One of the most interesting and significant stories in music this year has to be the rise of Octavian. Born as Octavian Godji in France with Angolan heritage, he then moved to London at the age of three. He has gone from being homeless to having influence over Drake's new album, 'Scorpion' and modelling for Louis Vuitton. Octavian joined the prestigious Brit school (attended by Adele and Amy Winehouse) but quickly left. This is partly because Octavian wanted to keep his individuality and believes that the school was teaching them how to be creative, thus they would loose their originality and their sense of purpose in their own music. 'Party Here', his breakout single had Drake wanting to co-sign him, however Octavian kept by his own beliefs of individuality and self-belief.
Octavian's debut mix-tape, 'Spaceman' is music at its purist because his individuality and life is represented in the album and shows the potential Octavian has. Octavian's music combines grime, party anthems, dance-hall, drill and hip-hop, creating his own music scene in the UK. There is also a hint of techno in his music, possibly from French influence. What can make music unique is individual human experience and using these to tell important messages, something which is represented in Octavian's music. For example, 'you've got to get through the worst to get to the best' in 'Stand Down', possibly reflecting on being kicked out at fifteen and being forced to sell drugs, tells an important message of being resilient. A stand out tune, 'Build', is about fulfilling our goals, never giving up and about being happy. These are extremely important messages to young people. Other tunes, such as 'Lightning' show that he has the capability to make a hit. There is a sense of darkness and grit, but also of happiness and fulfilment, these being important aspects in Octavian's life. The mix-tape shows he has the ability to create a very unique album, with various sounds and genres of music.
Octavian's individuality is important to him because he does want to be forced into one sound and be known as generic, he wants to be a pure artist. There are high expectations for Octavian to cement his influence on the UK scene and to become a music star, but we should take a step back and just enjoy listening to his talent.