Octavian Oliver Lanoire (born 22 January 1996), known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

as Octavian, is a French-British rapper, singer, and songwriter from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 2019 he won the BBC's Sound of Award, their top award for new artists. He has appeared on tracks produced by

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

Mura Masa Alexander Crossan (born 5 April 1996), also known by the stage name Mura Masa, is a Guernsey-born electronic music producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Crossan is best known for his song "Lovesick (Mura Masa song), Lovesick", which ...

Take a Daytrip Take a Daytrip is an American record production and songwriting duo composed of Denzel Baptiste (born January 9, 1993) and David Biral (born February 22, 1993). They are best known for producing singles such as Sheck Wes' "Mo Bamba", Lil Nas X ...

, JRick and A2. He has collaborated with

Skepta Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding ...

A$AP Ferg Darold Durard Brown Ferguson Jr. (born October 20, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Ferg (stylized as A$AP Ferg), is an American rapper from New York City's Harlem neighborhood. Aside from his solo career, he is a member of the hip hop collec ...

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

, and many others.

Early life

Octavian was born in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, France, to an

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

n and Ivorian family. After his father died, he moved to the UK with his mother at the age of three, settling in

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, South London. As a teenager, he won a scholarship to the

BRIT School The BRIT School is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, theatre, musical theatre, danc ...

, but dropped out after a year and a half.

Music career

Octavian's first mixtape, ''22'', was released in 2016 under the name "Octavian OG", followed by the ''Essie World'' EP in 2017. His recognition increased in January 2018 after a video of

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

singing along to the track "Party Here" at a

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

afterparty was posted on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

. The track was produced in collaboration with producer

J Rick Jordan Cian Christie (born 16 April 1996), better known by his stage name J Rick, is a London-based musician and producer. He produced the breakthrough singles "Party Here", "Hands" and "Lightning", the last of which was also featured in the vide ...

. ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' have described Octavian's sound as a mixture of

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, and

drill A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driverchuck. Hand-operated types are dramatically decreasing in popularity and cordless battery-powered ones proliferating due to ...

, as well as noting that his sound was influenced by

and

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...

. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' have described the sound as mixing "R&B and dancehall with downbeat grime, peppy house, and UK hip-hop". 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". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 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." ''Pitchfork'' described the release as "daring eclecticism". In August 2018, Octavian signed with Sony / ATV Records. In January 2019, Octavian won the BBC Sound of 2019 award, their top award for new artists. In June 2020, a single featuring Octavian from Gorillaz's seventh studio album, '' Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez,'' titled "

Friday 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...

", was released.

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. 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. His label,

Black Butter Records Black Butter Records is a British record label based in London, England. It was founded in 2010 by Olly Wood, Henry Village and Joe Gossa, with an investment of £5,000, and was named after a brand of condiments that had the same name. It was ...

, went on to make a statement that they had dropped him and would not be releasing his album.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

As featured artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Octavian (rapper) 1996 births Living people Musicians from Lille People from Camberwell Black British male rappers British trap musicians Rappers from London English people of Angolan descent French emigrants to the United Kingdom