Octavian

Octavian Oliver Godji (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. As a teenager, he won a scholarship to the BRIT School, 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. The track was produced in collaboration with producer J Rick.

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. Pitchfork 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".

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

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

Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions UK 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 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 "Party Here" 2017 — — "100 Degrees" 2018 — — "Hands" — — "Little" — — "Move Me" — — "Revenge" — — Spaceman "Stressed" 2019 — — "Bet" 44 — Endorphins "Lit" — — "Feel It" — — "Papi Chulo" 2020 37 85 "Poison" — — "Rari" 73 — Alpha "Famous" — — "Sky High" 2021 — — "Lotion Boy" 2022 — — Alpha "Blicky" — — "Feel" — — 22 "Special Again" 2023 — — "Zero" 2024 — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist Title Year Album "Flair" 2018 Purple "New Shapes" 2019 Europa "Want" 2019 No Retreat No Surrender "Somewhere" 2020 "Friday 13th" Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez "Savage" 2022