Vincent Valentine Just Wants a Little Social Interaction

There's plenty to do in Las Vegas as a sightseer but when you actually live in good ol' Sin City, the need to find ways to amuse yourself amongst the excessive tourists is key. Vincent Valentine figured out the perfect plan to do just that by having some incredibly awkward conversations with those that invade his fair city. Preferring to call it “social interaction” rather than “pranking,” Valentine has had a successful year videoing his encounters leading him straight into viral popularity. And in 2015, isn't that what it's all about?

In addition to the videos, Valentine is also a rapper, so he definitely has no qualms about putting himself out there. But we wanted to find out more. And we did when we talked to him about his music, his process when it comes to chatting about absolute absurdity with complete strangers, and the good and bad that has come from hitting up unsuspecting people in public places.

]

OC Weekly (Ali Lerman): OK so which came first for you, the music or the pranks?

Vincent Valentine: I started doing music first. I started getting into it seriously when I was around 24. I play the drums but what started it all was, I did photography for a rapper and we just kind of became friends and he got me into it. The first day that I decided to try it out, everyone was really impressed. I started doing it more often and then started a YouTube channel and did a couple of songs just for fun. I enjoy writing and recording music but it's just so time consuming. And I'm kind of a perfectionist. I have like, 10 songs I've written out, practiced, and are ready to record but as of right now, I'm just trying to focus on what people seem to want to see from me.

I get that. So off of music and on to pranking videos. Wait, is pranking what I should call what you do? I feel like there needs to be another word for “fucking with people.”

[Laughs.] Well the technical term would be “social interaction videos.” I mean, we do pranking as well but I'm more into the social interaction. I'm not really a prankster. I just try to make funny YouTube videos. Yeah, it is a completely new genre but it's hard to put into words. People will be like, what is a social interaction video? It's just not as sexy as the word “prankster” I guess. [Laughs.]

Oh yes, “prankster” is ever so sexy. I think it takes giant nads to walk up to people and suggest outlandish shit especially here in Vegas. Have you always been so confident?

I guess I've always been comfortable with myself and who I am. I would never try to hide myself or be somebody else. That's why I'm open to people who like what I'm into, like nerdy things and anime. I'm not as bad as I used to be with that but, I'm open about who I am. I never want to pretend to be anyone else.

Do you ever notice a difference in reaction between the tourists vs. locals? I mean, I'd think it'd be pretty hard to tell who is who unless they're holding a foot long daiquiri.

I wouldn't say there is a huge difference between locals and tourists but yeah, it's hard to tell sometimes. As far drunk people go, we tend to not stay out past midnight because usually after that is when the drunks who want to start trouble are out. Before I didn't really care because I wanted to see the confrontation a little but now that I've had my channel for a year, I just want to be safer. I don't want to take that risk anymore.

Any awful moments?

[Laughs.] Oh yeah, there were a couple of times. I went up to a guy during the “How You Pull Dat” video and he got really offended for some reason. He was like, why are you asking stupid questions? Then he started going off on me and his whole family got involved. One of them tried to break the camera and just started going back and forth like he wanted to fight. I didn't back down because if you want to fight me, I'm not going to back down. I've never been afraid of fighting someone one on one but I am afraid of being outnumbered. You have to be careful when you're in a group of people.

Yeah and we're in this “oh soooo PC” climate so anything can set someone off. Scary. OK so be honest, what's the ratio of chicks that you pull after you're done filming?

[Laughs.] I get asked that a lot and to be honest, I would say 80% of the girls I don't hit up. The reason I don't is because most of the time, the girls aren't really up for it and they're just giving it to you. It's really hard here in Vegas to actually hook-up with chicks because they're in town to hang out with their friends. And girls are so protective over each other, which is good because you should be protective when you are in a place that isn't your hometown, but it makes it hard. Obviously I have been with girls that I got a number from in videos but, it happens less than you would think.

Well I guess so because we assumed you got TONS of tail.

[Laughs.] It's almost backwards here because it seems like some people come to not have a good time. You'd think people come to Vegas to party and have fun but if you look at a couple of our videos, some of the girls are so stuck-up and don't want to have a good time at all.

Gross, vacation snobs. Do you ever get and/or take suggestions from your fans?

Oh yeah all of the time. Everybody thinks they have the greatest idea. It's like when someone says it'll be hilarious and I do it, then someone else comments under it how dumb it is. [Laughs.] I've had some really good suggestions but honestly, it's very rare. But, if I see a good idea from someone and I use it, I always give them credit for it. I have hundreds of my own ideas though. Some are good and some I'll go back to after a while and just delete them. You don't really know what's actually going to be funny until you go out and film it. I've been doing this for a year now so I have a better grasp on that but to be fair, I've come up with a lot of dumb ideas too. I look at them like, I thought that was so funny and looking back, they're so stupid!

Get your laugh on by checking out Vincent Valentine's YouTube channel, following him on Twitter @Limitlessexp, becoming a fan of his on Facebook and on Instagram, and listen to his music on Soundcloud.

See also:
Steve-O Found a Way to Work Manginas Into His Stand-Up Comedy
10 Douchiest Guitarists of All Time
10 Douchiest Drummers of All Time

Follow us on Twitter @OCWeeklyMusic and like us on Facebook at Heard Mentality and follow the author on Twitter @AliNotAlli.