SBHS Student Creates Unofficial Vikings Anthem

With the South Brunswick High School football team going on a one SBHS student was looking to capture the emotions and hard work that symbolized the Vikings' run.

SBHS senior Kennedy Hart began crafting what he hoped would become an anthem for the school over the summer, looking for a positive message to send about the qualities that make a champion. 

"At the beginning of the summer I started thinking that our school needs an anthem. I performed at school talent shows in the past and made an anti-bullying rap before, so I wanted to make something that could have a positive impact on the school and all of South Brunswick," Hart said.

While looking at a book title called "Valhalla," which is the name of one of the houses of Viking heaven for fallen warriors, the fledgling rapper had a revelation and "Vahalla At Me" was born.

"I took the hip hop term 'holla at me' and combined it to make a play on words," Hart said. "I didn't really think too much about it at the time or what it could mean. I wanted something that could be an anthem for all the teams and the academic institution, while it was still trendy enough for the younger generation."

As he continued on his quest for a school anthem, Hart enlisted the help of his friend, Joel "DJ-Tapz" Valdiviezo, for the song's hook as he began to craft the lyrics.

"I took Valhalla at me and wanted to combine it with the simple chant of 'SB let's go,' so I just put it together," Hart said. "I wrote down some inspirational words about patience and working hard, basically everything I knew about what goes into being successful. I put it altogether in a way that could be appealing and impactful. I took many hours to make sure it would be the best thing I could write."

After completing his song, Hart said he received plenty of positive feedback from school staff and team coaches, but he was unsuccessful getting the song played during one of the SBHS games. So Hart took a grassroots approach to get his song attention through the use of YouTube.

But as the Vikings went on a tear through the state playoffs and the eventual championship game, Hart knew he had the perfect song to accompany the run ready to go.

"I thought this was the perfect opportunity to debut the song to the school the day before the state championship," Hart said. "I got a lot of support from my peers and family. The term became more popular by the second. The team liked it and the fans liked it. It was perfect timing for the game. I had a lot of friends who were blasting the song on the way to the game and it got a lot of support."

Hart noted that the song quickly picked up over 100 downloads and 1,000 views on YouTube, as the Vikings went on the make history. 

Hart said his ultimate reward was bringing a smile to the faces of Viking fans while doing something he loves.

"Music has always been a part of my life since I was a young kid and my dad used to rap with me and teach me simple raps," he said. "I'm just hard working and genuinely trying to impact the world with music that makes people feel good. I want to make people happy, that's my goal."