen overnight.

I founded Valholla Entertainment in 2005, but this year by far was our most successful year. At the end of 2009, my artist Phatz McFly and I set out to create an audiovisual with Russo, for Phatz lead single “Celebration” off his highly anticipated mixtape “Bomb Trees and Bomb Weed Vol.1”- setting into motion a domino effect of positive feedback, momentum, opportunity and progression for the Valholla Empire. The release of “Celebration” created an industry standard for the Miami music scene, for the mini-major and independent labels, the bar had been set. If you wanted to be Great with your invention, if you wanted to be an artist in this Great city and take your visuals viral, the Valholla standard would always be there to compare to. We weren’t the first, but a new standard had been set.

The year continued with the release of the “Palm Trees And Bomb Weed” Vol.1 mixtape hosted by Poe Boy affiliate DJ SmokeyBear, which was tagged “Mixtape of the Week” by The Miami New Times, going on to become one of the most downloaded of any Valholla tape released in company history. Ramzez also had one of his most successful tapes drop this year with “Formula 2” which was backed again by The Miami New Times. Ramzez was also chosen to perform at Miami Music Festival 2010, making his soundstage debut at downtown Miami’s Bayfront Park Amphitheater.

Fast forward to mid-year, People began asking me, “Why aren’t you pushing Kirby?” Many people didn’t even know that she was recording for over a year before hearing music from her. When we finally dropped “You” (her first official single), I think people began to understand why Great sometimes requires patience. Kirby’s emergence from behind the curtain landed her on the highly sought after Fader Magazine website, gained her two “Talent of the Week” crowns from the infamous WorldStarHipHop.com- a feat never previously accomplished, and nominations from DJBooth.net and Street Connect DJ’s “Best in Dade Awards”(where she was awarded “Best Female R&B Artist”). Not to mention a slew of blog features and interviews from pop culture savvy tastemakers, pegging Kirby as the new and the next.

Our hard work is paying off and people are taking notice that something Great is in the making. Sometimes it takes years for your effort to be realized, hours of time, dedication, blood, sweat and tears…but the question is how strong is your conviction that your idea is worth being heard or seen by millions of people who need to be inspired by something Great? There are temporary moments of brilliance and in 2010 we were blessed to see glimpses of Great, but part of realizing there is more to be had is moving forward. And so I promise you this, my contribution- my invention, is that we will be Great, not just in the city or for the city, but in the world and for the world. However long it takes, because forever can be hidden inside a year- see you in 2011!

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For more information on Vince and the Valholla lineup, please visit: www.valholla.com