Octavian sounds like the intersection of a high-energy club and a lonely night walk. His voice is a distinctive, gravelly rasp that often drops into a conspiratorial whisper, layered over production that feels both expensive and underground. It is music that captures the frantic, eclectic energy of modern London, where a house beat can suddenly morph into a drill rhythm without losing its cool.
What truly sets him apart is his refusal to stay in one lane. He treats his voice like a texture, often burying it in reverb or drenching it in effects to create a sense of submerged euphoria. The percussion is sharp and forward, but the melodies are often hazy and impressionistic, drawing from an unexpected palette of influences like Bon Iver or early house music.
Start with the mixtape 'Spaceman' to hear him at his most cohesive. It is a masterclass in mood-setting, moving from aggressive street anthems to shimmering, melodic experiments that prove why he became one of the most talked-about figures in the UK scene.
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.
Shares layered dense, reverb heavy, digital clarity (production style); trap, contemporary r&b (subgenres)
Shares brooding, restless, mysterious (moods); reverb heavy, digital clarity, layered dense (production style)
Shares layered dense, reverb heavy, digital clarity (production style); trap, contemporary r&b (subgenres)
Shares trap, contemporary r&b (subgenres); digital clarity, reverb heavy, drum machine (production style)
Shares layered dense, reverb heavy, digital clarity (production style); trap, contemporary r&b (subgenres)
Shares layered dense, reverb heavy, digital clarity (production style); trap, contemporary r&b (subgenres)
Shares layered dense, reverb heavy, digital clarity (production style); trap, contemporary r&b (subgenres)
Shares layered dense, reverb heavy, digital clarity (production style); trap, contemporary r&b (subgenres)
Shares layered dense, reverb heavy, digital clarity (production style); trap, house (subgenres)
Shares layered dense, reverb heavy, digital clarity (production style); urban night, late night, fog (atmosphere)
Shares murky, tense, trap, contemporary r&b (signature)
Cassette uses generative AI to enrich its catalog. How we use AI →