Afghan Pop Star Valy

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A few months ago I came across a music video on YouTube. Sure, there are thousands of music videos posted on YouTube, but this one was special. It was a video by an aspiring Afghan singer. The singer’s name is Valy and he’s become quite a sensation. His songs are played on Afghan radio and TV stations inside and outside of Afghanistan. Here’s the hit single ‘Bia Tu’ from his debut album ‘After Love’:

Valy’s music is decidedly modern and a departure from traditional Afghan music. Although his musical talent is widely acknowledged, Valy has also found himself the center of a major controversy surrounding his background. Valy is the son of Afghan refugees. Although both his parents are reported to be from the Afghan city of Herat, Valy himself was born in Mashad, Iran and later grew up in Heidelberg, Germany. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t make much of a difference as far as his ethnicity is concerned. Most Afghans consider a child born to Afghan parents to be Afghan no matter where he is born. However, Valy’s case is special.

Valy is popular not only among Afghans but also among many Iranians. Avang Music, his record label, is an Iranian-American company and Valy sings in both Afghan Persian and Iranian Persian. Some Afghans feel that Valy’s Afghan accent at times sounds more Iranian than Afghan, which has led them to wonder whether it might be staged. The larger question then is whether Valy should be considered Iranian or Afghan.

Personally, I don’t think the authenticity of Valy’s Afghan accent should matter. First, it’s only natural that Valy would have been more influenced by Iranian Persian than by Afghan Persian given that he spent the first few years of his life in Iran. Second, I’m not sure the charges are even warranted. If Valy did learn Afghan Persian at all, his family would have taught him their Herati dialect. The Iranian standard accent is modeled on the Persian of the Iranian capital Tehran whereas the Afghan standard accent is modeled on the Persian of the Afghan capital Kabul. Herat is a city in Western Afghanistan close to the Iranian border and the dialect spoken there is somewhere in between the two national standards. In other words, some Afghans may think they’re hearing Iranian Persian when in fact it’s just another Afghan Persian dialect.

A more interesting question to me is which ethnicity Valy identifies with. Up until now, he has not been forthcoming enough. I’ve been told that he has called into Afghan television shows, defending himself and insisting that’s 100% Afghan. On his website, however, he avoids making any clear reference to his ethnicity. In a way, I can relate to Valy’s situation. I was born in Afghanistan and raised in the West. I grew up bilingual and bicultural and I’m proud of who I am. I don’t want to reject any part of my heritage. Why should Valy have to?

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