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Octavian Rapper's Move You Might Have Missed

Last Updated: • Written by Dr. Lila Serrano
French actress and model Laetitia Casta on the set of TV Mini-Series ...
French actress and model Laetitia Casta on the set of TV Mini-Series ...
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Octavian rapper's move you might have missed

Octavian, the French-British rapper and singer born Octavian Oliver Godji, is best known for fusing London rap with Afrobeats, grime, and pop-adjacent melodies, then using that hybrid sound to notch up tens of millions of streams and a major-label deal with Black Butter Records. Over the past decade he has released a string of mixtapes and EPs-starting with "22" in 2016-and earned the BBC's "Sound of 2019" title, putting him in the same new-artist tier as Adele and 50 Cent in the poll's history.

From France to London's underground

Octavian was born January 22, 1996 in Lille, France, to an Angolan family; after the death of his father, he moved as a young child to the Camberwell area of South London, where he grew up immersed in a mix of British, French, and African cultures. That multicultural background directly shaped his rhythmic choices, turning London grime and UK club sounds into a more melodic, genre-bending style that often straddles rap and singing.

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Critical Failures III: A Storm of S-Words by Robert Bevan — Reviews ...

Expelled from the BRIT School-the same London arts-focused institution that produced Adele and Rex Orange County-Octavian committed fully to music around age 14, inspired in part by watching how artists like 50 Cent could transcend local scenes through global platforms. By the late 2010s, he had linked up with a South London collective later dubbed "Essie Gang," which helped him refine his aesthetic and release early material like the "Essie World" EP.

Breakthrough hits and viral moments

The turning point in Octavian's profile came in early 2018, when his track "Party Here" exploded after Drake quoted lyrics from the song in Instagram captions and then appeared singing along at a Golden Globes afterparty. That co-sign sent streams surging and helped him land a deal with Black Butter Records, a Sony-affiliated label that positioned him for broader international rollout.

By 2019, he had amassed around 40 million total Spotify streams across his catalog, with fan-favorite cuts like "Bet" (feat. Skepta & Michael Phantom) alone climbing past 48 million streams by late 2022. The track's blend of grime-inflected energy and club-ready bounce made it a standout moment in his discography and a frequent talking point in write-ups of his "Sound of 2019" win.

Albums, mixtapes, and evolving sound

Octavian's early projects-from "22" (2016) through "Essie World" (2017)-were largely DIY-coded: low-budget mixes built in bedrooms and small studios, but with a clear appetite for both street rap and melodic experimentation. Those releases established his signature traits: multi-lingual ad-libs, rapid-fire flows, and a willingness to shift between UK drill-adjacent cadences and smoother, Afropop-influenced hooks.

In 2018, he released the "Spaceman" mixtape, a 14-track project that deliberately avoided recycling his prior singles and instead doubled down on his futuristic, genre-blurring approach. The project's lead single, "Revenge", landed with a sleek visual and helped cement his reputation as one of the more visually and sonically ambitious young acts in the London scene.

Thereafter, projects like "Endorphins" (2019-2022) saw him layer in gospel, house, and UK pop textures, turning his "Endorphins" run into a more album-like suite of tracks that critics described as a "sonic journal" of his late-teens and early-20s. Across those releases, he worked with producers such as Diplo, Mura Masa, Take a Daytrip, and JRick, steadily expanding his sonic palette on a professional level.

Design, fashion, and cultural crossover

Beyond his recordings, Octavian has used his profile to edge into fashion and design, often appearing in industry editorials and high-street campaigns. He walked for Virgil Abloh's first Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week, an appearance that underlined his interest in the intersection of streetwear, luxury, and performance art.

Those fashion-forward moves have fed into his music videos, many of which prioritize curated aesthetics, color-grading, and choreography over traditional narrative. For a utility-oriented reader scanning his career, this pattern signals that Octavian treats his image as a parallel project to his music, rather than a secondary add-on.

Recent output and 2020s activity

By 2020 and into the mid-2020s, Octavian continued dropping singles and EPs such as "Papi Chulo", "Hardstyle Party 2025", and "Zero", which sit on streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. These tracks lean into danceable, club-oriented production (including hardstyle and uptempo EDM-adjacent beats), marking a further pivot toward international, festival-ready sounds rather than purely grime-centric material.

Alongside his English-language work, he has also explored Portuguese and other non-English flows, notably on tracks like "RESGATE" and "Maze Runner", which widen his potential audience across Latin and Lusophone markets. On a macro level, that multilingual strategy aligns with broader industry trends where top UK rappers increasingly treat the global streaming audience as their primary market, not just the domestic UK charts.

Business decisions and label moves

Octavian's early deal with Black Butter Records-a Sony-affiliated indie label known for nurturing UK urban talent-was a key structural move that gave him access to major-label resources without the constraints of a traditional big-label imprint. That partnership helped fund higher-budget videos, studio sessions with name-producer collaborators, and international touring runs in the late 2010s.

While detailed contract terms are not public, interviews from 2018-2019 suggest that he negotiated for significant creative control over his master recordings and visual direction, which later enabled him to pivot between rap, pop, and experimental formats with less internal label friction. That approach has become a common playbook among younger UK artists who want to retain identity while still tapping into global distribution infrastructure.

Key milestones in Octavian's career

  • 2016: Releases debut mixtape "22", establishing his early grime-pop hybrid style.
  • 2017: Drops the "Essie World" EP and begins building the "Essie Gang" collective around him.
  • 2018: Achieves viral fame with "Party Here" after Drake's Instagram co-sign, then signs to Black Butter Records (Sony-affiliated).
  • 2018: Releases the 14-track "Spaceman" mixtape anchored by the single "Revenge," which earns critical attention for its visual and sonic ambition.
  • 2019: Wins the BBC's "Sound of 2019" poll and issues collaborative tracks like "Bet," which climbs past 48 million Spotify streams.
  • 2019-2022: Releases "Endorphins", a genre-blending project that mixes gospel, house, and pop into his rap framework.
  • 2020-2024: Issues standalone singles such as "Papi Chulo", "Hardstyle Party 2025", "Zero", and "Maze Runner" on streaming platforms, targeting dance and festival-oriented listeners.

Timeline of major releases

  1. 2016 - "22" mixtape: First major project, laying the groundwork for his melodic, multi-genre approach.
  2. 2017 - "Essie World" EP: Builds on "22" with a clearer collective identity via the Essie Gang.
  3. 2018 - "Spaceman" mixtape: 14-track project that avoids re-using prior singles, emphasizing futurist production.
  4. 2018 - "Revenge" single: Lead track with a stylized video that garners attention across UK and transatlantic outlets.
  5. 2019 - "Bet" (feat. Skepta & Michael Phantom): Collaborative banger that amasses over 48 million Spotify streams by 2022.
  6. 2019-2022 - "Endorphins" project: Incorporates gospel, house, and pop into a more mature, album-like body of work.
  7. 2020 - "Papi Chulo" single: Introduces a more Latin-infused, dance-oriented angle in his catalog.
  8. 2023-2024 - "Hardstyle Party 2025," "Zero," "Maze Runner," "RESGATE": Singles that lean into EDM-style tempos and international festival energy.

Representative track statistics (illustrative)

Key concerns and solutions for Octavian Rappers Move You Might Have Missed

Who is Octavian the rapper?

Octavian Oliver Godji, known professionally as Octavian, is a French-British rapper, singer, and songwriter from London who rose to prominence in the late 2010s with a blend of UK grime, Afrobeats, and melodic pop-rap. He is best known for tracks like "Party Here" and "Bet", his BBC "Sound of 2019" win, and his willingness to experiment across fashion, design, and streaming-first formats.

What is Octavian's biggest breakthrough song?

Historically, "Party Here" is widely regarded as Octavian's breakthrough, thanks to a viral spike in 2018 after Drake quoted its lyrics on Instagram and then was filmed singing along at a Golden Globes afterparty. That moment pushed his streams into the double-digit millions and accelerated his signing with Black Butter Records, effectively launching his international career.

Has Octavian won any major awards?

In January 2019, Octavian was named the winner of the BBC's "Sound Of 2019" poll, a prestigious new-artist award that has previously highlighted acts like Adele, Florence + The Machine, and 50 Cent. Though that is not a performance-based award, it functions as a major industry signal of perceived breakout potential and helped him secure higher-profile festival slots and media coverage that year.

What genres does Octavian mix together?

Octavian's music sits at the intersection of London grime, UK club, Afrobeats, and pop-adjacent rap, often layering gospel-tinged harmonies and house-leaning percussion into his tracks. This hybrid sound has allowed him to appeal both to underground UK audiences and to global streaming playlists that favor cross-genre, dance-capable rap.

Is Octavian still signed to a label?

Public reporting from 2018-2019 indicates that Octavian was signed to Black Butter Records, a boutique urban label affiliated with Sony, which helped him scale his early international rollout. While there is no widely reported, recent contract announcement as of the mid-2020s, his continued presence on major streaming platforms and behind high-budget projects suggests he remains partnered with a label or distributor that provides global distribution infrastructure.

How many streams does Octavian have on Spotify?

As of 2022-2023, several of Octavian's singles and projects had each accumulated tens of millions of streams on Spotify, with "Bet" alone surpassing 48 million streams by late 2022. Across his catalog-including projects like "Endorphins" and earlier mixtapes-his total on-platform listenership is estimated to be comfortably in the low hundreds of millions when aggregated across all major releases.

What collaborations has Octavian done?

Octavian has collaborated with a range of producers and artists, including names such as Skepta, Mura Masa, and Diplo, as well as working with producers like Take a Daytrip and JRick. He has also appeared on tracks with US rappers like A$AP Ferg and featured on international remixes and one-offs, further underlining his orientation toward a transatlantic audience rather than a strictly UK-only fanbase.

Has Octavian been involved in fashion or design?

Yes, Octavian has pressed into fashion and design by modeling for Virgil Abloh's first Louis Vuitton runway show and appearing in glossy editorials that frame him as both a musician and a style figure. His music videos and live visuals also emphasize curated aesthetics-wardrobe, color palettes, and choreography-suggesting that he treats his visual brand as a parallel project to his recorded output.

What is Octavian's most recent project?

Through 2023-2024, Octavian's most recent solo releases include tracks such as "Zero", "Maze Runner", and updated versions of "Hardstyle Party 2025", all of which prioritize dance-oriented, club-friendly production. These newer cuts lean heavily into EDM-adjacent tempos and international festival energy, signaling a continued push toward the global streaming dance market rather than a return to his earlier, more grime-centric sound.

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Dr. Lila Serrano

Dr. Lila Serrano is a veteran entertainment historian specializing in film, television, and voice acting across global media. With over 20 years of archival research and on-set consultancy, she has documented casting histories for iconic franchises, from Back to the Future to The Goonies, and modern productions like Ghost of Yotei.

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Track / Project Release Year Streaming Metric (Illustrative)
"Party Here" 2017 Approx. 70 million combined streams (Spotify + YouTube)
"Bet" (feat. Skepta & Michael Phantom) 2019 Approx. 48 million Spotify streams by end of 2022