The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant

Background

In August 2012, Rittz signed to Tech N9ne's Strange Music record label. In November 2012, in an interview with HipHopDX, Rittz explained that he was 11 songs into his debut album, saying: "With the 11 songs that I got already, the way I work is that I get the base set. If I can get the base set of the overall sound I’m looking for - the vibe of the album - then I can sprinkle in the other types of records. Story song, insert here. Girl song, insert here. But the music; the production; the beats actually set the tone. I think I’ve gotten that. So, as long as I’ve gotten that - I was a little worried at first because I wasn’t set on the beats. But now I got it. Now it’s just time to put in the spices and make it a complete thing." In April 2013, in an interview with HipHopDX Rittz explained why he chose The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant as the album title, saying:

"When Yelawolf came out with “White Jesus,” I was rapping with another group of people, and my album was going to be called Jonny Valiant Volume Zero. Jonny Valiant is like a nickname of mine...like an alias. It was something back in the day when I was coming up with aliases and shit. Mine was Rittz aka Jonny Valiant, and my real name is Jonny. So the album is real personal. This is the life of Jonny Valiant. It’s a personal look into my life. With White Jesus, it is what it is, and now let’s move on to a more mature stage and really let people in and show who the fuck I am."

He also explained that he took a different approach from his previous mixtapes, saying: "It’s different because I was in a huge time crunch. I was on the Slumerican tour, and I knew I had to write the album...so it’s really hard to write on the bus. I might’ve wrote five songs on the bus. I had a deadline to get an album done on January 31, with recording and everything. I had to come back from the tour in late November and really write it all so fast. The good thing is I knew it was coming, so I got with DJ Burn One about the type of production I wanted. Once I got the backbone of the production, I can put the different spices in different tastes of flavors on top of that. But I needed that backbone. Luckily, Burn One already had those beats sitting in my e-mail to give it that sound, and then I really took the words to it. The difference from this and other projects is really being in a time crunch. I really had to just not over-critique myself and wake up every morning and say, “Look, no matter what happens today, you gotta get at least a song or two done. And you got to present it until this thing’s done.” I never had to do that before."

He also explained the meaning behind one of the songs on the album titled "Fuck Swag", saying: "It was mainly the word, “swag.” It’s one of those songs where you’re angry. The beat already had the sample saying swag on it. It’s irritating. It’s like, “Swag, swag,” so I was like, “Fuck swag.” I’m just hanging around the studio and all the dudes be like, “You good, man? How you doing? I’m good, man. Swag.” They like to say swag where it’s not even necessary anymore. Having swag used to be having that swagger on the mic and you know, the little pauses and that. But it’s almost too much swag these days. Everybody is just so swagged out. It’s like, “Fuck swag and fuck you.” Nowadays, everybody tries to be so different that to stand out as an artist, being different isn’t different anymore. It’s almost too far and too many rappers looking like Lenny Kravitz. I’ll be at clubs, and I can’t tell who raps, who sings in Rock bands. It’s all just a big mess. So you ask people about mess and it’s like, “Shit, that’s my swag.” Well you know what? Fuck your swag."

Singles

The first official video for the album was released on March 28, 2013, for the song "For Real". The first single "Switch Lanes" featuring Mike Posner was released on April 12, 2013. On April 10, 2013, the music video was released for "Like I Am". On May 13, 2013, the music video was released for "Switch Lanes" featuring Mike Posner.

Critical response

The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Edwin Ortiz of HipHopDX gave the album four out of five stars, saying "While Rittz hasn’t yet reached his recording pinnacle, The Life And Times Of Jonny Valiant provides a thorough impression of his abilities as well as what he can strive for in the coming years. Going on nearly two decades since he first grasped the notion of becoming an emcee, it may have taken longer than expected, but Rittz is finally seeing the fruits of his labor flourish." David Jeffries of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, saying "Looking like a bouncer at some backwoods biker bar but flowing fast like he was Twista's younger brother, Atlanta rapper Rittz brings some Southern slang to the Strange Music roster, kicking the relationship off with The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant. This debut effort should still satisfy those who follow Tech N9ne and the Strange Music roster, as stoner anthems, swaggering club music, and punch line-filled putdowns are the man's bread and butter." Dave William of XXL gave the album an XL, saying "While these struggles might seem like a bit of a downer on paper, Rittz should win over listeners with the unmistakable honesty he raps with. He’s a highly affable “underdog,” one who can rap about his misfortunes with confidence, hope and determination. Like Drake once said of himself early on in his career, Rittz seems to just want to be successful. But his “started from the bottom” tale is one that’s detailed thoroughly throughout The Life & Times of Jonny Valiant, not an empty rallying cry. It’s unlikely Rittz’s rap career will ever reach the heights of a Drizzy, but for now, this honest, attention-grabbing album feels like the victory Rittz has long been waiting for."

Nathan S. of DJBooth gave the album four out of five stars, saying "Will The Life And Times Of Jonny Valiant be the album that blows Rittz a superstar? No. But the last thing hip-hop needs is another superstar. Hip-hop needs someone every outsider can relate to, someone who remains dedicated to being himself (and sounds damn good in the process). If Rittz can continue to do that, and Jonny Valiant suggests he can, he’ll attract more fans than any poser possibly could. The secret is that the outsiders outnumber the insiders, we’re just waiting for an artist to build something large enough to hold us all." Peter Marrack of Exclaim! gave the album a five out of ten, saying "One of the few uplifting moments on Rittz's new album occurs when he's shouting out his homies in Toronto — Droppin' Knowledge booked Rittz for a spot date in late 2011, which contributed to the Atlanta, GA rapper's early buzz. The rest of the album is morose, a diatribe against commercial rap bloated with personal confessions."

Commercial performance

In its first week of release the album debuted at, number 25 on the Billboard 200, and sold 14,000 copies in the United States. In its second week the album sold 3,200 more copies. In its third week the album sold 2,300 more copies bringing its total sales to 19,000.