Interview with Ragnar Vallon

Can you introduce yourself? What do you do on a daily base?
My name is Andrew Martin. I'm a songwriter/emcee from Canada. My days consist of taking care of my daughter, Emma, writing music, training Muay Thai at TKO Fighting Arts, and spending time with loved ones. I'm a simple, boring dude.

You are a recognized name in the underground hip hop scene, how long have you been in the scene?
I don't know how long I've "been in the scene", as I've been on different peoples radars, for different periods of time. But I've been rhyming and writing since I was about 13, and I'm 35 now. So, that's how long I've been going at it.

You have worked with Apathy, Doap Nixon, Chief Kamachi and many more. You are also a member of the legendary Dead Rabbits. How did you achieved all of that?
I hooked up with names like Apathy and Chief Kamachi many years ago, before every rappers verses were for sale, to anyone that had the cash. I earned hook ups with legendary emcees, and my induction into the Dead Rabbits crew in 2014, through years of dedication, hard work, and loyalty to my craft. Show and prove.

You have changed your artistname from Words to Ragnar Vallon. What was the reason for the name change?
I'd been Wordsmith or Words for so many years, doing things a certain way, and that persona just became such a part of me, that in order to grow and mature as a man and an artist, I had to kill him off and start fresh. Ragnar Vallon is a unique representation of myself in my eyes, as it is a combination of Ragnar Lothbrok from Viking history, and Priest Vallon, the leader of the Dead Rabbits in Gangs Of New York. 

You are doing a lot of hip hop MMA fighter anthems. How did you start with those ones?
I'd been doing random walkout themes for professional fighters since around 2011, when I did Robert "White Dragon" Thomas's pro MMA entrance theme, and Denis "Bosnian Menace" Puric's walkout song. Its something I had been talking about doing, since back in the Words & Rhymes days, around when I started competing Muay Thai, but only recently did I decide to go full force with it, essentially exclusively making walkout songs for pro fighters, and theme music for media related to the fight world. I love fighting, and I love angry hip hop. The two just seemed to go well together, and honestly, when I started making these theme songs.....Or at least WANTING to make these theme songs, I didn't think it would go anywhere. I genuinely thought this would be a dud, and no one would want me to make their theme songs. Especially not such high level idols of mine. I was wrong, I guess.

These days you are mainly focusing on the anthems for the MMA fighters. 
What was the point where you realised you wanted to invest your time and energy into this?
I released the highlight video/walkout song for Toby "The Weapon" Smith, of Perth, Western Australia, on March 3rd, 2018. That was the first official walkout song released as Ragnar Vallon, and it was received exponentially better than anything I could have expected. Although it wasn't some hit song, it caught a lot of attention in Australia, which essentially put me on the radar of the Australian fight scene, which I follow rather closely already, very quickly, and it was then I realized that this may actually be something worth investing my whole being into, and see where it takes me. I've been going 100% at it ever since, and have done walkout themes for about a dozen of my favourite fighters around the world, plus a bunch more for other professional fighters that I'm now glad to know and follow. 

What can your fans expect from you in the near future?
Any fans or supporters I have can just expect me to continue doing things outside the box, in my own lane, and to be surprised with where this new venture and pursuit will take me. I'm working on a concept album based around the life of one of the greatest American kickboxers of all time, which will be my first album release as Ragnar Vallon. I have no set release date as of now. It will not be rushed.

What artists and/or fighters do you wanna work with?
I want to work with more professional MMA fighters, such as Rory MacDonald or Cowboy Cerrone. I've pretty much worked with the best kickboxers and Thai Fighters on the planet. I'd like to get into professional MMA themes by the end of 2019.