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Octavian (rapper)

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Octavian
Birth nameOctavian Oliver Godji
Also known asSpaceman, King Essie
Born (1996-01-22) 22 January 1996 (age 28)
Lille, France
OriginBrockley, London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Years active2016–present

Octavian Oliver Lanoire (born 22 January 1996), known mononymously as Octavian, is a French-British rapper, singer, and songwriter from London. In 2019 he won the BBC's Sound of Award, their top award for new artists. He has appeared on tracks produced by Diplo, Mura Masa, Take a Daytrip, JRick and A2. He has collaborated with Skepta, A$AP Ferg, Gorillaz, and many others.

Early life

Octavian was born in Lille, France, to an Angolan and Ivorian family. After his father died, he moved to the UK with his mother at the age of three, settling in Camberwell, South London.[1] As a teenager, he won a scholarship to the BRIT School, but dropped out after a year and a half.[2]

Music career

Octavian's first mixtape, 22, was released in 2016 under the name "Octavian OG", followed by the Essie World EP in 2017.[1] His recognition increased in January 2018 after a video of Drake singing along to the track "Party Here" at a Golden Globes afterparty was posted on Instagram.[1][3] The track was produced in collaboration with producer J Rick.[4]

The Fader have described Octavian's sound as a mixture of house, rap, and drill, as well as noting that his sound was influenced by Drake and Bon Iver.[5] Pitchfork have described the sound as mixing "R&B and dancehall with downbeat grime, peppy house, and UK hip-hop".[6] Critics have disagreed about how to classify Octavian's style, with High Snobiety noting that he is "Too British to be labeled trap but too American to be classed as grime".[3]

The Guardian described his 2018 mixtape Spaceman as "a spectacular medley of the past decade of UK subgenres – the raspy-voiced rapper amalgamates elements of drill, grime and house to create something dextrous and distinctive."[2] Pitchfork described the release as "daring eclecticism".[7]

In August 2018, Octavian signed with Sony / ATV Records.[8] In January 2019, Octavian won the BBC Sound of 2019 award.[9]

In June 2020, a single featuring Octavian from Gorillaz's seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, titled "Friday 13th", was released.

In May 2022, a re-worked version of his debut album Alpha was released under his label Sex Club AM, featuring previously released singles "Chapter 1/Rari (featuring Future)" and '"Famous (with Gunna and Saint Jhn)", as well as new tracks with features from Skepta, Corbin, and Bobby Raps.

This was followed by the Mixtape "22" released June 2023, featuring singles "Special Again" and "Feel".

Abuse allegation

In November 2020, Octavian's ex-partner alleged that she had suffered years of emotional and physical abuse from him during their relationship. He denied the allegations. She posted videos and text messages claiming to show the alleged abuse, and claimed that he attacked her with a hammer and threatened to kill her.[10] She also said she was asked by his management to sign an NDA for £20,000 and called out their complicity. Octavian's management later stated that their business relationship ended, as did his PR agency.[11] His label, Black Butter Records, went on to make a statement that they had dropped him and would not be releasing his album.[12]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[13] 		UK R&B
Spaceman
  • Released: 10 September 2018
  • Label: Black Butter Limited
  • Format: Digital download
 98 35
Alpha[14]
  • Released: 6 May 2022
  • Label: Sex Am Club
  • Format: Digital download
 — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Mixtapes

Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[13] 		UK R&B
Endorphins
  • Released: 13 June 2019
  • Label: Black Butter Limited
  • Format: Digital download
 — —
22
  • Released: 22 June 2023
  • Label: Sex AM Club
  • Format: Digital download
 — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

Title Details
Essie World
  • Released: 22 March 2017
  • Label: Black Butter Limited
  • Format: Digital download

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[13] 		AUS
[15]
"Party Here"[16] 2017 — — Non-album singles
"100 Degrees"
(featuring Sam Wise)[17] 		2018 — —
"Hands"[18] — —
"Little"[19] — —
"Move Me"
(with Mura Masa)[20] 		— —
"Revenge"[21] — — Spaceman
"Stressed"
(with Take a Daytrip)[22] 		2019 — — Non-album single
"Bet"
(featuring Skepta and Michael Phantom)[23] 		44 — Endorphins
"Lit"
(featuring ASAP Ferg)[24] 		— —
"Feel It"
(featuring Theophilus London)[25] 		— —
"Papi Chulo"
(with Skepta) 		2020 37 85 Non-album single
"Poison"
(featuring Take a Daytrip, Obongjayar and Santi)[26] 		— —
"Rari"
(featuring Future)[27] 		73 — Alpha
"Famous"
(with Gunna and Saint Jhn)[28] 		— —
"Sky High" 2021 — — Non-album single
"Lotion Boy"
(featuring Michael Phantom) 		2022 — — Alpha
"Blicky" — —
"Feel" — — 22
"Special Again" 2023 — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Title Year Album
"Flair"
(A2 featuring Octavian, Yxng Bane and Suspect)[29] 		2018 Purple
"New Shapes"
(Diplo featuring Octavian)[30] 		2019 Europa
"Want"
(J Rick featuring Octavian)[31] 		2019 No Retreat No Surrender
"Somewhere"
(The Blaze featuring Octavian)[32] 		2020 Non-album single
"Friday 13th"
(Gorillaz featuring Octavian)[33] 		Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez
"Savage"
(South RC featuring Octavian)[34] 		2022 Non-album single

References

  1. ^ a b c "Meet Octavian: the UK rapper with a hand on his heart". Red Bull. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b Mahanty, Shannon (6 September 2018). "Octavian: the rising rapper who beat homelessness and pigeonholes". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Octavian Is the Drake-Approved UK Rapper Set to Light up 2018". Highsnobiety. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  4. ^ Views TV (3 September 2017), Octavian - Party Here (Official Music Video) || VIEWS || [Prod. JRick], retrieved 7 March 2019
  5. ^ "Octavian found his sound, and U.K. rap is better for it". The Fader. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Octavian Is Shaping the Sound of Rap in 2018—Just Ask Drake | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Octavian : SPACEMAN Album Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Sony/ATV and Stellar Songs sign UK rapper Octavian to global deal - Music Business Worldwide". Music Business Worldwide. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  9. ^ Savage, Mark (10 January 2019). "Octavian wins the BBC Sound of 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Rapper Octavian denies allegations of verbal, physical and emotional abuse". the Guardian. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Octavian accused of physical and psychological abuse by ex partner". Metro. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Rapper Octavian dropped by label over domestic abuse allegations". The Independent. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  13. ^ a b c "Octavian | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Alpha by Octavian". iTunes. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  15. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 2 November 2020". The ARIA Report. No. 1600. Australian Recording Industry Association. 2 November 2020. p. 4.
  16. ^ "Party Here – Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  17. ^ "100 Degrees (feat. Sam Wise) – Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Hands – Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Little – Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  20. ^ "Move Me – Single by Mura Masa & Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Revenge – Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Stressed – Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  23. ^ "Bet (feat. Skepta & Michael Phantom) – Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  24. ^ "Lit (feat. A$AP Ferg) – Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  25. ^ "Feel It (feat. Theophilus London) [Krystal Klear Remix] - Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Poison (feat. Take A Daytrip, Obongjayar & Santi) - Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  27. ^ "Rari (Chapter 1) - Single by Octavian". Apple Music. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  28. ^ "Famous - Single by Octavian, Gunna & SAINt JHN on Apple Music". Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Flair (feat. Octavian, Yxng Bane and Suspect) – Single by A2". Apple Music. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  30. ^ "New Shapes (feat. Octavian) – Single by Diplo". Apple Music. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  31. ^ "Want (feat. Octavian) – Single by J Rick". Apple Music. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  32. ^ "Somewhere (feat. Octavian) - Single by The Blaze". Apple Music. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  33. ^ "Song Machine Episode 4 - Single by Gorillaz". Apple Music. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  34. ^ "Savage (feat. Octavian) – Single by South RC". Apple Music. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
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