Good Music
Octane has kept the momentum going well into 2011, remaining a favourite on the charts with songs like "Nuh Love Inna Dem", "Nuh Ramp Wid We" and "Cyah Do We Nuttin". 'Consistent' is perhaps an appropriate description when it comes to the quality of Octane's music and he acknowledged that "good music always pays off in the end." This has been the most profound lesson he has learnt as an artiste, considering that a number of songs he recorded years ago are only now "getting justice", as he puts it. In fact, he stated that delivering good music is his number one priority when it comes to his career, which causes people to respond so favourably to his work.
"I want my fans to overstand, I'm not singing about trivial things – it is all about real life. I want them to deal with life precious and have faith in dem self," he said. He takes inspiration from everyday happenings both positive and negative. However, it is his strong faith in the Almighty that drives him to always keep the positive vibrations in his music.
Many have been so impressed with the artiste that they have come to compare him with Reggae icon Sizzla. To this the artiste comments, "I am I-Octane, but it good to see dat people can make comparison with the great Sizzla 'cause I get a lot of inspiration from man like Sizzla." Though he has no qualms about being compared to another artiste, he is adamant about maintaining his unique identity to remain distinguishable within the industry.
"Right now, dat a plague the music. Most artistes who have been around for a while give the younger artiste dem the wrong impression that they have to come and be like them. Every artiste wants to be another artiste or the young ones want to come be a replacement," he said. In his opinion, this mentality is crippling the potential of many artistes because they are so busy trying to walk in another man's shoe they aren't able to fully actualize their own ability.
Ta king the Stage As arguably one of the fastest rising Jamaican artistes, one can only imagine the hectic schedule that I-Octane has to tackle.
"Touring is hard! You have young artistes who think that touring is a simple thing. Nineteen-hour drives, sometimes even longer; sleeping in airports; two days of flying; problems with the promoters at times, even hunger, especially when you don't eat meat, like me," he pointed out. Yet even with these challenges, he still remains in high spirits, grateful for the opportunity he's been given. "Everywhere I've been is a different experience. They all have their own culture, I can't single out one. It's just always a good experience," he added.
I-Octane has managed to build quite a reputation for himself when it comes to booking premiere stage shows. So far this year, he has seen encore performances like Best of the Best in Florida and another successful Sumfest gig. "Some artistes have the wrong concept. Everyone wants to come fi 'tek' Sumfest, I just go to perform for my fans and give them the best Octane," he stated. "I always perform like it is my last show because I have to put into perspective that these people pay to come see a good show so I try not to disappoint."
Focused
Right now, things are really looking up for I-Octane. "I have a great team that keeps me grounded and real die-hearted fans that keep me in check," he said. "I stay close to the Almighty and the philosophies of Marcus Garvey – keep trying to be a better person and not engage in wrongs, though acknowledging that human nature causes us to slip up here and there." Currently, he is focusing his energy on the release of his highly anticipated debut album. Spearheaded by renowned producer Robert Livingston, the album entitled "Crying to the Nations" is slated
to hit stores across the globe in October. The album features the hits we are already familiar with as well as new songs made especially for the project, including collaborations with popular artistes Agent Sasco and Tarrus Riley. He seemed quite content with the outcome of his long-awaited album and voiced his gratitude to producers CashFlow, Jordan, Troyton, Jam2 and Dean Fraser, all of whom contributed significantly to the end product. "The fans will love it. No doubt this will be one of the greatest albums in Jamaican music history," expressed a proud I-Octane.
There is also another album in the works, being compiled by Cash Flow Records specifically for release in Japan. Along with this, the artiste has been working on new singles, between tour dates and other appearances, to be released later on in the year. Quite frankly, I-Octane has been living up to his name, with a high-energy career and seemingly no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
"I have a whole heap of music left in me. This is only the beginning,"he declared.
less
more